Affiliates are the lifeblood of any online business and they're often the first contact you have with people who join your affiliate network or website. They help convince other people about your products and services and therefore their opinion is important. But if you don't make them feel special enough when you introduce yourself as an affiliate, then it's likely that these new customers will never turn into long-term clients. That means losing out on potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars over time!
So what should you say to potential affiliates before they become a customer? Should it be something like "Hi there" or "Welcome"? Or maybe something more personal like "I'm glad we've met". To find out which greeting works best, read our guide to affiliate welcome emails below.
It's easy to see why so many marketers believe in email marketing - after all, almost everyone has an inbox full of spam each day from various sources. But does this mean that email marketing is always going to work well for affiliates? The answer depends largely on the type of product or service you offer and whether you want to drive traffic back to your site.
If you sell digital downloads (like ebooks) then sending regular newsletters would probably not benefit you much because most people aren't interested in reading lengthy articles. However, if you sell physical items such as books, CDs, DVDs, clothing etc., then email campaigns may prove useful. In fact, some studies show that email marketing results in higher sales than social media advertising. So here's our list of the top 10 reasons why you need to get started with email marketing today.
1. Email Marketing Can Be Used As A Lead Generation Tool
Email marketing can also be used effectively as a lead generation tool. When you send out promotional messages to your mailing lists, you'll usually receive responses from those who are already interested in buying your product or signing up to your newsletter. If you follow the right steps, you could end up building relationships based on trust and rapport with these leads, turning them into loyal customers. You can even add value to these contacts by offering advice and tips on how to better serve their needs. This makes email marketing one of the easiest ways to generate qualified leads.
2. It Is Easier Than Other Digital Advertising Methods
You might think that paid ads on Facebook and Google AdWords are easier to implement but they require a lot more effort compared to email marketing. For instance, if you have a small budget, getting the word out through social media won't cost very much at all. And while you'd still pay for PPC ads, it only costs $0.10 per click, whereas you'd spend $5-$15 depending on where you place your ad on Facebook.
3. It Works Even With An Unconventional Product
As mentioned above, email marketing is great for selling physical goods too. People love receiving personalized offers that relate directly to their interests and hobbies. Plus, since it's so simple to set up, it doesn't matter if you don't know anything about computers or coding. Just sign up for MailChimp and let them handle everything else. All you need to worry about is writing good quality content every week and making sure your subscribers stay engaged.
4. It Makes Your Brand Recognizable
When you promote your company using email marketing, it helps build brand recognition across platforms. After all, people tend to remember brands rather than individual products. Not only that, but when you share links to relevant blog posts, infographics, videos and images via email, you're helping to raise awareness of your company. And once you establish credibility among your audience, they're less likely to forget about you later down the line.
5. It Builds Trust By Offering Value
People hate feeling ripped off and being treated unfairly. Therefore, when you give away valuable information for free in exchange for a person's name and email address, you're creating instant goodwill between you and your readers/subscribers. This builds trust and rapport, paving the way for future interactions and opportunities to convert prospects into paying customers.
6. It Helps Create Loyal Customers
One of the best things about email marketing is that you can keep in touch with your existing customers regularly. This keeps them coming back for more, especially during times of change (such as seasonal demands). Regular communication allows you to provide helpful updates on events or promotions happening around the same time as well as highlight changes within your own business.
7. It Boosts Sales Quickly
By encouraging repeat purchases and referrals, email marketing can boost revenue quickly. Once you've established a relationship with your current and prospective customers, you'll no longer need to rely solely upon traditional methods of advertising. Instead, you can focus on growing your brand and increasing profits without worrying about spending money on expensive TV commercials.
8. It Gives You More Control Over Your Message Content
With email marketing, you can control exactly what kind of message gets sent to your subscriber base. You can choose to send out generic messages whenever possible or tailor specific ones to appeal to different audiences. You can also decide whether you want to send weekly, biweekly or monthly communications. There are plenty of tools available that allow you to schedule automated emails throughout the year so you don't have to deal with manually managing multiple accounts.
9. It Allows You To Focus On What Matters Most
When you run a successful online business, you shouldn't waste precious resources trying to chase after random visitors. Instead, you should concentrate on improving your conversion rates by focusing on your core target market. Sending out targeted emails to your subscribers will ensure that you reach the right people.
10. It Creates Long Term Relationships
The key thing to understand about email marketing is that it builds lasting connections. Many businesses go ahead and try to woo their customers by providing discounts or deals. While this tactic certainly succeeds sometimes, it comes at a high price. These kinds of tactics encourage short term thinking which ultimately ends up costing the business more in the long run.
Cold email refers to direct messaging people outside of your usual customer base. Typically, this involves reaching out to people who didn't buy from you previously or haven't purchased yet. Cold emailing isn't just limited to asking for reviews either – you can also use this method to invite non-buyers to a webinar or event.
There are two main types of cold emails you can send. One option is to send a general message to anyone who hasn't bought from you before. Another option is to send a tailored email to individuals who fit certain criteria.
Here's how to craft a cold email that converts:
To begin, identify your ideal buyer persona. Who are they? Where did you meet them? How old are they? What do they look like? Do they live near you? Are they male or female?
Once you've got answers to these questions, you can move onto finding similar buyers and starting conversations. Here are a few ideas of how to go about doing this:
Find Similar Buyer Persona Using Social Media
Social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter are great places to hunt for people who match your prospect profile. Simply search the profiles of people who seem to fit your requirements. Then strike up conversations with them and ask questions about their experiences.
Ask Friends & Family About Their Experience with Your Products
Another way to find similar buyers is to talk to friends and family members. Ask them if they ever considered purchasing something similar to yours. Also, ask them if they had any problems with it. Finally, tell them about the experience you had with your previous supplier.
Use Online Forums to Find Potential Buyers
Online forums are another fantastic source of data for identifying potential buyers. Search for threads discussing the topic of interest. Look for comments made by real users instead of bots. See if you can connect with individuals whose opinions align with yours.
Get Feedback From Previous Clients
Finally, check out testimonials left by satisfied customers. Read what they said about your product and compare it against others. Pay attention to the common themes running through their feedback. Does it include words like ‘easy’,'simple' and 'efficient'? Did they mention something along the lines of “you saved me hours of research and trial and error”? If so, you may have found a winner.
Below are several sample emails you can use to warm up your cold email campaign. Feel free to tweak them according to your preferences. Remember though, these samples were written specifically for B2B businesses.
Dear [Name],
We’ve been working together for quite some time now and it looks like we have a mutual understanding of our respective strengths and weaknesses. We both agree that we’d really enjoy having each other’s support in achieving success.
That’s why we’re delighted to announce our partnership agreement. Starting immediately, we’ll team up to increase sales volume and improve profitability for both of us.
You've just joined the affiliate network and are ready to start sending out promotional materials to potential customers. But who should you contact first? How do you get them interested in what you have to offer? And once they're on board, how do you keep them coming back for more products?
Fortunately, there's no shortage of resources online about all things affiliate marketing. While it may seem daunting at first to try to learn everything there is to know about this industry, if you follow those tips below, you'll soon find yourself getting paid commissions from your efforts!
Affiliate programs provide their members with plenty of opportunities to earn money through referrals. Whether you want to make commission off other people's success or build your own brand as an expert in your field, you will need some kind of referral system set up before starting any campaign.
The process of setting one up isn't too difficult but requires a lot of patience and persistence. Fortunately, most affiliate networks will give you access to tools like welcome emails templates that help speed up the whole process. These allow you to quickly create a personalized message to introduce yourself to anyone who joins your affiliate program and invites others to join, too.
In this post we show you several different ways to craft these messages so that you can easily customize them to fit your needs. You don't even have to pay anything extra to use them -- each one comes with a license key attached so you can download it instantly without paying a dime.
We also include a few affiliate marketing best practices in our list of tips that will help you avoid common mistakes when approaching potential clients (and keep you safe while doing so).
Before you begin writing your welcome email, make sure you understand exactly which type of affiliate program you signed up for. The best way to ensure you're using the correct information is to check the terms and conditions of your agreement. Here, you can find out whether the company offers multiple levels of commissions, such as tiered commissions based on the amount of sales generated, or flat commissions where you only receive payment after meeting certain milestones.
If you see tiers of commissions, then you might consider building relationships with your current affiliates until you reach the top tier. This allows you to work together to achieve greater results than you would alone, thus increasing your earning power. If you aren't offered tiers, however, you still have options. For example, you could focus on promoting high-quality content rather than low-priced items. Or you could look into creating a product within the same niche as your affiliate partners and sell it alongside theirs.
Once you've decided upon the structure of your affiliate program, you'll need to decide how much time you want to spend working with them. Generally speaking, you shouldn't expect to be able to generate huge amounts of income immediately. Instead, you should plan to invest around half a day per week looking over reports and statistics. Once you become comfortable with your numbers, you can increase your investment to two hours per day.
After establishing a schedule, you can go ahead and choose the topics you'd like to promote. Don't forget to take advantage of the various features available within your affiliate dashboard to further optimize your campaigns. It doesn't hurt to play around with settings here either. Some platforms let you change colors, fonts, images, layouts, and so forth. In fact, many people swear by color schemes built specifically for affiliate marketing.
For example, blue has long been associated with trustworthiness. So why not add a touch of blue to your welcome email to reassure readers that you won't pressure them into signing up?
Finally, remember to treat every person you meet as a potential customer. After all, everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated, especially early on in the relationship. By showing respect, you demonstrate confidence in your abilities, making it easier for them to open up to you later down the line.
Now that you know what types of questions you should be asking during your initial outreach, it's time to put all of that knowledge to good use. Before you hit "Send" on your welcome email, be sure to read through the following tips carefully. They'll help you tailor your message to appeal to specific groups of people, ensuring your message gets noticed.
When crafting your personal introduction, always lead with something positive. Acknowledge a previous accomplishment or compliment another member of your team. Then move onto explaining why they should sign up now. Be careful not to come across as overly pushy, though. People often shy away from affiliate marketers who appear desperate. Instead, stay professional and friendly throughout.
To encourage existing affiliates to refer new ones, you should mention past successes whenever possible. When introducing an important piece of software or service, explain how it solves a problem for them personally. To close strong, offer a special incentive to entice them to pass along your name to friends. Remember, the goal here is to establish rapport and gain their trust.
Once you've established your credibility, you can dive deeper into the finer points of your product or service. Explain how much value it brings to its users. Describe how it enhances their lives. Point out how it makes their jobs easier. Showcase testimonials from satisfied customers. Finally, emphasize how easy it is to implement. Even better, incorporate helpful videos or interactive widgets that illustrate how simple it really is to use.
If you're selling digital goods, you should probably attach screenshots or descriptions of the contents included in your package. Otherwise, you risk alienating consumers who prefer physical products.
While it's true that you can create an effective welcome email without prior experience, having a clear understanding of how to format and style your subject lines goes a long way towards improving your chances of being chosen as an affiliate.
As mentioned earlier, blue has historically been associated with trustworthiness. That said, it's usually considered bad form to use this color exclusively. Instead, pair it with complementary shades like yellow or green. They represent warmth, friendliness, and optimism, respectively.
Also, it never hurts to remind recipients that you're offering valuable advice. Just because you're trying to persuade them toward a particular decision doesn't mean you can't acknowledge that they already made a wise choice.
Another thing to keep in mind is the importance of brevity. As tempting as it may be to fill every inch of space you have with keywords, think twice before going overboard. Most people scan text quickly, meaning shorter sentences tend to hold their attention longer.
Lastly, pay attention to grammar and punctuation. Spelling errors or incorrect sentence structures are likely to confuse your audience and distract them from your main point. Always proofread your copy before hitting "send."
There's nothing quite like sending out a warm greeting to a new client. However, it takes a little finesse to pull it off successfully. Follow these guidelines to ensure you stand a chance of pleasing both parties involved.
First, make sure you address your correspondence correctly. When referring to a prospective client, always capitalize his or her last name. Doing so shows professionalism and establishes authority. Also, spell the recipient's name correctly. The most common mistake is misplacing letters between vowels. For instance, instead of saying "Jill Smith," say "JILL SMITH."
Next, you should briefly describe yourself. Mentioning your background or skills gives prospects reason to believe you were born to handle the job they hired you for. Avoid sounding boastful, though. Letting them know that you worked hard to acquire your qualifications demonstrates humility. At the very least, state the level of education you achieved.
It's okay to brag about your accomplishments, provided you do it tactfully. Your objective is to convince clients to hire you, not to embarrass them. Still, you can highlight your expertise and achievements by mentioning relevant projects you completed previously. Keep in mind that you're competing against hundreds of thousands of applicants for the limited number of positions available.
Don't make promises you can't deliver. Never promise a sale unless you're absolutely confident in your ability to complete the project. Likewise, you shouldn't tell clients that you'll perform tasks outside of your area of specialization. Prospects generally place great faith in professionals who specialize in their fields of study.
Finally, end your e-mail appropriately. Avoid phrases like "best regards" or "hope to hear from you soon!" Since your goal is to obtain a commitment, your closing should reflect your desire to continue communicating regularly. Use words like "please" and "thank you" liberally since these words express gratitude and politeness.
Welcome letters are one of those things every marketer should know about. They’re great because they give people who have joined your list something extra to look forward to each month (or even each week). And if done right, it gives them more incentive to continue to work with you and to refer others on too!
In this post we will show you some tips on writing a good welcome letter so you can get all the benefits of having a regular greeting card for your customers. These include getting their attention, encouraging them to stay loyal, making them feel special, and giving them a reason to talk about you...
If you're looking for more ways to encourage prospective customers to join your team then check out our guide on using social media to increase sales. It's also worth noting that there are different types of "welcome" cards available online - if you want to see what else is available take a peek at these 10 affiliate welcome e-cards you need to read before starting your own campaign.
The first thing you'll probably notice when reading through our list below is that many of them are written as though they were invitations to events or holiday parties rather than just simple messages from the heart. If you've ever been to an event like this where everyone has received a personalized message, you know exactly why this works well. You might not always remember to thank people after such occasions but after receiving a personal touch like this, you tend to think fondly of the person behind the words and appreciate the effort put into the communication. This makes us feel connected to them, which is important for building rapport.
Asking people to become part of your network shouldn't come across as cold or impersonal either. Your goal here is to make sure that whoever receives your message feels valued and appreciated, which means you don't need to sound overly formal yet still keep it friendly enough to be inviting. As long as you have a genuine interest in helping your target audience, everything else follows naturally.
For example, try replacing "Dear Customer," with something like "Hi [name], my name is ____." Then add in the details about yourself and what value you offer. For example, instead of saying "I'm delighted to finally meet you", you could say "I'm happy to finally meet you and learn more about your needs".
Or, if you prefer a less direct style, you could go with something like this:
"Hello [Name], I hope this email finds you well. My name is __________ and I'd love to help you achieve success with your website."
You may find it easier to start off with something like this:
"Good morning/afternoon/evening, [Name]. Thank you for choosing me to represent your company. My name is [your full name] and I am excited to begin working together!"
Then follow up later with something like this:
"Now that we've met, let's chat soon about how I can help you grow your business!"
When welcoming new clients, you can choose between two approaches. The first option is to simply invite them back over again, while the second involves asking them to return the favor and recommend you to other potential clients. When sending a warm welcome letter to a new customer, it doesn't matter whether you opt for the first or second method since both techniques will lead to positive results.
However, if you decide to send a recommendation to another prospect, you must ensure that your content is tailored specifically towards your recipient. In addition, you should avoid sounding too promotional, especially if you want your client to remain anonymous. Instead, focus on providing useful advice based on years of experience in this industry.
It’s also common practice to provide a discount code to entice new clients to sign up. Make sure to only provide discounts to existing customers though, otherwise you risk losing credibility.
Finally, you should never forget to mention any promotions going on within your organization. There’s nothing worse than signing up for a service without knowing anything about its terms and conditions. So make sure you highlight any offers being offered during the period of time that you’ll be working together.
There isn’t really a “best” type of welcome email, though what matters most is finding the style that suits you best. After all, no one wants to receive a generic email that seems uninspired. That said, here are five ideas that we believe are effective and easy to implement.
1) A short letter explaining why you chose to work with the specific individual. Include information regarding your background and expertise in order to build trust and confidence.
2) An invitation to connect via phone or Skype sometime soon.
3) Personalized stationery with handwritten notes inside.
4) Handwritten cards sent directly to the recipient.
5) Emails sent via SMS text messaging services.
So now you know how to write a proper welcome email for your clients, but how do you actually deliver it? Here are three methods that you can use to reach out to your prospects.
Email blast
A mass email blast allows you to contact hundreds, thousands, or millions of individuals at once. Email blasts are typically used for promoting new products or services, announcing upcoming changes to policies or procedures, or conducting seasonal campaigns.
Bypassing the inboxes of your subscribers, an email blast goes straight to your contacts' spam folders, ensuring that your recipients won't miss out on your next opportunity to engage with them. Sending a mass email blast requires prior planning, however, so it's recommended that you test your lists before proceeding.
Automated welcome emails
An automated welcome email sends pre-recorded messages to interested leads automatically. While this technique saves you the hassle of manually creating emails, you lose control over the timing and quality of your outreach efforts. Plus, depending on the length of the recording(s), you might end up wasting valuable bandwidth and money.
Manual welcome emails
While manual welcome emails are perhaps the least desirable form of outreach, they aren't completely ineffective. Even if you have limited resources, you can still manage to produce impressive results by employing strategic scheduling tactics. Just bear in mind that you'll need to spend significant amounts of time preparing your emails ahead of time.
Keep in mind that you should never send duplicate emails to multiple leads. Doing so will likely result in lost conversions due to confusion. In fact, you should consider using software solutions that allow you to automate the process of collecting names and addresses in bulk.
Another way to reduce wasted time would be to utilize tools that help you schedule future communications. With these kinds of systems, you can set reminders for scheduled emails and notifications for new activity related to your account.
Remember to always use permission-based autoresponders whenever possible. Otherwise, you run the risk of annoying your readers with constant emails.
How to send a referral bonus email
Referral bonuses are basically rewards given to members of your community for referring clients to you. Some businesses reward their top contributors with cash payments, while others award gift certificates or vouchers. Whatever kind of bonus you choose to offer, make sure to clearly state the rules associated with it beforehand.
Here are four key points to keep in mind when communicating the purpose of your referral incentives:
Be clear about the exact amount you plan to pay out
Set expectations upfront about how often referrals will be required throughout the duration of your relationship
Make sure to communicate that referrals are voluntary, as opposed to mandatory
Don't force anyone to participate in exchange for compensation
Once you've finalized the specifics of your referral bonus scheme, you can sit down with your staff and explain how it will operate. Keep in mind that the majority of people won't be able to afford to purchase expensive items outright. Therefore, you should aim to compensate them generously for introducing new clients. Depending on the nature of your product or service, you may give away a percentage of commissions earned or provide a certain number of credits toward a larger purchase price.
For instance, if you sell digital downloads, you might provide $10 credit per download sold. Alternatively, if you sell physical goods, you might give away 50% of profits made. Regardless of the method chosen, make sure that your employees understand that the main objective is to generate word-of-mouth publicity.
After you've discussed your plans with your team, it's time to draft your actual referral bonus email. To put it briefly, the following guidelines apply:
Start off with an introduction. Explain why you decided to participate in the giveaway and what motivated you to share your knowledge with others.
Offer your followers a chance to win a prize. Most importantly, emphasize that participation is entirely optional.
Ask your fans to spread the word. Offer them a small incentive to promote the contest among their friends and family. Encourage them to pass along your URL link in exchange for the incentive.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.