Welcome to the Essential Tutorial for Email Marketing
Building an email marketing list is a core concept to building a successful website. In fact, many would argue it’s THE most critical step.
Why is this so important?
Traffic, design, a unique selling point, and promotion are all aspects of creating a website – but your email list is what can turn random visitors into loyal subscribers and supporters.
Having a mailing list of people who have given you permission to contact them through email has all sorts of unique advantages:
It allows you to build deeper relationships and trust with people.
It allows you to collect market research data (you can ask your list to fill out a survey for example). You can then leverage this in unique ways. Ramit Sethi used his data from his list as a selling point to get attention and eventually links from the New York Times.
You can use your data to figure out how to better serve the needs and wants of people who visit your website.
You can give people on your list product updates and discounts as a way to drive more sales.
It gives you direct access to your audience in a way that social media and even your website does not.
You can set up an autoresponder series for new subscribers and weave in the occasional affiliate link; building a sales funnel that runs on autopilot (after you spend hundreds of hours writing each and every autoresponder and testing to see what works).
You have the option to make an email list into a product itself. You can do this by way of a subscription model or a one time fee. The “Empire Building Kit” is an example of a one time fee strategy.
You can take your audience with you and direct them to new websites or projects you’re working on.
Email subscribers are THE best type of subscriber because they are the most engaged type of subscriber.
Who should I go with to start building my list?
Email lists are managed by private companies who take care of the technical burden (and the legal aspects) of mass delivery of emails.
The most popular companies to manage your lists are Mail Chimp, Aweber, Mad Mini, and Get Response.
I used to recommended Mail Chimp for those starting out because they used to have a free plan and free autoresponders for this free plan. Not anymore now, you need to pay to use their autoresponders UNLESS you have an old account (like I do) that has been grandfathered in.
Autoresponders (automatically sent out emails) as well as deliverability are the most critical services you need from a mail list management company. So unfortunately their is no free option for you to do this.
Mail Chimp and Mad Mini provide a great service at a fair cost. Mail Chimp forms are a pain to customize.
Aweber has the best analytics, but they’re pretty expensive for a new webmaster. However, their deliverability is great and their forms are easy to customize.
Get Response is a perfect combination of all the above. They also offer a decent discount if you purchase for a year.
From start to finish
This tutorial will cover all the aspects of building a mailing list from start to finish.
It begins from the planning aspects of how to properly start an email list, it then moves into how to convert your traffic into signups, where to place opt-in forms on your website and how to design them. HTML email templates are also discussed and then finally what to do once you have a regular flow of daily sign-ups.
A side note: When sending out mass emails you are required by law (CAN-SPAM) to list your address. When using a service provider like Aweber they require this information before they allow anything to go out.
So what address should you use? If you’re comfortable listing out your home address then use that, but for most people that idea sounds crazy. The answer is to get a PO BOX instead.
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PLANNING AN EMAIL LIST
The consensus among website owners who run successful websites that are getting thousands of visitors a day is that that they wish they started an email list earlier.
Does this mean you should run out and sign-up for a mass email list provider as soon as possible to avoid the same mistake?
No!
The emphasis should be on successful not earlier.
We have a fundamental question to answer here, is a website successful because of the email list or is it successful because it has a unique selling point, a well defined reason why a person would visit the website (which keeps them coming back), and regular consistent search traffic?
It’s the latter. A successful website happens before the email list, not because of it. An email list simply compounds the already existing growth.
When you should start an email list:
1) Your website is getting at least 400-500 visitors a day. Many webmasters will disagree with me on this, but until your website has traffic you’re not going to get any email sign-ups. So why pay for a service you’re not going to use?
2) You have consistent, regular growth month to month – meaning you have your unique selling point, people like it, and your website is growing.
3) Your website for the most part is finished. This is crucial because publishing content, making videos and building the foundation of your website takes a lot of work. Focus on this first, then when you’re site is done and you’re simply publishing a new post, video, or podcast according to your schedule then you’re ready to expand the work load to writing emails.
4) You have some idea what you wish to accomplish with an email. Just like with starting a website in that you need to plan, plan, plan; the same goes with a mailing list. What exactly are your emails going to be about?
5) You have subscribed to multiple email lists before. If you have never been on the other end of an email list, go to your favorite website and join their list. Pay attention to what you like and don’t like about the process of signing up and the content of the emails.
6) You have a free giveaway for your email list or some type of incentive to join. The common strategy is some type of information product, but you could make your list into a course or email series or a service
But isn’t the “free ebook give-away” model for email lists dead?
No it’s not! This can be such a boring discussion to read on whether or not this still works. Of course it works, you just need to put in the work to connect the dots between what your visitors want and what you can give them.
Titles also matter, as well as how unique the free giveaway is. This means it takes a lot of work and research. People won’t just sign up to get something free, they want to get something specific and actionable that will help them.
So don’t give away an ebook…
1) That is of low quality and comes off like is was only made to be a free giveaway.
You want every interaction people have with you to be of high quality. Low quality erodes trust extremely fast. Low quality makes people not take you seriously. Low quality shows that you lack the qualities to be successful and that you’re lazy.
2) That is on a boring and generic topic that has already been done countless times.
Why put the hours in to create something similar to something someone else has already published? Come up with a new angle. This again takes work and time but it’s worth it.
3) Titles also matter.
Come up with a title that is pithy, original, and descriptive. Look at books on Amazon or in your local bookstore to come up with ideas for how to name your giveaway. Naming things is actually incredibly difficult and is more art then science BUT necessary none the less.
4) You have the authority to write the ebook.
Meaning you know what you’re talking about from actual experience or research. You’re not just writing what you think you should be writing or what you think people want. You know.
Authority also means you’re a trusted source for this information.
So if you release a free ebook for your website entitled “MASSIVE TRAFFIC SECRETS” …
1) That’s a fairly unoriginal title.
2) It’s only appealing to men.
3) Your website better have massive traffic, otherwise if it’s apparent your site is a low traffic website you’ll look like a clown.
4) This is a topic that is done excessively (that and making money).
Your give-away does not have to be an Ebook
By the nature of the Internet, your give-away needs to be information based. But there are other forms to deliver it other than an Ebook:
A video series.
A private, password only part of your website.
A collection of interviews.
A 1 on 1 15 minute coaching call.
Really it depends on your audience and market what your give away should be and what the best medium is. Get creative, don’t copy, be original, and be actionable. Care about your marketing and your copywriting (titles), be able to sell your free give away in an elevator style pitch, and make something of high quality that you could sell if you wanted to.
HIGH CONVERTING PLACES TO ADD AN EMAIL OPT-IN FORM
In order for people to sign-up for your mailing list you need to provide a way for them to sign-up.
This is obvious, what is not so obvious is where you should put the opt-in forms.
Before we even talk about forms, I should mention that I’ve had success with using simply an image of an ebook in the sidebar on some of my websites. No description, no nothing. Just a professionally designed image of an ebook.
Visitors would click on the book which would then forward them to a page describing the ebook in great detail. Why it was written. Why you want it. Why you need it. Who it’s for. Who it’s not for. At the very bottom would be an option to submit your email and receive the ebook while simultaneously subscribing to the mailing list.
What you’re doing is just pre-selling then closing. It’s akin to dating. You need to take your visitors out to dinner first before you ask them to commit 
It works well, but you always need to test as your audience will vary in regards to how technical they are and how best to convert them. The images I use:
Thin
This thin style image works best because the contents look substantial while at the same time not coming off as too intimidating as it looks like a quick and easy read. Use this image for an ebook that is of less depth than a full fledged book. Use it also because it works 
Fat
This is the more traditional style for selling ebooks online. It looks like a book. Test this image and the thin image as well as a proper opt-in form to see what works best. I always find the thin ebook image works best, but your audience might be different. Also use this image to design your ebook if your making an information product.
(For a quick 4 minute video on how to design a cover – go here you can also use this website called 3d Pack to create an ebook too.
CONVERSION SPOTS
Let’s talk about where to place your opt-in forms.
1) Post/page bottom.
Surprisingly, the bottom of a post or page – the area after the content but before the footer (or comments if it’s a blog post) works extremely well. It’s an appropriate place for an email opt-in because it directs a visitor to do something next after reading.
Sidenote: This spot also works well for advertising. Particularly the leaderboard size for the same reasons.
2) In the footer itself
The footer should contain may essential links for your website. A quick bio, sitemap, privacy and terms of use pages etc. But it also makes sense to add an email opt-in form with a quick call to action as the footer on many websites acts as a secondary navigation menu. Also if someone is at the bottom of your website they’re finished and are ready to leave. So give them some direction.
3) About Page
This is a fairly obvious, but often overlooked page for mailing list forms. If someone is reading your about page they’re interested enough to learn what the purpose of your website is.
SO:
1) Always make your about page about your website and what it’s unique selling point is (no one cares about you until after they have some sort of relationship established with you). Include information about you, but only what is relevant like your credentials and why you founded the site in the first place.
2) Have multiple in-content forms. Not off to the side, but in the content. So open with a greeting explaining what the site is for example. Then provide an email opt-in form. Then talk about the website more for a bit and any media attention you have received. Then provide an opt-in form at the bottom (so you would have two opt-in forms altogether on your about page).
4) In the sidebar – very top
This is the classic website real estate spot for mailing list forms. If you’re running an email list, visitors expect at the very least to have some sort of subscription option located in the top of the side bar. If you move it down in the sidebar, this does affect conversion because it looks like a secondary feature.
5) Leaderboard – above the content, below the navigation bar & logo
Another classic spot. This will typically be your highest converting area. Have a large rectangular email form centered on the page that is situated below your logo and navigation bar, but above the rest of the site. Also make sure it’s centered. It look unprofessional and strange if it’s off to the left or right.
6) Pop-ups
Pop-up images can work extremely well (known as “lightbox pop-ups”) even better than the leaderboard spot for some websites. BUT you need to test them to see if they work on your traffic or if it annoys them. If your conversion rate goes up and your traffic time on site stays the same, it works.[/expand]
DESIGN TEMPLATES FOR YOUR EMAILS
Design templates are for the actual emails themselves. When you open up an email from a list you’re subscribed to, the list owner can customize that email as much or as little as they want.
Some list owners don’t want to bother with HTML templates because to custom design a template requires paying a design professional. Then, actually implementing the template for mass email adds a level of complexity to a relatively simple process. Also, HTML templates break. Meaning they won’t always look right to everyone on your list.
Instead, most prefer to send out simple text based emails like you would recieve from anyone else.
Other list owners customize slightly:
I personally like a minimalist design
by using hyperlinks for colors,
making the text body an
easy to read column,
like I have done here,
and keeping the fonts
and and text sizes readable but broke up.
Others go all out:
You can send out amazingly beautiful customized emails if you have the money or the coding skills. Here is some inspiration from Mail Chimp. While beautiful, also include a plain text version for those who have systems that do not support advance HTML or CSS.
Resources to “do it yourself”:
Six Revisions Guide to Creating HTML Templates
BeautifulEmails.com video series on HTML Template Design:
Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3
IDEAS FOR YOUR EMAIL LIST STRATEGY
You have an email list and people signing up…now what?
The sign-up process
First, go through the sign-up process for someone else’s list. What do you notice?
You submit your email.
Then you’re directed to another page that tells you to check your email.
You check your email and confirm your email.
When you click the link to confirm, you’re then sent to a “thank you” page.
You then receive the give-away via email.
The parts you need to customize
This is the standard process for signing up for an mailing list. Let’s go over the what and the why.
Check your email
First off, that page telling you to “check your email” can either be a custom page you make in WordPress OR it can be a page from your mailing list management company. The way it works is that when you’re logged into your list management service account you have the option to make your list:
Double opt-in
Single opt-in
Double means the person needs to confirm their email again after submitting it the first time to actually be on your list. Single means they submit their email once and that’s it. You want double opt-in because:
List size DOES NOT MATTER.
List quality and responsiveness matters.
You want people who actually want to be on your list.
The bigger your list the more money it costs. So keep it to people who want to be on it.
Once you’ve select double opt-in you must set a confirmation page. You can either make one yourself and plug in the URL when logged into your list management account or you can use a confirmation page from your list management company. Does not matter which one you decide to do. I usually just use the list management companies page.
Thank you page
Once someone confirms their email, you have the option to direct that confirmation link to either a custom “thank you” page you make in WordPress or to a page from your list management company. Obviously, the thank you page is a wonderful opportunity for another call to action:
Link to your Facebook, Twitter account or YouTube page.
Promote any products or services you offer.
Offer a surprise bonus or discount on something.
Link to your most popular content.
Set expectations for your list.
Say thanks for subscribing.
This is the end of the process so direct people to do something.
Delivering the free bonus
The bonus is delivered automatically in an autoresponder you set up. So no worries about doing it manually every time.
You can set it to send an autoreponder (a second email after they confirm) with a link to a page where they can download the ebook, audio or video.
You can also instead set it to send the ebook or materials directly in that email with no link to any page. It depends on how you wish to deliver your bonus.
You could also have a download link to the bonus on the thank-you page they were sent to when they confirmed if you like, but it’s best to send a second email with a link to a different page to get access to your bonus.
It’s easier to manage as you will have a “thank you” page, and you will also have a page for your bonus. It’s also easier because it directs people better.
Side note: Make sure to set your bonus page to “no-index” so search engines don’t index and rank your bonus page. You only want people to access this page who sign up for your list <img src="http://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f60e.png" alt="