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When I wrote a few weeks ago about making your email so good it can’t be stopped, a few readers wrote to ask for more specifics.

It’s an understandable request, given the percentage of permission-based messages that are being thrown away by email service providers.

So beyond providing killer content, what can we do to give our messages the best shot of getting through?

Build trust before you pitch.

Remember, the success of any email marketing program depends on genuinely compelling content. You want your readers to dig through spam filters, complain to their email providers, and do anything they can to make sure they’re getting your content.

Most email newsletters are pitchfests, which makes them no fun to read. Make sure yours is nicely loaded with cookie content, so readers begin to be trained to open everything you send.

If you don’t build this trust and credibility with great content, the rest of the techniques won’t work very well. But there are a few practical things you can do to give your messages the best possible fighting chance.

1. Start every newsletter with a great autoresponder

The autoresponder feature of your email provider lets you create defined sequences to send to your readers. The millionth subscriber has the same experience that the first did.

This means that no matter how busy you get or what disasters you might be coping with this week, your new email subscribers are always well taken care of.

A great autoresponder builds a strong foundation for your relationship with your new subscriber. The old cliché is true: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The warm, friendly feelings you’ll establish with your first 10 or 15 messages will carry over throughout your relationship.

2. Use a single warm, personal message early on

This is a trick I learned from Product Launch Formula founder Jeff Walker, and it creates a really nice rapport with your list.

Early in your autoresponder sequence (I usually put it at message two), include a cheerful, warm, individual-sounding message. Something informal, like, “Hey, really good to see you here, hope you enjoy the content.”

You’re not trying to fool anyone that this was an individually typed message for that recipient, but you are trying to create the same feeling of personal relationship. Invite questions, comments, and feedback at this point, and let them know that you’d love to hear from them.

I typically create this message as text only, rather than HTML. This is also a good spot to use technique #3.

3. Ask them to white list you

No matter how good your email provider is, some messages end up in spam filters. The best defense against that is to convince your readers to add you to their list of “safe senders” or their “white list.” And the best way to do that is simply to ask them.

I send a text message in one of my sequences right before a message with a few red flags in the content. (The message has the audacity to talk about making money. Shocking, I know.)

The message explains that the next email in the sequence is a little more likely to get trapped in a spam filter, so this would be a great time to add me to their safe senders list.

Some readers immediately white list me, which is great. Others don’t, then the message is caught in a filter the next day and they see that adding me to their approved senders list would be a good idea.

Obviously, it’s smart to get yourself onto the white list as soon as you can, so you’ll want to bring the subject up early on.

But if you do have a message you can’t reasonably lower the spam score on, this technique can give you a good reason to ask a second time.

4. Conversations have two sides

Make sure you’ve got a real human being monitoring any replies to your email marketing, and that that person is giving thoughtful, personal replies to each message they get.

It’s also smart to use an individual person’s name in the “From” field, rather than the name of a company. Anything you can do to capitalize on the intimate nature of email just makes sense.

When I started adding the words, “Just click reply to ask me a question, your message will come directly to my personal in-box,” I noticed that more people felt comfortable doing just that. And not only do questions and feedback build nice rapport, they’re also a fantastic window into what your customers want and need.

5. Pay attention to spam triggers, but don’t obsess

Most good email providers will let you know if your content has certain hot buttons that are likely to be flagged as spam. Some of them are obvious, like pharmaceutical brand names.

Others are annoying, because they tend to be the words and phrases that have the most selling power. For example, links that say click here can make your content look a little spammier to the filters, precisely because savvy marketers know that explicit calls to click here get better results.

This is one good reason to put a long sales message onto a landing page, rather than an individual email message. The last thing you want to do is to use less persuasive language just to keep a spam filter happy.

Always remember that you’re writing for people, not filters. When you make your readers happy and deliver the content they need and want, no spam filter can stop you.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

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Five Ways to Make Your Email Marketing Work Better

I’ve got another free report for you, this time from Leo Babauta of the popular personal development blog Zen Habits. It’s all about how he—you guessed it—grew Zen Habits from nothing to over 130,000 subscribers today.

You know, it’s funny to reflect back on the early days of Copyblogger in 2006. Much smaller group than the 70,000 subscribers we have now… almost like a social club of people figuring things out as we went along.

One of the people who hung around back then was Chris Brogan. I like to joke with Chris (usually in front of one of high-paying clients) that as much as I liked him, I was a bit afraid he was going nowhere back then.

Now that Chris is a social media rock star and in-demand speaker, he really gets a kick out of that.

Another person that hung around during the early days was Leo. I have to admit, I always thought Leo would be successful.

I just had no idea how successful he would be, both as a blogger and now as a successful author with the fantastic Power of Less (made possible by the blog). So saying that Leo is someone worth listening to about blogging is a huge understatement.

Check out the report today, and tomorrow I’ll let you know what we’re up to with this A-List Blogging Bootcamp thing.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

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How Leo Got 100,000 Blog Subscribers In Two Years

Whether you are writing a simple article, a cornerstone blog post, or a landing page designed to breathe life into your budding dreams, there might be nothing more important than the care you give to crafting your argument.

Even the smallest child’s mind hums with hundreds of constant questions. By the time we’re adults, our minds tumble with queries and theories. Some of us are more doubtful than others, our eyes scanning long copy, always searching for flaws like hunters on safari.

Keep this in mind… you will never sell to everyone. There are a fraction of folks who are as likely to open their wallets as I am to take my 7 year old daughter with me to the next Tarantino flick. Don’t even try selling to these people. It’s a waste of your time and is likely damaging to your sanity. Make certain however, that you’re hitting 100% of anyone who will lend your offer honest consideration.

If there’s a chance they’ll buy, make sure they do. Do this by ensuring your argument can stand up to the eager arsenal of the critical mind.

Here are 5 methods I use to craft bulletproof copy:

1. I write to my mother. My mom will buy anything, so long as it provides her even the slightest whiff of nostalgia. It doesn’t matter if she needs it or whether she can afford it. My mom is a collector, and even with piles atop heaps amid mountains of stuff, anything that tickles her longing for yesteryear or justifies her decades of previous behavior will justify the purchase in her mind.
2. I write to my father. My dad is the classic, “advertising doesn’t work on me,” kinda guy. Yes, Pop, advertising does work on you, you just don’t realize it. My father must be smacked in the face on an emotional level, but he will respond. My dad gets misty-eyed at movies. When the score hits a crescendo, his shoulders often start to shake. My father purchases products that stand for strength of character and tradition, no matter how traditionally manipulative that message might be delivered.
3. I write to my sister. My sister is a cynic with a smiley face, bleeding snarkiness from every pore. She’s a tough sell and loves to shoot flaming verbal arrows right into the bulls-eye of every opportunity. My sister is also whip smart. Reminding her of this, in the most subtle way possible, will always beat a faster path to her wallet.
4. I write to my wife. My wife is a romantic. She longs to be touched on an emotional level and wishes only for happy endings. Most copy is a far cry from poetic, but by inserting a single simple sentence that reaches for that most tender and exposed piece of her, I am adding an exponent to the odds that she (or the million just like her) will set aside her laptop in order to reach for her purse.
5. I write to my friend Marco. Marco could punch a hole in concrete. He is suspect of everything and believer in little. Whenever I’m writing a landing page, I think of the five problems he would have with the product, then sprinkle solutions carefully throughout the copy. Marco isn’t the type to never buy, but he is the type who knows what he wants and must always be sold to. If I’m finished with the page, confident Marco would buy, subscribe, or opt-in, I know the odds are good that you would too.

You will never sell to everyone. Wringing your hands over this fundamental truth is like wishing Seattle was a little more sunny. Concentrate on those who might buy and you can increase both your confidence and the clicks that follow.

These are the five people to whom I write my best arguments. Are there five people you could write to, and how would you write to them?

About the Author: Sean Platt is a ghostwriter and creative blogger who also tweets.

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Five Ways to Bulletproof Your Copy

What makes people almost buy? What makes them get most of the way there, then drop out of your shopping cart at the last second? What makes them stare at your landing page, wanting what you have to offer, and yet, ultimately, close the page and move on to something else?

It turns out there’s a hideous troll hiding under the bridge. Every time you get close to making a sale, the troll springs out and scares your prospect away. Get rid of the troll and your copy will start converting better than it ever has before.

The ugly, smelly, dirty, bad-mannered troll is prospect fear. And it’s sitting there right now, stinking up your landing page and scaring good customers away.

Fear of wasting money

Remember when you were a kid and you went to that rinky-dink carnival that came through town? After eating all the cotton candy you could manage, and throwing it all back up again on the Tilt-a-Whirl, you checked out something called the Midway.

Remember that persuasive fellow who convinced you to spend a whole months’ allowance throwing softballs at those damned milk cans?

It looked so easy. He showed you exactly how to do it. Toss the softball, knock over the milk can, win a cool stuffed animal for a prize. Simple.

You spent quarter after quarter trying to do it yourself.

When all your quarters were gone, you got an inkling. It looked easy, but actually if you were standing at the throw line, it was pretty close to impossible. Now the carnival guy had all your money, and you didn’t even have an ugly green plush monkey to show for it.

The troll is born.

Fear of mockery

When the sting of the carnival wore off, you were innocently minding your own business and you ran across an ad for the wonderful product Sea-Monkeys.

They were little people! With tails! They looked pretty awesome on the cover of the package. You begged your parents to get them for you and told everybody you knew. Your little brother. Your best friend. Your entire third-grade class.

This was going to be so cool. The ad said you could even teach them to do tricks. You planned on getting them medicine, vitamins, special formulas, everything they needed to be the happiest pets ever.

You followed the instructions to the letter. You waited breathlessly. You told anyone and everyone how amazing this was going to be.

It turns out Sea-Monkeys are just brine shrimp. In no way do they resemble little people. They resemble fish food, which is what they are.

Your little brother, your best friend, and your entire third-grade class now thought you were an idiot. And they delighted in letting you know that at every opportunity.

The troll gets a little bigger.

Fear of feeling stupid

Every time we’re betrayed by a sleazy salesperson, we toughen up just a little. The troll grows. Our mistrust grows and our inclination to believe shrinks.

And then a blogger shows up with a wonderful ebook, MP3 course or membership site that will solve a problem that’s been really bothering us. Let’s call that blogger . . . you.

We want to believe you. We want to get the benefit from what you have to offer. We want to have something — anything — work out the way it was promised.

We would love to be able to trust our own judgment.

But the troll keeps whispering in our ear, with his truly horrendous breath, how stupid we’re going to feel when we fall for that again.

(By the way, do you think the troll gets even stronger when the economy is bad and folks are in a general state of anxiety? Yep, I agree.)

How to kill the troll

Killing the troll isn’t easy, but you have to do it if you want to monetize your site.

Trustworthiness, transparency, credible authority, lots of high-value content, and just plain old decency are your best weapons.

Everything on your site needs to show that you can be trusted. Real contact information. Showing your photograph. Displaying seals for anti-hacker technology and the Better Business Bureau on your shopping cart. FAQs that actually answer questions. Clear, reassuring calls to action.

Every detail matters. Even things like hosting your site on your own domain, or how frequently you post. Everything you do needs to build trust and kill the troll.

Unless you sell to ten-year-olds, your prospect has been kicked around so often by unscrupulous (or incompetent) businesses that the troll is a very hard fellow to kill. Give the prospect any tiny reason to mistrust you, and all those wretched old experiences come back.

There’s an old joke that a second marriage is the triumph of optimism over experience. In fact, that’s exactly what happens every time you make a sale, especially to someone who hasn’t done business with you before.

So let’s declare war on the trolls. Be extraordinarily trustworthy. Show your value. Put your customers first. Keep your promises.

The troll is tough and hard to kill. But with dedication and commitment, we can chase him off to go wreck somebody else’s business.

Get free updates from Copyblogger for more troll-killing advice.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

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The #1 Conversion Killer in Your Copy (And How to Beat It)

Judging from the response to yesterday’s post, a lot of you are experiencing frustration with blogging. With over 250 responses, I don’t know how Jon is going to choose the 20-30 consultations he’ll do via telephone, but it’s likely some people will be disappointed.

The good news is, every stumbling block I saw posted yesterday in the comments can be overcome with a bit of guidance. So as an alternative, here are two resources that can help you ease your frustration and get you on the right path.

31 Days to a Better Blog

Darren Rowse is the guy who gave “problogging” its name. But he doesn’t just blog about blogging. He runs a hugely successful blog dedicated to digital photography, and co-founded the b5media blog network.

Darren knows what he’s talking about.

From looking at the frustrations expressed in yesterday’s post, I’d say just about every one of them can be solved by Darren’s new step-by-step workbook, 31 Days to a Better Blog. Designed to address and improve 31 significant blogging issues in 31 days, it can be worked through at your own pace (say one a week) or you can simply focus on the areas you need help with.

Participants in Darren’s program are reporting great things—increased traffic, deeper reader engagement, broader networking with other bloggers, creative new ideas, getting through bloggers block, and more. And at $19.95 it’s a steal.

Buy 31 Days to a Better Blog today.

Free 24-Page Report on Effective Web Video

I’ve been talking about video a lot lately, because basically every blog project I’ve got in development is video-based. It’s where things are going, so if you want to stay ahead of the blogging curve, start developing a video strategy as soon as possible.

If you’re in a competitive niche with a bunch of text-based bloggers, the easiest way to differentiate yourself and own your audience is to use video. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that because you prefer text, so do people interested in your niche.

Dave Kaminski is the go-to guy when it comes to learning effective web video. Both Darren Rowse and I studied Dave’s stuff when we wanted to learn more about video techniques and strategies, and a lot of other people sing Dave’s praises as well.

He’s now released a free 24-page report that reveals how to use video to get top Google rankings and how to create video content that spreads through social media like wildfire. He also shares camera and software tips that you can put to use immediately.

Download your web video report here.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

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Two Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Blog