The solo business owner has many tools and resources at his disposal that can leverage his time and automate his business so that he can accomplish much more by himself than would ever have been possible prior to the Internet.
Most business owners that utilize email will tell you that its low cost and "free" fast delivery are the main advantages of using it. But in my mind, at least, there are some other very important reasons why email is the communication medium of choice for the Lone Wolf business owner.
If you are not using of these email advantages, why not give them a try? They may even be more important resources for your business than the low cost of contacting your customers and prospects.
1. Higher response rates. If you are sending mass emails in an effort to prospect for customers, then this advantage may not apply. But generally, if you mail to a custom house list of loyal subscribers that want to hear from you, it is very possible that you could realize a 10% or higher response rate. Compared to the typical direct mailing response rate of maybe 1-2%, that is a huge and significant advantage. It means instead of receiving 10 orders for your product, you receive 100!
2. Fast returns. Where else can you send out a written offer and a few minutes later have money from the purchase of that offer sitting in your bank account? Just as important (and maybe even more so) is the fact that testing of your ads can happen very quickly. You can split test any copy, headlines, or price points very easily and quickly without a lot of set-up and preparation time involved. The savings in both money and time is real and means that you can get to your optimum sales message much quicker than ever before.
3. Instant gratification. Where else do you have the advantage of presenting an offer, making the financial transaction, and delivering the product to the customer, all in a matter of a minute or two? Being able to instantly hand your buyer his product is a very compelling selling advantage that will allow you to convince buyers to make a purchase quickly – probably faster than they would have otherwise.
4. Multi-media capability. If you desire, you can include advanced programming, colors and images, audio and video clips, etc to spice up your email and make it appeal to many of the human senses. Direct mail never had those same capabilities. In addition, emails can contain interactive capabilities, links to web sites, and other referral mechanisms so they can be used for affiliate sales and product recommendations.
5. Subscription capability. If you want, an email can be used to find and collect interested subscribers and then "feed" them follow-up messages over time without human intervention (sequential autoresponders). You can also offer "automatic" unsubscribe alternatives to every email. It is almost like having a full time operator standing by to register or remove interested customers as their discretion.
6. Continual contact. A huge advantage of employing email communications in your business is the fact that you can immediately contact your customers whenever you desire to brand your business, give bonus information or regular updates, or send out an offer. Each message can be quickly and easily targeted to the specific customer.
Email is a "killer" application and no group enjoys greater benefit than solo Internet business owners that use it in a host of different ways.
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