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6:37 pm
October 28, 2011
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QuoteHey all,
So I set up a squeeze page like John O. demonstrated but I am using Fanbridge to collect my fan data. I don't have a huge list and I've only had like 11 people sign up since my squeeze page went up. I find myself not wanting to switch over to Aweber because a.I'm scared I might lose some fans if they have to confirm their fandom when I switch over and b. I don't want to spend $20/month when only 11 people are signing up. I have the squeeze page up, but it doesn't mean people know about it.
So my question is, do you guys think it's worth it? The only reason I could see it being a good idea is because of the autoresponder option. I figured if a million people started signing up I would switch over, but if that reallly did happen, it'd be a bigger pain in the ass to switch over.
Anybody have experience with Fanbridge vs. Aweber. thoughts? Opinions? Let me know! Happy to be here with you guys:)
Thanks!
-Dana
Pearl Jam meets Regina Spektor and has a music baby
9:21 pm
June 10, 2011
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I was in a similar situation when I first started with Johns MMM 2.0 course. I finally did make the switch to Aweber, and notified all my fans on my previous list that I was making a switch, and they would need to reconfirm thier subscription. I was worried that I would lose fans so for about three months I send out my usual emails to both lists, my old one that I had taken about 10 years to build, and my new one with Aweber.
Some of my fans reconfirmed right away, some waited until I sent a notice that this would be my final email unless they reconfirmed, and some never reconfirmed, so I lost them. I'm guessing I probably lost about 1/3rd of my old list.
That bothered me at first, until I realized that if they weren't interested enough to do something as simple as reconfirming, they probably weren't much of a fan anyway, and weren't to likely to purchase any new CD's or come to my shows.
Now for the cool part. I have been implementing a lot of the methods I am learning with MMM2.0 and this forum, and within a few months after starting a new list on Aweber, my new list was bigger than my old list that took 10 years to build! Plus Aweber has all kinds of usefull tools my old list didn't have. I can see how many people, and who, are opening my emails, do specific mailings to certain groups, set up my autoresponder to send out multiple emails, plus a lot more. I was worried about the $20 a month at first too, but it has proven to be well worth it. Just sell 2 more CD's and you've got it covered! Also, if you pay for several months at a time, the price goes down. (I think I am paying $45 every 3 months)
If you are in this for the long haul, I would definitely recommend making the switch to Aweber now, before your list gets too big. If you are worried about losing to many fans, you could always offer your old list some incentive, like a free track, a video, free show tickets, a car wash, house concert....whatever you think they might be worth, to have them sign up for your new list. One thing I did offer to my old list was that my new list was going to get a lot more content besides a monthly performance schedule. I am sending out emails more often, with notifications of new music, video's on You Tube, more personal stuff like what I am doing in the studio, etc. I am also planning some contests to get my new list members more involved.
Hope this helps!
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
12:03 am
June 7, 2011
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Hey Dana,
I went through the same thing years ago. Ultimately I just purchased it for 12 months so that I would save a little money and force myself to commit to the long haul. No doubt, it's an expense. But if you are ever going to succeed at this you will need to have a big list (many thousands of subscribers). When you have a big list the additional money you make with a good autoresponder dwarfs the expense. But until then it kind of sucks. Realizing that I personally think it's best to just go for it. But ultimately that's a call you need to make.
Little things like seeing who opened your email and who didn't and then resending to those that didn't open make it so worth while in my opinion.
Does Fan Bridge require people to click a confirmation email when they opt in?
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
6:44 pm
June 9, 2011
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Hi Dana,
In my experience, the control that a good quality autoresponder offers you is invaluable. For one, you get to own the list. I'm not familiar with fanbridge so I don't know if they let you have the contact info or not.
But having access to that information and being able to segment people appropriately is something that you can't really even quantify.
Also being able to control the message and the frequency allows you to construct a sales process that you have 100% control over. This is not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing and I just haven't seen the amount of flexibility you get from a quality autoresponder is some of these other musician specific solutions.
Best way to look at it is that being a musician takes an investment of both time and money. An good autoresponder is a really small investment that can produce some extraordinary results by comparison. 🙂
-Steve
10:45 pm
October 28, 2011
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Thanks so much guys,
this all helped. Basically confirming what I already know to be true. I have to make the switch and possibly lose some fans in the process. But like you said, Greg, if they can't press a button to stay a fan then they're not truly a fan.
John, Fanbridge does NOT require you to click a confirmation link when you opt-in. I actually kind of like that, b/c I feel like a lot of people don't want to take that extra step but again if they don't want to click the link, then what kind of fan are they really?
Thanks for the insight guys!
-D
p.s. Steve, I'm from Philly too but I live in SF now;)
Pearl Jam meets Regina Spektor and has a music baby
5:43 pm
June 9, 2011
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Dana Carmel said:
John, Fanbridge does NOT require you to click a confirmation link when you opt-in. I actually kind of like that, b/c I feel like a lot of people don't want to take that extra step but again if they don't want to click the link, then what kind of fan are they really?
Dana, just so it's clear. The reason for having people click a confirmation link is so that they prove that they actually own the email address that they signed up with. If you don't have this functionality, you potentially open yourself up to numerous spam complaints from people who may not have given you permission to email them (like if somebody signed up with someone else's address.).
It's a safeguard for you which is especially important when you are using something like an autoresponder to email a lot of people at once. It would suck to send a promotional email to find out that they were sent to people who never requested you to contact them. Could be expensive too (yikes).
Which part of Philly are you from?
7:10 pm
June 7, 2011
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FYI, you can actually turn off the double opt-in in aweber and many "burn and turn" email marketers do this. I occasionally do it with paid advertising where I'm trying to close a quick sale. But the reality is that when there is no "audit trail" your deliverability rate will eventually go down. Incidentally, the list I have for which I turned off the double opt-in function, has the lowest open rate of all my lists. I have no personal experience with Fan Bridge but I would tend to guess their deliverability rate would be lower than users realize because of this.
Question... Does fan Bridge show you the average open rate when you send an email broadcast?
If so, what open rate do you see for a list that has matured? By matured I just mean a list that has been around for a while. Everyone gets a good open rate on the first few emails but then it drops for a number of reasons. Just curious if they even show that.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
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