One thing your upline didn’t tell you when you started your direct sales business is why you need to build an email list. Let’s face it, their wheelhouse isn’t really to help you diversify; if they are effective leaders, they do. But odds are, you have an upline that hasn’t discovered the secret sauce to doing direct sales effectively which includes avoiding spammy tactics.
Tactics like sharing your business opportunity all over your personal Facebook profile page (which is against Facebook’s terms of service, by the way), constantly messaging cold contacts over Facebook Messenger, or only engaging on Facebook posts when someone asks about a problem you think your product can solve. Do you see the theme here?
If your eggs are all in the basket called Facebook or any other location that you don’t own or operate, then you need to build an email list.
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Email Marketing is Powerful
Email marketing is a powerful, often under-utilized, relationship building tool that allows you to reach an audience that may not be on social media as frequently as you are. In fact, there are people that aren’t on Facebook that need your product or service and you are simply leaving money on the table without an email list.
Second to word of mouth marketing, email marketing allows you to stay top-of-mind with your clients and with the internet and Facebook littered with people that sell your products and services or ones similar, email marketing allows you to stand out and connect with your audience before they have a chance to see the other guys.
It doesn’t matter if you’re sending a newsletter to keep them up to date with what’s new or just a simple “hey! Just checking in”, keeping them engaged with you and your brand is critical.
But My Company Emails My Customers
That’s awesome that your company keeps your customers informed of what’s happening! BUT….you don’t own that list. If you leave your direct sales company, you have no way to keep in contact with those customers. If you need to build an email list, this is one of the main reasons why you need to build an email list. You collect the names, YOU own it. YOU take it with you when you go.
But My Ideal Client IS on Facebook
Chances are if your ideal client is a woman, 30-55, then you’re probably right. However, they may not be online as frequently as you are. The odds of them seeing your posts are slim because of Facebook’s algorithm. Building an email list gives you the opportunity to reach those that aren’t online as often, keeping your brand on their mind. Having an email list AND connecting with your clients on social media will actually help your overall community and relationship building by offering multiple connection points for your customer. You’re essentially meeting your customers where THEY are instead of where YOU are.
Email Providers That Are Direct Sales Friendly
There are several email providers that are direct sales friendly and are great for marketing. While buying a domain and redirecting with branded email is ideal, it’s not required. It’s ideal because Gmail, Yahoo, and several other email extensions have been marked as spam and tend to have a more difficult time getting through spam filters. And that kinda defeats the point.
Make it easy on yourself and buy a domain, get a redirect, and use that as where your email originates from. Email platforms like Convertkit, Mailerlite, and AWeber are direct sales friendly, but make sure you’re not only sending promotional emails. If you’re being overtly promotional all the time, your subscribers may mark you as spam and that affects the entire platform.
All three of the email providers above have a free option while you’re building your email list and most don’t charge until you hit 500 subscribers. With many offering free subscribers, building your email list should be a part of your overall marketing strategy simply because it doesn’t cost you anything to start building it.
Build It and They Will Come
Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools to use in your overall marketing strategy. It provides you a way to keep in contact with your customers, build a community, and you own it. Use a simple lead magnet (basic free value you provide) in exchange for prospect information (like name and email address) to gather addresses and start building! Share the lead magnet on your Facebook business page, Pinterest, Instagram, and put it in a post rotation every couple of weeks or as often as you can handle. Even if you only add 1-2 addresses every time you post, it’s more than not having any!
So there ya have it! Diversify your risk off of Facebook and start to build traffic on a platform you OWN and can control. Think of it this way, if Facebook were gone tomorrow, how would you reach your customers and keep your business going?
