If you send more offers in your emails, you’ll get more sales, right?
Well, that’s not necessarily the case.
It’s something I see all the time, though. People will send emails out to their list on a regular basis. They’ll stuff offer after offer within those emails.
It often doesn’t work.
I’m not going to say that it never works well to do that, because there are certainly cases when it does. In some cases, it’s even necessary. For example, I’m sure you’ve seen email newsletters that do that. They’ll have ads in between newsletter content right there within the body of the content. That can work because people are actively engaged in reading the content and it breaks the text up.
For the purposes of today’s lesson, though, I’ll assume that we’re talking about sending an email directly to your list. Should you focus on just one offer? Should you stuff it with as many offers as you can?
Let’s take a look at the different options and why they may or may not be a good idea.
Sending Multiple Unrelated Offers
Hopefully, you can already tell that this one is a bad idea most of the time.
You’re typically going to email your list with information, news, or an offer on a certain topic. Unless it’s a newsletter sort of deal, your email will be pretty focused.
If you’re just shoving a ton of ads into the email, you probably won’t get a very high conversion rate or make as many sales as you otherwise would have.
Part of that is because it’s not all about the ads.
An email is generally more personal, even when it’s a sales email to your list. Within the body of your email, you should be doing some preselling most of the time.
You should be getting people excited to buy the offer before they even see the sales page.
If all they see is a wall of ads in the email, they’ll either mark you as spam, click, away, or unsubscribe. Who wants that in their email inbox? When all you send are ads, it’s clear that you don’t really care about the subscriber and that you’re probably just there to earn a buck.
This is especially evident when you’re sending unrelated offers. It’s the same if the ads are only loosely related.
Sure, you might make a random sale here or there, but it’s hardly worth it at all. You’re really shooting yourself in the foot.
You’re already spending time and effort building an email list, so you may as well maximize your sales.
Sending A Couple Of Related Offers
This is where it could really go either way. Let’s say you write an email on a specific topic. You give just enough information to really get people to pay attention.
Now let’s say there are two highly related or complementary products. Would it be a mistake to promote both of those offers within the body of a single email?
That really depends. If you can honestly tell yourself if it’s in the best interest of the reader, then go for it! There are times when there are complementary products that are so helpful or awesome in combination that you’d be doing people a real disservice if you didn’t mention that.
Let’s say you have a specific method that’s been working for you. You can detail that method and link out to the products or tools you used to help you succeed. You can do it right within the body of a single, helpful email to your list.
That works, right? Your conversions and sales can go up when you do it that way.
But, let’s say that you really don’t have a good reason for including a couple of loosely or even closely related ads. You just think you might be able to make a few extra sales if you include it. Is that a good idea?
It’s typically not a good idea. If your motivation is to make a few more sales and not meet the needs of your audience, then leave that extra ad out.
However, if you are motivated to make more sales with an additional product and you truly believe it’s in the best interest of the reader, then go for it!
This is something you can split test, too. If you’re with an autoresponder company like Aweber, there are tools in your account that can help you test these different methods. See if you earn more by including just one offer or if you earn more by including multiple related offers.
Including Just One Offer
Generally, you’ll want to include just one offer when you send out an email for marketing purposes.
People like when information and solutions are highly targeted. You’ll stir up emotions and needs. You’ll hint at a solution. You’ll presell that solution.
You can really focus people on this one choice that you’ve determined is a great fit for them. There are no distractions. People will be thrilled that you’ve put this solution in their lap and they’ll go for it.
In fact, you might want to send out multiple emails about just one offer. Start out by offering an email that’s purely informative. Then, send out an email that hints at the solution. Then, send out an email that directly advertises a product.
Or you might send out an email that’s relatively long detailing the benefits of the product, the problem it solves, and how it’s helped you already. Then later you might send out a shorter email with a reminder of the top benefits and a quick call to action. And then you might send out a “last chance” email before the offer goes off the market or increases in price.
This can really work because it sometimes takes people a few or even several times of seeing an offer before they’ll go ahead and buy.
What’s The Right Option For Your Email?
You are truly the only one who can determine what’s right for your business and audience. The best advice I can give is to make sure you always have the best interest of your audience in mind whenever you write an email—whether you’re sending one offer, multiple related offers, or multiple unrelated offers.
Also, consider the format and purpose of the email.
Consider what’s typically done in your niche.
Try different things. It’s okay to try something that doesn’t work as well as you thought it would. That’s data you can use about your audience in particular that will help you do better and earn more the next time.
Is it okay to put multiple offers in an email? Sure it is, but it has to be the right time and in the right way. Figure out what will maximize your conversions and profit.
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