Is Email Marketing or SMS Marketing Better for Your Business?

Is Email Marketing or SMS Marketing Better for Your Business?

by | Sep 16, 2022 | SMS Marketing

For decades, email marketing has been the preferred method for sending and receiving mass messages and reaching audiences. Text (or SMS) marketing, on the other hand, is quick and cost-effective. So, which reigns supreme?

Email or SMS marketing?

In order to figure out which strategy is right for your business you need to consider factors like: cost, click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, level of engagement, open rate, and ROI – just to name a few.

In this article, we will breakdown the differences between SMS marketing and email marketing. We'll explain each strategy and demonstrate how they work, their benefits and drawbacks, and when to use them. Also, whether you should hire the services of a digital agency for help

So What Exactly Is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is mass-sending emails to people (leads or customers) on your e-mail list. The people on your list have chosen to be there. You send emails to inform current and prospective customers about new products, services, discounts, and special offers. Consider it a direct method of communicating with your customers in which you have their permission to send them promotional information. Your email list should be one of your most valuable business assets.

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Email Marketing

Approximately 125 billion emails are sent every day. Emails are an important part of any business, and it works best for delivering more detailed information. It also has a much higher ROI than many other marketing channels and is quite versatile. In fact, email campaigns can be for product updates, subscriptions, and promotions.

Here's why you should use email marketing:

It is reasonably priced – With a $40 profit for for every $1, it’s still the best ROI in the game for over 2 decades.

Emails have the ability to be personal to the recipient –Any reputable email marketing expert will tell you that this feature helps you connect with your audience. This can increase the email marketing conversion rate.

The versatility of email is unlike any other marketing tool –You can use emails to provide detailed product information, make brief announcements, and send reminders. Also, you can welcome new customers, announce special offers, follow up with leads, or simply greet your target audience.

It plays on user habits and intent – 44% of consumers check their emails at least once per day. People open emails with specific intentions, such as looking for updates, product information, or customer service. This is why email marketing is so important.

Emails are an excellent way to increase traffic to your website – You can increase the number of website visitors looking for your products or services by using targeted email marketing services. Using targeted traffic increases the ROI of email marketing.

The Cons of Email Marketing

A crowded inbox makes it difficult to capture the attention of your consumer – Every day, we all receive approximately 121 emails. When consumers sort through those emails on a daily basis, it's easy to put everything in the spam folder. In many cases your emails will end up in the same folder as spam.

Emails may not enter the recipient’s inbox – Email servers now have sophisticated filters. If your email appears to be spammy, it may be blocked from reaching your recipient's inbox. A digital agency can assist you in crafting emails that are more likely to reach your target audience's inbox.

People can easily delete or unsubscribe from emails – People may delete your emails or unsubscribe from your list for any reason. Like if they see messed up graphics, poorly written headlines, unreadable text, or blocked images. Or, simply content that isn’t relatable to them.

What Exactly Is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing is the use of text messages to communicate with customers. SMS, like email marketing, can inform your audience about promotions, campaigns, updates, news, and more.

Before sending any promotional information, both SMS and email marketing ask for your audience's permission. The CAN-SPAM Act and the Consumer Protection Act are the primary laws that protect consumers from unsolicited SMS (TCPA). These rules and guidelines are in use in all good SMS marketing examples.

SMS and email marketing are both owned channels. This means you can choose who receives your emails or text messages.  It also means you have control over the type of user experience your customers will have.

You can send the SMS marketing examples listed below:

1. Promotional SMS: These are SMS messages that are intended to raise brand awareness, promote products or services, and boost sales.

2. Transactional SMS: These are text messages that contain information that your customers require. They may include delivery updates, product specifications, and order information.

SMS Marketing's Benefits and Drawbacks

When comparing SMS marketing to email marketing, SMS has the advantage of capturing the recipient's attention right away. When you receive a text message, your phone alerts you, capturing your attention right then and there. This is why the open rate for SMS marketing is higher than the open rate for email marketing.

This sense of urgency created by the alert is both a benefit and a disadvantage for SMS marketing. On the one hand, it may compel your customers to act immediately in response to your promotion. However, if sent at the wrong time, these texts can turn off users, who will either ignore or delete them.

Let's go over the specific benefits and drawbacks of SMS marketing.

Benefits of SMS marketing:

Your customers do not require internet – It's worth noting that 15% of Americans (52 million people) today have little or no internet access. This is a massive market that is beyond the scope of any email campaign.

It has a better response rate -On average, text messages are read in three minutes. That's a response rate of up to 209 percent when compared to social media, email, or even phone calls.

It has a high level of engagement – SMS, like email marketing, is a marketing channel with higher levels of engagement than other lead generation strategies. Higher engagement levels suggests a higher SMS open rate.

Drawbacks of SMS marketing:

It has a limited amount of content space – You have only 160 characters to work with. Sending messages that short while still packing a punch requires a pretty big vocabulary.

It's more expensive -The cost of running an SMS campaign is higher than the cost of running an email campaign.

It may erode customer trust – Customers can easily lose trust with businesses that send them unwanted text messages or SMS that are poorly structured. Customers may become irritated if you send text messages at inconvenient times. This may also cause them to opt out.

What Is the Difference Between SMS and Email Marketing?

Which is better: SMS marketing or email marketing? Think about the following:

Insert the table here from the bottom of the article Chris.

One of the first things marketers notice is that the ROI of email marketing is higher than that of SMS marketing. This suggests that the conversion rate for email marketing is also higher.

These are the figures that email marketing companies will provide you with. The lower email marketing open rate, on the other hand, proves the case for SMS marketing. Text messages also have a significantly higher CTR and response rate.

The Answer: Omnichannel Marketing

Omnichannel marketing is the use of multiple marketing channels to increase your bottom line. Your business has unique needs, so balancing SMS and email marketing is recommended for better results. You have a better chance of capturing your audience's attention if you develop a marketing strategy that uses both in tandem.

When should SMS marketing be used?  To respond to customer questions, solicit feedback, promote one of your products, and collect signups for your programs. Keeping track of its usage allows you to stay within your marketing budget.

Email marketing, on the other hand, is better suited for promoting multiple products due to its lower cost. It can be used for company updates, newsletters, and a variety of marketing.

Working With a Seasoned Digital Marketing Agency

Finding the right balance between SMS and email marketing can be difficult, especially if you haven't had much success with either.  If you are looking to improve your SMS and email marketing results, connect with us today. We can help you create a customized omnichannel plan based on your budget and goals. Connect with us to learn more!

We want to help you with all of your marketing needs. Looking to step into the world of video marketing after perfecting your email and SMS strategy? Click here to meet with Jay Vics on the Meet the Experts podcast. Get your name out there!

How to Encourage Repeat Customers… Again and Again!

How to Encourage Repeat Customers… Again and Again!

by | Nov 22, 2021 | Content Marketing, Reputation Management, SMS Marketing

The greatest superpower that small business owners have is great service. With incredible service comes repeat customers and referred customers who also become repeat customers!

By providing a delightful customer experience, people remember positive interactions with your small business and eventually return to your business again and again.

Here, we reveal important ways to generate repeat customers, so you can even possibly see familiar faces return next week!

Use personal forms of communication (as well as traditional)

These suggestions assume you are actively collecting emails & phone numbers to re-engage your customers with future updates, promotions & news about your business.

Email is still the preferred medium for customer communication. Functionally, it works great. You can let customers know about your most recent deals, promotions, and new products – but at the risk of being cold. You might be coming off disconnected and formal.

SMS marketing, (also known as text marketing) can prove to be a powerhouse for customer engagement, assuming they have opted-in for it. With an open rate of nearly 99% SMS messaging puts your business message right where your customer is looking all the time – their phone.

repeat customers easily get bought back through SMS marketing

Don’t forget to add personalization to your campaigns. You want your customers to know they are thought about. It’s as simple as selecting the ‘First Name’ field into your outgoing messages and using their first name instead of just “Hey” or “Hello” “Hi”

… And can make an immediate good impression.

Remember the (repeat) customers

You can personalize the experience for your customer simply by remembering small details about them. For example, if they mentioned they have children or grandchildren – ask about how they are doing during their next visit. Are they dog lovers? Maybe ask them how their dog is doing. This is such a simple thing to do, but it makes a huge difference. Moments like these make customers want to return to your business.

Reach out to customers you haven’t heard from in a while

There are also plenty of customers who purchase from you once or twice (almost a repeat customer) then you never hear from them again. Life gets in the way! To re-capture these customers, find out who has gone quiet and reach out to them with a re-engagement offer. Send them a friendly email or text to remind them that you care and want to serve them more of what they came for in the first place.

Remember: You should never prioritize acquiring new customers over satisfying existing ones.

Why?

It can cost up to 5x more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one. Don’t assume that your existing customer base is already loyal to your brand and doesn’t need to be treated with the same fantastic service they’ve come to know and love. No matter if they’re a brand new or long-term customer you need to give them a reason to come back

Customer churn is a silent killer of small businesses. (That is, how many customers use your business once and never return.) When you incentivize old customers to come back with great service, good offers, and strong rewards for being repeat customers, you’ll unlock an immense force for business growth.

Respond fast!

Being there for a customer when they need you is imperative to whether or not they become a repeat buyer. 90% of customers rate an immediate response (30 minutes or less) as important or very important to their questions and inquiries. (per Hubspot).

Gone are the days of “Call us for more details…” Your customers will bombard you with questions and comments from a variety of channels nowadays. Phone, email, website forms & chat, social media platforms & more!

In order to achieve the illusion of an all-seeing, spotless customer experience, your staff needs to be present on these platforms at all times. But don’t worry, that’s what Social Media Dashboards like Buffer and Agora Pulse are for. You can handle all communication & engagement for all of your social media platforms through them.

Customer Loyalty Programs = Gold Mines

Undoubtedly the most effective way to generate repeat customers for your small business is an attractive customer loyalty program. The right loyalty program can skyrocket your sales so make sure you do your research ahead of time and choose a program that works best for your business. Examples of a high-performing loyalty program include:

Offer First-Time Purchase Discounts to Customers

Present Offers in Exchange for ‘Reward Points’

Celebrate Customer Birthdays with Discounts/Coupons

Give Out Rewards for Referrals

Using a CRM to Make This All Possible

Wait…What’s a CRM?

CRM is short for ‘customer relationship management’ software and it’s a tool businesses use to manage potential and existing customers. Some initial benefits include:

  • Simplifying your lead management process (never lose out on a potential sale by remembering every encounter!)
  • Getting data-driven insights about your customer base (what they like, dislike, and what their purchasing habits are.)
  • Making your sales process more efficient (keep on top of customers who just need a little push to buy.)
  • Providing a better customer experience (by providing news, updates, and even support in real-time from your CRM.)
  • Increasing your productivity as a small business owner (saving you money & time.)

Most reputable & effective CRM software will only set you back between $50-200 per month. Although there are free alternatives as well as higher-priced options as well. Ultimately, a CRM is the backbone of the modern digital business, and it’s the secret recipe for establishing a network of repeat customers.

Here are 5 ways in which a CRM could help your small business generate repeat customers:

  1. Circling back: a CRM will keep your customers in the loop! If you’re savvy enough to have the next few months planned out with sales and promotions, you can set up automatic campaigns (email & SMS) that inform your customers on exact dates about your deals.
  2. Valuing the new customers: with customer data being tracked in a CRM, at the click of a button you can see what products are hot in the past week, month or year and keep track of individual customers’ specific buying habits.
  3. Email marketing campaigns: you can use a CRM to send out bulk emails to customers who have opted in to your communication, and most reputable CRM programs will allow you to personalize these campaigns (addressing them by their first name, sending out a discount on their birthday, etc.)
woman using laptop while having a snack and planning day

Exceptional customer service is the key to repeat customers.

I can’t be more serious when I say that customer service is imperative to the survival and upkeep of your business, and it’s likely the single most important element to achieving repeat customers.

Your ability to connect with customers (beyond their point of purchase – meaning when they no longer matter financially, you need to treat them like they’re family) demonstrates your dedication to their needs and goals as customers.

This is how you earn a customer’s business, repeatedly time & time again. And referrals too!

In Conclusion

No small business has ever failed because they have too many repeat customers. Invest in a CRM to boost your small business this year and pair that with a loyalty program. Once you have everything set up, you will have the data you need to re-engage old customers and treat your repeat customers like royalty – this is the only formula for success you will ever need.

At JVI mobile, we have the perfect CRM tools to help your business grow! Fill the form out below to learn more.

Three Golden Digital Marketing Strategies for Auto Repair and Auto Body Shop Owners

Three Golden Digital Marketing Strategies for Auto Repair and Auto Body Shop Owners

by | Oct 2, 2017 | Clients, Content Marketing, Fun Facts About Mobile, General, Reputation Management, SMS Marketing, Social Media Management and Optimization (SMM, SMO)

Take a look at your business. What is it that determines whether you stay afloat or go under? Is it the same thing that motivates you to do better every day? To phrase it simply, what is it that drives your entire operation? The answer is simple and quite obvious: customers.

Digital Marketing Strategies for Auto Repair

Every auto repair and auto body shop owner out there will tell you the same thing: getting customers is not easy. Obviously, that isn’t something you want to hear when starting your own auto repair business.

Unfortunately for many of these auto repair and body shop owners, the importance of digital marketing strategies, especially in a world where the internet exists, is either lost on them or entirely unacknowledged. Fortunately for you, however, you are about to learn the three essential auto repair shop marketing strategies and how they can help you gain more customers no matter how big or small your business is.

1. Reputation Management

What is it?

When a customer searches for your business online, the results will include every bit of information that Google considers relevant to the search(SEO). This includes websites with positive and negative reviews about your company, forum posts, articles, and blog posts.

Reputation management, or online reputation management(ORM), is what businesses do to control what their customers see first when they search for their company online. The most efficient way to achieve this is by boosting the positive search results so that they are ranked higher than the negative results, giving the company lots of good publicity.

In as much as reputation management revolves around publicizing good news about your company, it is also about learning how to respond to criticism swiftly and appropriately.

How it will help your business

So how will reputation management help you gain more customers?

a) By giving your business an online presence – some of the key components to online management such as keeping your websites updated (or creating one for those who haven’t), posting articles and media, and publishing to your social media pages can make your business an authoritative presence online. This means new customers will find it easier to trust you.

b) By making your business easier to find – very few people go past the first page of the search results. If your company has established a good online presence, Google will rank it higher on the first page and make it a lot easier to find.

Reputation management allows you to present the most relevant or accurate information about your business first, giving you the chance to put your best foot forward and become more visible on the internet. Neat, isn’t it?

Review Managment, Online Reputation Management JVI Mobile

2. SMS Marketing

What is it?

Short Message Service (SMS) marketing is a permission-based marketing technique that businesses use to distribute promotional messages to their customers. This strategy requires your customers to opt into an automated texting service, usually by sending a text to a predetermined shortcode. Customers who opt in receive a confirmation message alongside instructions on how to opt out of the service.

The scale of your operations will determine whether you will need SMS marketing software for this strategy. However, it is a lot less labor-intensive to automate the process.

How it will help your business

SMS marketing plays a massive role in many business’ marketing campaigns for one particular reason: it is a fantastic close range marketing tactic. When it comes to increasing customer loyalty and growing your database, it is a very potent marketing technique.

Its efficiency can be attributed to the fact that consumers prefer SMS marketing to push-notifications and the more traditional email marketing. In fact, Forbes estimates that 64% of consumers (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kernlewis/2014/10/06/sms-marketing-start-with-service-and-add-promotion-carefully/#34477deb6908) would much rather get promotional messages through SMS.

Text Messaging for Auto Body Services

Why is this, you ask?

Because many of these consumers feel that text messages:

· Are more likely to grab their attention sooner (98% of SMS messages are opened and read within the first 3 minutes);

· Are easier to read and respond to;

· Make it easier to communicate with businesses like yours, and most importantly;

· Do not make them feel like their identity and personal data is at risk of being exposed.

A general rule of thumb to be observed when implementing this tactic is that the platform should primarily be used to serve your customers and not to promote your business.

What does this mean?

Simply put, you should use the SMS communication channel to relay information such as appointments, service reminders, and important events. Promoting your business using SMS marketing, while still allowed, should be done with tact. The last thing you want is your customers to feel pestered or annoyed by incessant text messages about discounted auto servicing rates. A general rule of thumb is to keep the total number of messages to less than 5 per month.

Keep it short and straightforward, and most importantly, keep it relevant.

3. Promotional Marketing

What is it?

This kind of marketing involves the use of promotional tools such as contests, raffles, and sweepstakes to create awareness about a brand/company and to attract customers. This tactic is usually deployed with one primary goal in mind: to create a buzz.

How it will help your business

Promotional marketing can help your business in the following ways:

a) Creating awareness about your company – everybody loves to win, which is why promotions get a lot of attention from consumers. You don’t have to bend over backward to get your customers interested either; a prize as simple as free service or repairs for a specified period is enough to get everyone in a competitive mood. The more competition there is, the bigger the buzz generated.

b) Providing a platform to conduct market research – Contests and promotions are also crucial for market research. You can use them as a platform to carry out short but useful surveys on your existing customer base. For example, a series of brief questions on the participants’ registration forms can give you crucial insight into your clients’ driving habits, their preferred type of engine oil, and various other pertinent things that you can use to better your services or to promote your products.

If organizing promotional events sounds too hectic for you, worry not. Online contest management software such as the one offered here (https://www.jvimobile.com) not only lessens the load for you, it also encourages your customers to share the contest on social media by rewarding them with more entries for every person that enters the contest through their recommendation.

Remember, you don’t have to go over your budget when organizing contests, sweepstakes, and other promotional tools. A single prize is usually enough to attract several participants. However, if you can afford it, there is no harm in offering multiple prizes, especially when you’re promoting a new product.

Hootsuite alternative, Buffer Alternative, Postplanner alternative, sprout social alternative

Thus far, here is what we have learned:

· Reputation management is all about making your business more authoritative and easier to find online;

· If you can help it, don’t bother with email marketing or push-notifications; SMS marketing is the way to go, and last but not least;

· Promotional marketing is a double-edged sword that can be very useful when used correctly.

Now that you’re armed with three vital digital marketing strategies, you’re probably wondering how to implement all of them at once. To be honest, it can be quite a task to juggle the three strategies on your own, especially if you run a small business.

Can it be done?

Fortunately, the answer to that question is a resounding YES! Thanks to the innovative and easy to use software that you can find here, you can take care of your company’s reputation management, SMS marketing, and promotional marketing needs in an easy and highly efficient manner.


Why Your Business Needs Reputation Management & Text Marketing

by | Jun 25, 2017 | Reputation Management, SMS Marketing

Why Do I Need Reputation Management & Text Marketing? My Marketing is just fine. Wrong.
Small Business Reviews and Reputation ManagementAs a Business Owner, you’ve established a Facebook page for your products and/or services. Great! You’ve also launched a Twitter page so you can tweet your followers once a month and even share pictures of your cluttered office every few weeks on your Instagram. Your website gets a few clicks every so often. Marketing all set! Wrong. That’s awesome, but not enough. In today’s busy and competitive world, your business will not survive without reputation management and text messaging marketing.

“More than 80% of all consumers say that they read online reviews before making a purchase or visiting a business.”

Wouldn’t you like to know what people are saying about you and your business? What about knowing what happens every time someone puts your business name into Google or Facebook? It’s great to have an online presence when operating a business, but these same outlets can easily damage your reputation through negative blogs and reviews. Did you know that more than 80% of all consumers read online reviews before making a purchase or getting services at a business? What is said about you and your business can affect your company as a whole and can eventually determine the amount of revenue you have coming in. The internet has given a powerful voice to consumers and their opinion carries a lot of weight. It’s one thing to manage an online business, but it’s another thing to manage your company’s online reputation. Reputation Management will keep you aware of looming threats and reputation attacks. We’ll provide tools to track and monitor your brand so it’s always in a positive light.
What Kind of Action Should I take regarding Reputation Management?
Ready to take charge of your online reputation? There are plenty of things you can do right now. Begin by optimizing your profiles on popular review sites.  Some are auto-generated and others you can create yourself. If you see any negative reviews, respond to them ASAP and use them to your advantage. This lets consumers know that you genuinely care and are willing to go to whatever extent necessary to make the customer happy by fixing the situation. You also let consumers know that your business is relevant and not outdated or unpopular by engaging with online reviews. Also, consider adding review forms to your website. Encourage customers to rate your products and/or services with a star system along with a written review. Offer a discount on a future purchase if they agree to leave feedback within a certain time frame. If you don’t want to do this via your website, you can always use the built-in rating system on your Facebook business page, which is a great option as well. You can also incorporate a points reward system and offer them a certain amount of points towards a reward once they leave feedback. Another great idea is to send an automated email to customers after they’ve made an online purchase. The email can include a link to a review form on your website or Facebook page. If you sell products or offer services in an actual storefront, consider including a review link on your printed receipts. I’m sure you’ve seen major fast-food chains, grocery stores and even retail stores offering free items or discounts on their receipts upon completion of an online survey, rating or review. Overall, this will eventually get you more positive online reviews and increase your visibility and attract more customers.
Review Managment, Reputation Management JVI Mobile

What Ways Can I Introduce Text Message Marketing to my Business?

Did you know that 98% of text messages are read immediately? Literally, within three minutes of receipt, mobile users all over the world are communicating via text.

Text messaging is fast, easily accessible and multi-functional.

As a business owner, you can attract more customers while generating more revenue by making text messaging a big part of your marketing efforts. Instant offers, discounts, digital coupons and location-based amenities are all benefits that consumers are constantly searching for. Making these benefits easily accessible via text is the perfect way to grab the attention of your consumers and also allows you to stand out from your competition. This will prompt them to make a quick decision to purchase your products and/or use your services because ultimately, everyone is simply looking for the hottest deals. We live in an instant-gratifying society, so what better way to connect with new and existing consumers than to exceed their expectations via text. You can start a text messaging campaign by signing up subscribers then automate messages based on subscriber actions or send scheduled messages based on promotions.

Now It All Makes Sense

Reputation Management will shine a bright light on your online presence. The internet is already saturated with so much noise and various opinions so you want to be sure everything said about you and your business is positive. Being involved and relevant will get your more positive reviews and will increase your overall visibility. You will begin to attract more customers because so many people check reviews before trying out a new business. Also, you can increase customer loyalty, drive demand, and stay connected by adding text messaging to your marketing strategy. It’s simple, affordable and effective. If you’re not quite sure what platform to rely on for these marketing strategies or would like to take your reputation management or SMS marketing to the next level, leave it to the Certified Digital Marketing Professionals at JVI Mobile Marketing!

July 2017 Special Pricing is underway. Contact us today!

Create the Perfect Lead Magnet for Your Local Business

by | May 20, 2016 | SMS Marketing, Social Media Management and Optimization (SMM, SMO), Social WiFi Marketing

email marketing lead magnetEvery local business should have a mailing list to use for email marketing. However, convincing people to sign up for your list may be a challenge. Most people get dozens of marketing emails each day, and some are reluctant to add yet another email to the mix. The question, then, is how you can convince potential customers who visit your site to sign up for your mailing list. One common answer is creating something called a lead magnet – a freebie that entices people to type their email address into your opt-in box.

What Is a Lead Magnet?

In case you are unfamiliar with the term, let’s start with a quick explanation of what a lead magnet is. A lead magnet is a free item that you offer to new leads if they sign up for your mailing list. It’s called a magnet because companies often advertise the lead magnet as a way of getting people to visit their site.  In other words, it attracts customers the way a magnet attracts metal. Once they are on the site, they learn that all they have to do to get the lead magnet is sign up for your mailing list.

A lead magnet can be almost anything you want it to be, but the best options for local businesses are digital items that can be immediately downloaded after the customer opts in. You want the process to be as easy as possible.

Why You Need a Lead Magnet

lead magnetMaybe you don’t have a mailing list and you’re wondering why you need one. Local business owners sometimes neglect email marketing as a resource because they think it’s a waste of money. However, the fact is that email marketing is still one of the most effective – and most affordable – forms of internet marketing. Here are some reasons that using a lead magnet to build your list makes sense:

  1. Email marketing offers a low-cost, easy way to stay in touch with your customers on an ongoing way.
  2. Email marketing is incredibly versatile. Here are just a few ideas of ways you might use email marketing:
    1. To announce new products – for example, you might make a short unboxing or how-to video for a new product in your store.
    2. To share valuable information with your customers – one of the best uses of email marketing is providing value to your customers, which creates a sense of obligation.
    3. lead magnet new productTo offer enticements to get customers to visit your store – examples include promotions, coupons, and special events.
    4. To encourage customers to spread the word about your business – if you make a point of offering worthwhile information, some of your customers will share your email with their friends and family, thus increasing your reach.
  3. Using a lead magnet helps you encourage a particular cognitive bias – sort of a mental glitch – known as reciprocity. Most human beings feel a need to return the favor when they get something free. Offering a lead magnet makes your customers feel a sense of obligation to you because they know you’ve given them something valuable without charging them a dime. Once they have accepted a freebie from you, they are more likely to become paying customers than they would be otherwise.

As you can see, there are some significant benefits to using a lead magnet to help grow your email list.

How to Create an Irresistible Lead Magnet

download lead magnetDeciding you want a lead magnet for your website is the first step. The second is deciding what form the lead magnet will take, and then creating it. Let’s start by talking about some good options for lead magnets.

  1. Remember that digital products that are available for immediate download are the best choice. Don’t make your customers wait to get their freebie – give it to them right away.
  2. One common option for a lead magnet is a short eBook. Sometimes people think that books have to be long, but the truth is that the average length of non-fiction books on the Kindle bestseller list is only 10,000 words. A free book can be even shorter – sometimes 2,500 or 3,500 words is plenty.
  3. lead magnet ebookAnother popular choice for a lead magnet is a tip sheet or hack sheet. It seems like you can’t go anywhere on the internet these days without coming across a list of hacks for everything from household chores to organizing your desk at work. People seem to love them, and creating a good hack sheet doesn’t take long.
  4. If you offer a business-related service, one very good lead magnet option is a free template for a particular kind of document.
  5. A video or series of videos is another option, although creating videos is certainly more costly than making written content. The downside of a video is that it takes time for your customer to consume.

lead magnet goThe most affordable and easily accessible options are short written documents that customers can download immediately.

Now let’s talk about how to create your lead magnet. If you have a business that lends itself to tips and hacks – for example, the owner of a kitchen supply store might do well to offer a list of cooking hacks (or kitchen storage hacks) to potential customers – then that’s a good way to go because it doesn’t take long to create.

If the majority of your customers are looking for information, then writing a short eBook might be the answer. Don’t get intimidated by the thought of writing a book. If you feel you can’t do it yourself, you can always hire a freelance writer to do it for you. Just brainstorm some potential topics for a book, keeping in mind that you want things that are going to be compelling and interesting to your potential customers. For example, a sports equipment store might offer a short eBook about how to prepare for ski season or a buying guide for parents whose kids are signing up for the local soccer league.

bullseye lead magnetThe key with any lead magnet is to think about what your customers want, and then to find a way to give it to them. When you start, it might be helpful to think about your target customers and who they are. After that, you can reach out with some social media advertising to let people know about your awesome new lead magnet and why they need to get it.

Lead magnets are an effective and inexpensive way to help you build a mailing list – which you can then use to attract new customers and grow your business. As long as you focus on providing value with your lead magnet, and target your ads wisely, you should have no difficulty attracting people to your opt-in page.

At JVI Mobile, we are passionate about creating and growing awesome social relationships. Tell us how we can help! We’ve got a crack team literally at your fingertips!

If you haven’t already, check out our Digital Marketing Assistant. It’s a relatively new service we are offering where you can get expert help and ready access to the JVI team will all your digital marketing concerns and questions!

digital marketing assistant

Geofencing Me In! A Great SMS Strategy

by | Mar 16, 2016 | SMS Marketing

beach-1212638_640Ever heard about geofencing?  It’s a great way to specifically target either your customers or those of your competition.

Andrew, the CEO at Bizness Apps, just release a great summary of how geofencing works, incorporating some best practices for SMS marketing in general along the way.  We’ve shared his great infographic below and you can check out his entire post here.

The concept is pretty simple:  when your audience enters a specific area- usually within a few miles of your business’ location- they receive a unique message just for them.  Some examples of these are:

  • Pick up reminders. Ideal for prescription or dry cleaning businesses.
  • Service reminders. Think oil-changes or dental cleanings.
  • Complimentary offers.  As an example, knowing that much of their business comes from folks in an auto accident, think of a car rental agency targeting a body shop.
  • Special offers.  Why not hit nearby folks with a special SMS message for tonight’s dinner special?
  • Thank you.  How about a simple thank you for a recent purchase or visit?

proximity-150698_640You can flip this strategy and target folks visiting a competitor.  If a competing florist a mile away from your shop is making inroads into your business, an effective strategy could be to present users within a mile or two of their location with a unique offer.  Needless to say, the variation are almost endless.

Of course, like all SMS strategies, you’ve got to tread carefully and not overwhelm folks with constant messaging.  Overmessaging will result in folks opting out, so we recommend not exceeding 4-5 messages per month as part of any messaging strategy.

Geofencing Infograph

Geofencing is still another feature of our SMS and MMS programs which help deliver even better business intelligence to our clients.

At JVI Mobile, we are passionate about creating and growing awesome social relationships. Tell us how we can help!

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