I’m going to assume from this point onwards that you already capture the contact details of your customers and that you probably have a list of former customers that you can add to your database.

Now you will want to add some more names to those lists, of potential (or future) customers. These are the people you haven’t sold anything to … yet. Now, email marketing is basically free, so there’s no financial cost involved in sending emails to non-buyers. However, you’ll get your best results by adding only potential buyers to your database.

Why is this?

Well, for one thing, the higher response rate (sales) will give you a much better idea of how well your marketing messages are working. That means you’ll be able to hone your writing skills and improve your sales still further.

Secondly, polarising your audience by concentrating on attracting those most likely to buy from you has a secondary effect – it makes those people even more likely to spend money with you. They are the people who ‘get’ you, and the sense of ‘them and us’ that this can create turns potential and actual customers into fans and advocates, who are much more likely to buy (again and again, if you let them).

The third benefit is probably the biggest of all: you won’t waste time, effort or money trying to attract a much bigger audience if you accept that quality, not quantity is the key to success, since targeted marketing is always more effective than a scattergun approach. You can speak more directly, in a common language, to the people who already understand what you’re about, and this applies in all advertising. Your marketing becomes more focused. Very often, you don’t have to persuade a customer they want something, only convince them that you can supply it, so you’re more than halfway to a sale.

This means the sales process starts with selecting your target audience, by persuading them to join your mailing list. A good place to start is with a signup form on your website. Naturally, if you need any help with this, you should contact Cinnamon Edge.

Next time we’ll look at various ways to persuade likely customers to subscribe to your email messages.