How to Avoid Sending Meatloaf Recipes to VegetariansSix Steps to Killer Email Marketing

Step One: Build Your List

1. Data Entry Is Really Boring, but…a. The more data you collect now, the more dynamic your email

marketing later.2. Create “Buckets” such as…

a. Referral Sourcesb. Prospects

a. First Time Home Buyersb. Damaged Credit

3. Dynamic Lists are the Bomba. As opposed to “Static Lists” which still serve a purpose

Step Two: Content is King

1. Automate what you can.a. Timely + Relevant = Successb. Here are a few ongoing “campaigns” that can be automated

a. Mortgage Checkupsb. Home Sales/Activity Reports

2. Use Google Reader to Get Local.a. If we can get online: I’ll demonstrate GR

3. Fatigue = Game Overa. One email per month = recommended frequencyb. Supplement with your own killer content as you’re able

4. Two Most Common Content Mistakes I See:a. Sending technical content to non-technical peopleb. Sending rate information to your DB ad nauseum

Step Three: Your Subject Line

1. Avoid Keyword Traps!!!!a. Freeb. Creditc. Mortgage (yes, Mortgage!)

2. Try to keep your subject lines > 50 charactersa. For example, this subject line is 52 characters long

3. Personalize Your Subject Line via Mail Merge4. Be Conversational Don’t Make It Seem Like Marketing

a. Example: “Hi Jonas, I Thought You’d Enjoy This Article”b. Example: “Hi Jonas, Would You Mind If I Give You a Call?”c. Example: “Hi Jonas, Quick FYI – Rates are Trending Down Today”

Step Four: Love Your Body Copy

1. ALWAYS Mail Merge Your Introductiona. It’s really easy to do.

2. Do love reading really long emails?a. Chances are, your database doesn’t either. Keep it short.

3. WWMMD (What Would Mark Madsen Do?)a. Hyperlink out to your Blog/Website, of course.

4. Get Your Audience to Interact With You via:a. Trivia (assuming you’re still awake, someone please ask me

how this can be done)b. Contestsc. Videod. Fun = Good … try sending something that will be forwarded on

Step Five: Timing is Everything

1. Business to Business (ie: Referral Sources)a. Tuesday – Thursday between 9am and 3:30pm

2. Business to Consumer (ie: Prospects/Clients)a. Evenings and Weekends are more effective because you are

reaching your audience during leisure time.

Step Six: Call Behind

1. When you:a. Use an Email Service Providerb. Send Email via HTML

2. Then you can:a. See who is clicking on your emails in real time

3. Which means you might want toa. Call behind to deepen those relationships and drive referrals