For years, Email Marketing was done primarily to get customers to either buy your products or sign up for your services. Businesses spent a significant amount of their resources acquiring new customer leads in hopes of selling to them.

It was all about getting people to sign up for their mailing list. Many felt the more names they had on their list, the more successful they were. This focus on size over substance, and marketers bragging about their extensive mailing lists was commonplace. However, businesses finally began to realize that despite their massive size, their Email Marketing lists were almost completely devoid of any buying subscribers. The truth was that their “more is better” mailing list philosophy simply wasn’t working.

This philosophy gets even worse during times of recession when many businesses are forced to cut marketing budgets, only to find themselves without any proven marketing resources. Advertising expenditures plummet and businesses just run out of prospective buyers. In the race to target anyone and everyone interested in buying, businesses typically scramble to rebuild their email lists, focusing more on quantity than quality. Oftentimes, it seems the primary objective is to create this massive mailing list rather than actually selling products or services.

As is often the case with flawed philosophies, these businesses soon discover what works best is to target their email marketing campaigns to those who have previously purchased from them and are either well-established customers or those with good potential for becoming repeat customers. With this simple shift in philosophy, businesses also discover the ripple effect of gaining new business from the referrals of their established customers.

These tips will help you master your email marketing and make the shift from massive mailing lists to focused buyer lists:

1) It’s all about after the sign-ups

What many people don’t realize is it’s easier to sell a $500 item to a current client than it is to sell a $25 product to someone new. Establish trust with a small initial sale and you’ll give yourself an avenue for larger, more profitable future transactions. Once someone has purchased from you, make sure you make them feel appreciated; and most importantly, make sure to connect with them again soon, and on a continual basis. Online, or email, marketing is all about building trust and establishing yourself as an authority in your particular field.

2) Offer exclusive deals – make them feel special

A great aspect of marketing “after the sale” is being able to now offer your customers an exclusive deal. It makes them feel special and appreciated. By simply adding language exclusively for your customers in many of your marketing efforts, and truly giving them an exclusive deal, you can easily create a repeat customer. True exclusivity gives you a marketing opportunity that is unparalleled in its unique ability to help you connect to your customers.

3) Customers are already buying; prospects require your qualification.

Regardless of the method used, marketing to new customers always feels like an uphill battle. Quite often it falls on deaf ears and proves to be unworthy of your time and efforts. A majority of pre-purchase prospects turn out to be duds, and those who do buy from you are typically the type of customers that would buy without ongoing email marketing attention. Focus on fostering qualified customer connections, rather than connections that are indiscriminate and of little value.

A focus on true exclusivity and one-on-one personalized treatment goes a long way in building your business. Your efforts will be appreciated by your clients, customers, and business contacts and rewarded by repeat sales and a more targeted customer base. Develop your email marketing list based on these ideas and criteria, and you’ll find that your marketing efforts will be much more successful.

Remember in all your marketing efforts that you don’t need to do it alone. Look for a virtual team to help with your email marketing; a team that not only knows how to target the right customers from the beginning, but one that also understands how to keep those customers connected once established.