The more you market your products and services, the more you’ll realize how extremely competitive it is.  This can be especially true of e-mail marketing.

Many business owners who market on-line send promotions for others in a joint venture or affiliate relationship.  Since this is rarely an exclusive relationship, there are many times when more than one company is promoting the same product.

Even beyond that, you also have to compete with other companies for your subscribers’ attention on a daily basis.  Consumers are bombarded with advertising and marketing messages almost constantly.  Your solid relationship with the people on your mailing list gives you a competitive edge.
The most effective way to build relationships with your clients and subscribers is to strengthen the rapport between you and them.  Here are a few things you can do to achieve that:

•    Keep in touch with your mailing list often.

You need to keep in touch with your clients and prospects or you will seriously damage the relationship you worked so hard to establish.  Don’t mail them only when you need to promote a product.  People sign up for your list because they want something of value from you.  They will unsubscribe in a heartbeat if all you ever do is sell, sell, sell.

•    Ask about their needs and concerns.

Send out messages periodically to ask them about their needs.  Use survey software to make this easy to manage.  Ask them to get involved and communicate their wants and needs to you.  If they have issues, help them resolve them.  Find out exactly what their expectation are of you.

•    Send them gifts sometimes.

Use your e-mail campaigns to occasionally send your subscribers something for free.  This could be an e-book, a recording of an audio session, some videos, even a free teleseminar.  Be sure it’s something valuable that will genuinely help them, and don’t make them do anything to get it other than go to a web page to access it.

•    Be personal.

Let your subscribers see your human side.  Share some of your personal life with them in your e-mail messages.  Going on an exotic vacation?  Tell them that.  Had a funny experience at the grocery store?  Share it.  Show your clients and prospects that you’re a real person just like they are.

•    Be educational.

As an Information Marketer, you are the expert the members of your mailing list look to for guidance.  When you consistently provide valuable information to your subscribers, they will see you as a teacher and pay attention to what you say.  This will help when you want them to listen to you when you promote a product.

•    Relate to your subscribers.

Often, potential joint venture partners will approach you and ask you to promote their product or service to your list.  This is a fantastic way to meet your clients’ and prospects’ needs when you don’t have the product to solve a particular problem.  However, that does not mean you should promote every new product that launches.  If there is an opportunity that has absolutely nothing to do with your mailing list, don’t e-mail them about it unless you have a very good reason and can demonstrate that reason to your readers.

•    Take care with your e-mails.

Take the time to ensure the e-mail messages you send out to your list don’t have errors.  You are a business owner and you need to present a professional image even in the personalized nature of your e-mail marketing campaigns.  Double-check things like spelling and format, and be sure all of your links work properly.  Then test your message.  Make sure any autoresponder fields are replaced correctly and your message looks like you want your subscribers to see it.

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