Follow-Ups Are Trust-Builders and Income-Generators

How many products or freebies do you have floating around on your website?  When people sign up for or purchase one of these products, do they hear from you again?  And I’m not talking about the autosubscribe to your newsletter.  I’m talking about a follow-up campaign that keeps building trust with those who have already shown interest.

I’m sure you’ve heard it before that repeat customers are more willing to purchase from you than a newbie.  I’m sure you know that keeping in touch with them will create more income for you.  Right?  Then, why focus SO much attention on getting them to download or purchase something if you aren’t going to continue to harness that relationship?

I’ve seen it all too often.  An experienced coach who is GREAT at attracting new clients, but has 20 different lists in their autoresponder that they haven’t spoken to since the day they purchased or downloaded something.  That’s lost money right there!!  A follow-up campaign can keep you in touch with them and when they are looking for the next thing you offer, they will be ready to buy!

If you want to successfully build a relationship with this group of people, here are a few important things to consider when setting up your follow-up campaign:

1)  If your autoresponder system allows for an HTML and a text version of your messages, use both! A branded HTML e-mail is going to be remembered sooner than a plain text e-mail.  So, you want to make sure that you get that branding in front of anyone who is willing to accept an HTML e-mail.   This will reinforce that they already know you which increases your trust factor and continues to help them remember who you are.

2)  Be consistent. If you get wishy-washy in who you are within different e-mails, people will subconsciously think you are wishy-washy as a business owner.  Do you trust wishy-washy business owners?  Make sure everything is consistent; your signature, your logo, your colors, your subject (not word for word identical, but have the same format and feel).

3)  Be conversational. From the opt-in message to the 3 month follow-up message, have a conversation with your reader.  Share with them who you are as a business.  Ask questions.  Encourage them to write you back.  Invite them to participate with you in the design process.  Offer them special opportunities because they are in a certain group of people.  This kind of special treatment creates a sense that you care about them (you do, right?).  Hmm…don't you automatically trust people who seem to care about you?

4)  Be a coach. As a coach you have a unique opportunity to start challenging their thinking.  Do it in every e-mail that goes out.  They may not get it right away, but if you have a campaign built around one concept and you keep coming at it from different ways, they are going to eventually get it and when they do, they will clear on your expertise.  They'll trust that you know what you are talking about and will buy from you again, when they are ready.

5) Provide opportunity. In every e-mail you want to provide them an opportunity to continue THEIR growth.  Do this by sharing resources, pointing towards other opportunities (that are the next step in your marketing funnel) etc…  Again, showing you care about their well-being builds trust.

Every purchase or download  is an opportunity for you and your potential clients.  Treat them with respect, be transparent and make sure you get your branding in front of them as often as possible through the entire campaign.  In the long-run this will create trust, leading to more purchases and more clients!

What are your thoughts on follow-up campaigns?

Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert

Kristen Beireis is the Trust Marketing Expert for Group Coaching Mastery. She helps coaches and other personal transformation professionals establish trust through marketing.  First, she establishes a foundation that's rooted in your authentic differentiation. Then she follows up with solutions that bring consistency to everything that has your name on it — from your newsletter to your business card to your social media pages. And while she's happy to teach you how to do all this yourself, many of her clients love the way her team reduces their workload and overwhelm.

Greater trust means a shorter sales cycle, more of the right clients, and the confidence that comes from knowing your sales and marketing are in integrity with who you are as a person.