The Most Important Marketing Tip for Your Consultancy Business

May 17, 2012 By 3 Comments
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email-marketingNo, it’s not blogging. And it’s not Twitter. And it’s definitely not Facebook.

The big secret to really getting results as a consultant is so old school that a lot of newbie consultants don’t realise it’s still new school.

So what is it?

Why You Must Embrace Email

For years I believed blogging was the best way of attracting new business online. Then, after I started podcasting, I decided that audio was just as important if not more so.

Now I’ve got to the point where I think that if you’re going to embark on a course of online marketing for your new consultancy business that you have to start building an email list.

There’s More to What You’ve Heard Before

Yes, yes, yes. I know you’ve probably heard online marketing consultants going on about email lists before. That they’re the key to building connections and direct marketing over long periods and stuff.

But what I’ve found is that the real secret is to serve up five or six emails in quick succession as part of a training course.

Run an Email Mini-Course

When I launched my podcast ebook I thought a landing page and the usual guest-posts, reviews, tweets and promotion would be enough.

After a month, though, things weren’t doing as well as I’d hoped.

So I started offering 5 Premium Podcast Tips by email.

I wrote the emails and then loaded them up into Aweber. I then told Aweber that I wanted the emails to go out after 1, 3, 5, 6 and 9 days.

Then when someone signs up for 5 Premium Podcast Tips they get a selection of my best podcast tips straight to their inbox according to the schedule I’ve specified.

At the end of four of the emails I include a link to my ebook after gently reminding the recipient that more podcast help is available in my ebook.

Every step of the way I can see who is opening or clicking on what.

Getting a Better Conversion Rate

Turns out that my email course has a 33 percent conversion rate. Traffic to my landing page alone has a conversion rate of 0.9 percent.

So you can tell which one I’m pushing the most.

So Here is Your Takeaway

If you’ve got a product to sell and you’re a consultant, make sure that when you’re training, consulting, providing support or whatever it is you do, you encourage people to sign up for a short, intensive training email course that you offer.

Even if you’re selling your consultancy services, work hard to follow a five or six email mini-course and track it’s success.
Remember, though, that it’s all about giving genuine quality information; don’t hard sell and measure your data to track your success.

If you do try this approach, let me know how you get on. I’d really love to know.

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Filed Under: content marketing
About Jon

Owner of Jontus Media, marketing consultant, lifelong Liverpool FC support and podcaster. Guarded by basset hounds .

  • http://newenglandmultimedia.com/ Michelle Quillin

    Jon, this is an excellent tip, and well worth sharing!

    I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters, but they go straight into a folder called “Newsletters” and there they sit, never to be read. Once in a while I go in and “Delete All.” My intention is to read them, so I don’t unsubscribe, but I just have no time with my busy schedule.

    However, when I’ve signed up for newsletters like you’ve suggested here, they’re not relegated to a folder, and I actually read each one. Why? Because there’s a TIME limit on them. I’ll be receiving FIVE emails, each one with content I’m expecting and anticipating reading. Psychologically, that makes all the difference for the time-crunched. And now the marketer has my attention.

    Thanks for the great advice!

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Thanks Michelle!

    I’ve always struggled with newsletters but realised that this was a better option because it’s so instant. Of course, you can keep going afterwards with similar content but just as easily you could stop.
    In your case, just imagine giving away 5 Tips to Create a Brilliant WP Website. A lot of people will struggle eventually to create what they want to create with their site and may then reach out to you.
    If you give it a go, let me know.

  • http://newenglandmultimedia.com/ Michelle Quillin

    I certainly will, friend! I just shared this on our Facebook Page as well. Great stuff. Really great stuff.