autoresponder handbook

Setting Up an Autoresponder Series, Part 2

Today I will discuss what type of content to send your prospects and when you can start pitching paid offers. Let’s get to it…

When Can You Start Pitching Paid Offers?

You’ve probably heard others use similar terms like “nurturing your list.” All of this is done with the goal of getting your subscribers to know, like and trust you so that they’ll feel comfortable enough to buy from you.

The problem is, most people really don’t know what it means to build a relationship. So these marketers build a list and spend weeks if not months offering high-quality content – for free – to their subscribers to nurture the relationship.

Then they finally ask for a sale, and they’re disappointed to get a very dismal response.

Here’s the thing…

You’re not in the business of providing free information. You’re in the business of HELPING your customers, and this help can come in both free and paid forms. Let me explain…

Let’s imagine for a moment that you have a paid product that you know – without a doubt – will solve your subscriber’s problems.

Let me give you a bit of a dramatic example just to make a point: You have a pill that will cure heart disease patients without surgery.

Just imagine if you followed the conventional wisdom of “nurturing a relationship” with your subscribers before pitching a paid product. Maybe you’d spend several weeks having subscribers go through a free e-course that teaches heart-healthy habits.

And then, finally, you’d offer up the paid solution which quickly and easily cures their heart disease.

Think about it…

Your subscribers would be mad at you. They would think they wasted several weeks reading tips that minimally helped them, while the whole time you were sitting on a cure. Do they care if it’s a paid solution?

Not at all… if the cure saves their life, they want to know about it ASAP, no matter what the price tag!

So maybe you’re not offering life or death solutions to your prospects. Nonetheless, your prospects do have problems that are causing them some sort of pain and discomfort, even if it’s a psychological or emotional pain (like embarrassment).

You can bet they want a solution as quickly as possible.

Point is, don’t hold out on your prospects. You should always offer the BEST solutions to your prospects, and it doesn’t matter if these solutions are free or paid. And it also means you should start pitching products in the very first email you send.

TIP: Ask yourself this… if your mother, father, or best friend had the same problem as your prospects, what would you tell your loved one to do? What products would you suggest?

Whatever you’d offer or recommend to your loved one is the same thing you should be offering and recommending to your list. To do anything less would be to ruin your credibility and reputation, which damages your relationship with your subscribers.

Listen, you don’t have to toss in a “hard sell” in your first emails. Soft sells and gentle recommendations will do.

But the point is, don’t be afraid to put recommendations for paid products in the very first emails you send… otherwise, you’re just training your prospects to look to you for free information, and look to someone else for product recommendations.

That’s it for this time. My next blog post would be about about how to toss product recommendations into your emails. Plus you’ll learn a slick trick for improving your conversion rate!