Kicking butt by taking names! (the "how")
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- Look ma, no hands
- You lead, they follow
- Sexy for the loss
- Spam, spam, spam, spam
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Last week we talked about a handful of reasons to create and nurture a hands-free email list of your followers. If you missed that newsletter, click to read it first here before moving on. Also, make sure you've signed up at https://arisingfloor.com to get the newsletter in your email box so you don't miss anything.
I didn't intend for this topic to take in 2 editions/weeks. I initially planned to write the "why" and "how" to create an automated email system in one short, sweet message... but alas. (sometimes I get carried away, lol)
Look ma, no hands!
By the way, one thing I don't think I covered real well last week is the whole "automated" part of the system. Once you set this up, your emailing is fully automated from that point on. Here's how it works:
They join your list and it automatically sends them a "welcome" email. You write it once, and you're done. (besides updates of course)
You then write a series of follow-up emails and tell the software when to send them. So email 1 goes out on day 1, the next on day 3, then day 5, or whenever you like. You can even set them up to send certain emails to the people who read your message and other emails to those who didn't.
This is only the most basic explanation, but trust me when I say you can create an automated selling machine touching tens/hundreds of thousands of peeps, automatically, all while you sleep. (or whatever it is you do when you're not asleep, lol)
And yes, it works! (but I said that last week, so before I start repeating myself let's move on, yes?)
I closed last week saying that you should start thinking about a couple of things...
-Start thinking about the URL you want to use. (your www address) It will be the address for your landing page/website, and also your email address, for example: [email protected] or whatever you choose.
-Give some thought to a lead magnet. A lead magnet is the "thing" you give people to hop on your list, for example, "register here for a checklist that shows you how to tie your shoes with one hand" or such.
It's not really needed if your product or attraction is good enough, but an optin form with a freebie will always get a higher optin % with a lead magnet than without one. For example, "join my newsletter" will get a lower % than "join my newsletter and also get ???") I highly suggest it.
Here are some thoughts and best practices for both. We'll go deeper into lead magnets first, then talk about domains and addresses.
You lead, they follow
Lead Magnets: When it comes to what to offer, keep in mind that it's much easier to get people to jump on a list when they have a reason to join in addition to the lead magnet. So if your community is active, your NFT is attractive, and you give them other reasons to want to engage with you, half the battle is over.
Here are some thoughts. You can also google "best lead magnets" and find oodles of ideas, and I'd be happy to talk it over in Discord as well. (yeah THIS Discord: https://discord.gg/hSkF2bvSUx )
-Digital information is cheaper and easier than something physical, and your welcome letter will include it and deliver it automatically. So if you're doing a report, "how-to", a checklist or such, keep it digital.
-If you can include something that relates to your collection that's even better. For example, adding the first 100 to a whitelist, letting them be alpha testers to a game, sending them updates "before anyone else", or giving them a Discord title.
Be creative. This is a new industry so don't be afraid to invent something!
Your domain: In regard to your domain, or web address... you'll use this both for a landing page and your email. You might already have one, but if not it's usually pretty simple. Obviously, (I hope it's obvious!) if you can get your collection or game name, grab it.
For example, if your NFT project is called "Broken Neck Giraffes", then try to get brokenneckgiraffes dot com. That will end up your address, and your emails will be similar, like support@, simon@, zookeeper@, and whatever else you need.
BUT DEEEKEN! I want brokenneckgiraffes dot ninja! (brokenneckgiraffes.ninja)
I know! It sounds so sexy! So does .diamonds, .irish, and .vodka, pronounced watka in German!
Sexy loses
Sexy or not, resist the temptation and don't do it... stick to .com, .net, or others we talk about below.
Ok... if you really love it, go ahead and grab it and forward your address there to have an alternate address, but don't make it where it's "hosted". Get another "real" domain for business use and use this other one for kicks.
Trust me on this one, get .com or at least .net if you can. The .com is always my first choice, followed by .net or maybe .org. Alternate decent choices would be .co, or even .io, because it has become familiar to the crypto community.
If you're wondering why I'm so limiting when I make my choices, here's why... after all, there are dozens of much cooler ones than dot com to use, right? There are, but I suggest sticking to the basic .com/.net/,org, and maybe .io or .co's because it's what the public is used to.
Your url/domain is a part of your BRAND... so it needs to be easily remembered. We've all grown up on .com... so if you can, try and make it as easy as possible for your people to remember it and come back to visit.
Also, Google denies it, but I am sure (from having owned and tracked over 400 domains in my career) that the older domains come up on page one more often in search results than the new, kind of silly ones. This is why I say to keep it simple and basic.
One final thought on getting a domain is the cost. For the most part, they're really inexpensive... like $8 to $15 a year... but only if you can get it. (popular/common names are long-taken on many .com's and such)
Also, once you own it, you can resell it. There were millionaires created when they first came out, by ppl mass-buying (poaching) what they knew would be valuable names and selling them for crazy prices in the future. (maybe this will work with bitmaps?) So don't be surprised if you try and get an address and it's available. For $4k or more.
Gag me with a ginsu! You'll certainly find sticker shock when buying domains, lol!
If that happens, move down the list and check other options. If .com is gone, try .net, and/or go to the next option. If your wanted name is either all sold out, or too costly for any reasonable option, either consider another or maybe add a word or two.
An example would be if you wanted "boredapes" dot com and it was taken, you could add "the" or "my" in front... so it would end up "theboredapes" dot com, or "myboredapes" dot com. I'm sure you've seen examples of this in the past, where the domain is a little different than the brand name. Tis why!
Again, keep simplicity, branding, and how memorable it is in mind. I like to use namecheap.com for my domains, but you can get them at GoDaddy and a host of other places.
Spam, spam, spam, spam
Since we're talking about domains and emails, I'll also mention that when you order your email addresses... you get them from the same place you get your domains... use simple tags, like nick@, and such. Email services screen hard to try and keep spam out of our emails, and names like bonzo69@ will be flagged and blocked much more than real names.
Even emails like support@ or tickets@ will be blocked more than using a real name until your address has been warmed up/seasoned. (we'll talk about that at some point in the future as well)
So! Up until now, we've spent around $20 and we have our email address and a domain/url. As a reminder, the domain is needed because we need to use a website to offer the lead magnet, to collect the emails with a simple form, and for your own email use.
Once you get the domain, you're ready to start creating your website/landing page. If you use the sources I suggest, creating the page (or blog if you desire) will be pretty easy. If you can use MS Word or a point-and-click platform, you already have the skills and you'll be fine.
I'll share headline writing tips and more on design in the future, but for now, if you're not creative just find another site you like, and "model" it. Don't copy it of course, lol... but use it as a guide. Also, both of the programs I suggest will have templates that you just choose and then modify... so you're good, yo!
I know, I know... for some of you it's getting scary, lol. No worries, there's plenty of help available.
All we need now is the program that puts it all together... the "autoresponder". This is the software used to gather the email addresses on a list and send out the emails.
If starting from scratch without a website or anything, I suggest https://grooveme.net .
In addition to the autoresponder to send the emails, it has a landing page maker, blog platform if you want a blog (it's what arisingfloor.com uses) email sending, video hosting, groovesell if you want to sell products (kind of like a Paypal) a webinar maker and a membership thingy, if you want to sell courses someday.
If you already have a website and whatever else you need, Aweber is one of the oldest and best. You can access it here: https://emaillist.arisingfloor.com
Aweber doesn't have all the other bells and whistles but is easy to use and has great support. You'll create the form the way you want, hand the code to your web guy, and he'll add it to the sight.
Of course, either way you'll still need to write the welcome email. You can use ChatGPT, you can join another similar list yourself and "model" their welcome letter, or of course just write one if you're so-blessed!
Of course, you can then create and setup a series of messages to go out as you wish after the "welcome" letter or send them manually whenever you like. What you say is limited only to your imagination, and what's going on with your community!
Include announcements, blockchain news, contests, whitelists or whatever is needed. You can even upsell or cross-sell, offering other related programs and more to your list. This is a communication tool to be used as little or as much as needed, and can help your community grow, increase sales, and profit!
Setup your list, take names, and kick some ass!
Until next time,
Deacon Nick
PS- As always, reply and ask questions if you need help, or come join us in Discord. If you need help, ask for it... and if you don't, then prove it!
A Rising Floor is a weekly newsletter and Discord Mastermind created for NFT and ordinal collection owners, staff, and founders. It’s a free source of news, marketing help, and a place to communicate with peers for the advancement of the industry.
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