Building Bonds From Mailing Lists Having Multiple Interests

Hi everyone ...

Yesterday I spoke about how to find out who on your list is interested in what different types of products and/or services that you sell. The action I suggested to take assumed you "already" had a list of subscribers, but did not know their specific interests.

Before I continue with the next step to take with your list, let me just point out that some web-based email systems provide you with a sign-up form for your webpages that will allow you to include multiple fields (for notating specific interests) in the sign-up form. If this is available, use it and you will already have some specific demographics within your mailing list.

Ok ... let's go forward now. You have your list and you have contacts who have identified their specific interests within your business. Writing to your reader's specific interests will build the bond between the reader and your business. Any readers who see info on items not of interest simply place your business on the sideline or totally distance themselves from you. Nothing in it for them. It only takes one wrong mailing!

So how can you build bonds with multiple interests? There are several ways..

1. As covered yesterday, strive to keep your mailings to "all contacts" generic. Make sure it is information that "everyone" is interested in.
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2. If you must still mention specific interests within your generic mailings do the following: After writing some general content you can make individual paragraphs per interest notating that the interest in the headline. For example, a headline might be, "For Those Interested In Swimming, here are January updates". The next paragraph headline might be, "For Those Interested In Senior Bingo, here are January Bingo Game dates." You are still taking a chance with losing someone's interest so to make it more of a direct connection for each reader, put a summary at the top with links to each section so they don't have to go scroll through each paragraph that they don't care about.
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   Rmember the golden rule of online communication is make all content convenient to an interest and remove any need to think!
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3. Check and see if your web-based email system has a "dynamic rule" feature. This is where you can create one mailing, BUT... you create several optional individualized paragraphs per specific interest that the email system will automatically insert! It works this way - after you write your generic content you can arrive at an interest paragraph and insert the "dyanmic rule" that all contacts who have "swimming" in the database field #345 will have "paragraph #1" inserted, all contacts who have "Bingo" in the database field #345 will have "paragraph #2" inserted, etc. Creates individualized mailings and you only need to create and send one mailing. Let me know if you have questions on this ... it is a feature not found in all web-based email systems.
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4. You can also simply send out individualized mailings in addition to your monthly generic mailings ... of course by specific interests.

Just always remember how you feel when you walk into a "live" networking/business group and they are not talking about something that is of interest to your needs. What do you do? Usually people walk on .... ! Same reactions occur when reading! Use your mailings to create bonds, not destroy them.

Let me know what you think about the above. It might seem like a lot of work .. but you are really making business easier for yourself in the long run plus creating strong and loyal clients! As always, please share your thoughts via a comment or two!

Keep your business growing ...
margie