A few weeks ago a colleague had asked me the name of the company I had used to do a banner for me.  It had been awhile since I used this company, and it took me awhile to remember the name.  As I was racking my brain trying to remember, I realized I hadn’t gotten any type of email from them in a very long time.

Luckily for the company, I did remember bits and pieces and was able to search my emails for their contact information.  But what if I hadn’t?  

They weren’t top of mind.  And while I was very satisfied with the work they had done, who they were had disappeared from my memory.

This is part of why email marketing is so important.  You will not stay relevant and top of mind for most people and, therefore, you must remind them of who you are.  You want to be providing valuable information to them on a regular and consistent basis.  Heck, in a course I’m currently taking, they’re suggesting if you’re only emailing once a week, that’s not enough.  That people will still forget who you are week to week.

I am subscribed to a lot of ezines.  I like to see what people are up to.  Some of them I read and delete; others I’ll put in a read later folder or a folder I can refer back to later.  There have been times that I know for a fact it’s been months since someone has emailed.  My first reaction is, “Who is this person? Why are they emailing me?”

Yes, I did subscribe, but because of the length of time between emails, I’ve forgotten who they are or even that I did sign up.  I’m inclined to hit the spam button, but I don’t because I figure I signed up for it at some point.

So you must be consistent and timely.  Don’t wait months in between emails.  In my opinion, weekly ezines are the best.  Every two weeks at the most.

I saw an interesting conversation on Facebook recently.  Someone asked the question about having an opt-in box on their website (and subsequently following up with emails).  She didn’t feel it was necessary.

Someone commented along the lines of did they think that every person who came to their site was ready to buy at that moment.

Of course they’re not…  You want to have some way for them to learn more about you and keep you top of mind.  This is where your lead magnet comes in.  Click here to read more about creating your lead magnet.

Once they’ve opted in, then you MUST stay in contact with them – or they’ll forget about you.

In the case of the banner company, I’m also a client…  They should have had some type of follow up that 30 days after the banner, they checked in to see how the event I was sponsoring went.  They could even have followed up late winter and reminded me that it’s about time for conferences and would I be sponsoring again, would I need another banner?

The possibilities are endless when it comes to following up with prospects and clients…you just have to do it and do it consistently.  You want to provide content, but you also want to ask for the sale.  Just make sure you’re providing more content than selling.

If you need help creating your marketing funnel, click here to schedule a complimentary 30-minute call with me.