Four Ways to Get Your Opt In Subscribers to Trust You Quickly

Researched by Karen Barnes

 

While the rest of the world has developed many barriers and protections to keep their e-mail accounts spam-free, there are also those who sign up to receive mails that promote your (and other’s) products, services and site. This is mainly because these subscribers want to know more about what these sites are offering and how they can be beneficial for them. They expect to be kept posted on what they are interested in and what is new in the market or field they have chosen.

Businesses are so lucky when they can get these kinds of customers; the basic element needed to get them (and keep them) is trust. When your customers trust you, they will reward you with their loyalty. Many internet users have gone to great lengths in protecting their e-mail accounts from spam mail. Some free-mail providers and internet service providers offer spam protection, while there are also some internet-based companies that screen your mails for you.

With an opt-in mail list, the mails you send containing your promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and marketing media will go through without being filtered out by the receiver’s spam filter or their ISP’s spam filter. Your intended recipient will be able to read and view what you have sent, making it a successful transfer of information. To be allowed to do so, you will need permission from your recipient; to get this permission, you need to win their trust. With the great lack of disregard for privacy in the internet, getting the trust of an internet user you don’t personally know is a big achievement.

So, to build a good opt-in list, you need people to trust you, and for a faster and quicker build up, you need to get them to trust you quickly. The faster you build your opt-in list, the faster word about your site and company gets to be spread. The bigger the scope of your opt-in list, the more traffic you get; this spells more profits. It’s easy math if you think about it. Getting the numbers is not that simple though, or is it? Here are some key considerations:

Getting the trust of your clientele shouldn’t be so hard especially if you do have a legitimate business. Getting your customers’ trust should be based upon your expertise. People rely on other people who know what they are talking about. Garner all the knowledge and information you can about your business and its products and services. Frankly if you decide to go into a business, you’d better have an interest in it. How many basketball payers become coaches? You don’t usually venture into something in which you don’t have any interest.

Show your clients that you are knowledgeable. Give them helpful hints and guidelines that pertain to what you are selling. If you’re into hardware products, talk about how to install a roof. If you’re a settlement lawyer, provide articles on insurance settlements. You don’t have to be a big corporation to use an opt-in list. If your customers see you as someone who knows what he is doing and saying, they will trust you quickly. We’ve all had the experience of going into a store and being unable to find a sales person who knows enough about the products to help you make a selection. Make sure your online customers don’t have this frustrating experience with you and your site.

Be true to your customers. If you want to hype up your products and services, provide guarantees. The more satisfied customers you get, the bigger probability there is that they will recommend you. Generally, people will trust someone they know, and when that someone recommends you, then you’re a shoe-in. They will go to your site and check it out for themselves and then they, too, will be given a chance to experience what the others have experienced from you. Make sure to be consistent in the service you provide.

Another tip in getting a customer to trust you quickly is to provide them with an escape hatch. Show them that you are not there to trap them. Keep a clean list that would enable them to unsubscribe anytime they want. Elaborate your web form by providing information on how to unsubscribe from the list. Guarantee them that they can let go of the service whenever they want to. Many are wary that they may be stuck for life and would have to abandon their e-mail accounts when they get pestered with spam.

Remember that when you get the trust of your clients, don’t lose that trust. If you do anything with their e-mail addresses, like sell them or give them out, you will lose many members of your list as well as potential members. The quickest way to gain the trust of your subscribers is when someone they trust recommends you. Since you never know who that will be, treat EVERYONE with the same respect, courtesy and outstanding service.

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Elizabeth H. Cottrell is a home-based entrepreneur, freelance technical writer, and owner of Riverwood Technologies, a desktop publishing company in Maurertown, Virginia. She is currently a staff writer and editor for IAHBE.