Engagement Series – How to Fill Your Auto-Responder (Part 2)
Welcome to part 2 in the “How to Fill Your Auto-responder” series. If you haven’t yet read part one yet, please read it first.
I’ve already smacked you over your head with analogies regarding not asking for marriage on the first date. Or asking for a sale on the first email. That strategy works out once in a while if you play the numbers game. But it comes across as pushy and / or creepy for most prospects and doing so will greatly reduce your conversion rate.
If you’re like me, you don’t want to work harder for just a few sales; you want to make your process more efficient, not less.
But just like when you’re dating, you don’t want to stay in the friend zone forever. You want to move the relationship to the next level, or you are wasting your time.
The indoctrination series was your chance to introduce yourself. Your first date. You showed who you are, where you’re from, and what you stand for.
The engagement series, or the second part of your auto-responder series’ is all about them, your prospect. But you might be wondering, what do I talk about? The answer is easy…
Ask yourself, “What is the main topic or deliverable of the lead magnet they used to sign up to your list?”
That’ll give you your answer. You want to be writing your engagement series about the topic of your lead magnet. What concerns did your lead magnet address? What solutions does it offer?
Talk specifically about the problems your clients face, and the solutions you offer, based on the lead magnet they downloaded.
For example, what if your lead magnet was “The Top 5 Ways to Ask the Girl of your Dreams Out?” You know your prospect is a male, and they want a date with their dream girl. So tell your prospect how your solution will help them find a date. And then ask for the sale.
The length of your engagement series depends on the dollar value of what you are selling. In general, they’ll start around 3 emails for an inexpensive tripwire or welcome mat offer. And they could go for several mails for a high-end product or service.
Most times though, you won’t see an engagement series last longer than 30 days. If they haven’t responded to your offer within that time frame, it’s time to start considering another offer.
One of my favorite email campaigns for an engagement series comes via Digital Marketer and is called the Gain / Logic / Fear campaign. It’s extremely powerful because it addresses all the major purchase triggers your prospect experiences.
Think about it…
Any time you buy anything it’s to gain what the purchase offers, because it logically makes sense, or because you’re scared of the result if you don’t.
Here’s how it works
Establish the Gain
The first mail of the engagement series, goes out immediately after your indoctrination series or welcome mail. It should point to a gain your prospect will get from purchasing your service or offer. For consultants, this is often a free discovery or strategy session. Yes, I said free, but because the client is offering you up 30 minutes or an hour of their time, it’s still considered a sale.
Your mail should remind the client of the big gain they were looking for when they downloaded your lead magnet. And prove the gain they’ll get by working with you.
Appeal to Their Logic
Show your prospect why it makes sense to take you up on your offer from a logic standpoint. For example, “Obviously you’re interested in losing weight, or you wouldn’t have downloaded the {x} report. You already know it takes a plan to get in shape, so why not take us up on our free lose all the weight you want planning session? It only makes sense…”
Lay out the Fear
Make the prospect realize they will regret not taking you up on your offer. Remind them of the potential gains, but only enough so they fear losing those. One way is with scarcity, but only if your offer is really scarce.
If not, one strategy is to tell the prospect this is the last time you’ll mention {your offer}. And make sure it is.
“Hey, this is the last time I’ll tell you about our free ‘Have the best year ever’ break out session, so take us up on it now.”
After that, if they don’t “buy”, move the prospect on to other lists, angles, or offers, but don’t keep presenting this exact offer.
The Gain / Logic / Fear is only one example email engagement series for this phase of your auto-responder, but it’s a powerful one that works in almost any niche. Remember this section of your series is where you’ll begin selling your products, services, free consultations, etc.
The Engagement Series
Your potential client has had the opportunity to get to know who you were because of the indoctrination, and now you want to move them down the buyer’s cycle.
Are you using an engagement series on your auto-responder? If yes, how many emails? Leave a comment below.
After your first date, it’s time to move the relationship to the next level. The same is true in your email auto-responder sequence. You want to move out of the friend zone and actually create a sale or move your prospect down the buyers funnel.