Can we group source an answer for a dear friend who’s looking to fill a program?
I know… we don’t want it to be “All about the numbers”. We’re heart based entrepreneurs. We hear “the money is in the list”, but we don’t want to believe it.
This blog post is going to crunch a few numbers, but for the sake of helping a friend. Want to pitch in your advice?
Keep reading to hear a little more about the story.
Once again I’m listening to someone in tears about a program she wants to offer (it’s a first run offer. Her list hasn’t heard of her talking about this before (it’s a program she has dreamed about offering for a long time, but only told close friends about). The people on her email list will be hearing about her expertise in this area for the first time this week. It’s NEW to them.
She has 400 people on her email list. She’s worked hard to get this many people to sign up over the past 2 years. When I asked some questions I found she sends out messages when something new is happening, but not a regular newsletter, tip or nugget of wisdom. So, she doesn’t really now what her typical open rate is, or how many people click through on an offer.
Earlier this week she sent out 1 email and 2 people signed up immediately. She was thrilled. But, she HOPES that 40 people will sign up for her new 4 week program, priced at $297
I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I’m worried it won’t be possible by just sending out emails.
(Please know I’m all about optimism & I wear rose colored glasses most of the time too! This was a bit of a wake up call when I first learned this lesson too. This story could just as easily be about me!)
Here’s the numbers:
It’s pretty normal to have lower than 50% open rate (mine hovers around 38% )
If she has 400 on her list, that means 200 people will open (at best)
Of those 200 people who open her email, it’s unlikely more than 25% will click through on any link (My current click rate is 17%)
So…50 people might click through.
Of those remaining 50 people – some will find the offer appealing, but might not take action immediately. That’s super normal.
They’ll need a few reminders. with similar open rates.
And when she leads people to her sales / offer page, there’s a whole new set of numbers.
Conversions on a well written sales page might be as high as 50% (although industry standards suggest they are closer to 20%)
400 x 50% = 200 people see the email
200 x 20% = 40 people click through to see the sales page
40 x 25 % = 10 people may purchase
With 400 people on her list, and really consistent messaging, she could hope for 10 sign ups – more would be a great gift.
Let’s help her solve this!
So, what’s the answer? Do she send more frequent emails to make sure more people open them? (and possibly get some unsubscribes?) Quickly get more people to sign up for her list? Find people on Social Media? Send lots of emails with high value content and hope for a higher open rate? Maybe write personal messages to the people who have clicked through to see if they have questions?
OR – does she shift her goal to a more realistic number for this current offering, or maybe even invite some people into the program for free?
What would you recommend? Let’s help her solve this problem.
I’d suggest a free 20 minutes or more content-based webinar. About 25% of people who sign up for a webinar will attend live and maybe 30% of them will purchase. Then of course more will listen to the webinar and some of those will purchase. But 40 for a brand-new offering to a group that doesn’t really know her? I’d say she’s aiming a bit high.
Robert Plank is starting a new round of Webinar Crusher today – he and Lance are excellent at teaching a lot of actionable content in a short time-frame. She might want to take a look.
Great post!! I suggest that she both lower her expectations and try some other avenues, like social media. She also could create a free webinar and email the info about to her list.
How could she (with not much notice) either get in front of more of her target market and/or have people share for her? In other words, can she be featured by people with audiences who would benefit from what she has to offer (e.g. guest posts, webinars, etc.)? And can she have past clients, colleagues and affiliates market for her?
I adore this idea Leanne. Possible the 2 people who signed up immediately might be good clients to approach & ask if they are interested in helping bring in more like minded customers. I do wonder if getting in front of new audiences, with a short time frame would provide much value, as it often takes time for people to get to know, like and trust. But it’s certainly possible. Great ideas! Thank you!
When people unsubscribe it isn’t as bad as you think. It weeds out the people who don’t plan on buying anyway. Your friend should reset her goals while trying to increase her list. Blogging, putting her list url on her business cards, and driving traffic to the opt in page should be her strategy. Wish her all the success!
Yeah, that’s my gut feeling too! Accept working with a slightly smaller group for this first round & work towards building a larger reach for the next event. And, I completely agree.
Great post Loralee. From my current experience doing The Youth Empowerment Telesummit, I find it’s a combination of things. Having a more realistic number in mind is a good idea – it’s less painful, however, you have to constantly promote the heck out it and try to grow your list. Even then, there’s no guarantee you’ll get as many people on your list as you hope for, but you have to try and never give up.
You can also ask friends and current clients to help promote you. Raising awareness of you and your business is an ongoing process and must be a daily to do item.
Good luck to your friend. And thanks for putting those numbers out there like that, a good does of reality is always a good thing.
Absolutely! Try and never give up! Love that Julia. And I will remind her to call on her friends & colleagues to help promote. Great idea. Thank you!
Email marketing is just one element of a strong marketing mix, especially online. These days, online marketing is all about content. Does she regularly post new content on her website? A growing website will attract more visitors, then more subscribers. A bigger list = more sales. Does she post articles in her area of expertise on other sites in her niche? Those articles stay online and will drive readers to her site. Does she offer to do free webinars? This would be a good way to get followers. Naturally she should tweet regularly and post great interactive content on FB, too.
Great questions Kathy. She does create relatively consistent content for her blog (she’s in a health niche) but this program content is slightly different from her regular offering. Which is why I was concerned that people on her list are hearing about this for the very first time. Your comment about webinars triggered something. I wonder if she could release an mp3 recording as a sampling (It would fit well into this scenario) and give people a sampling of what the program could be like.
Love this – great ideas here today!