Getting Repeat E-Pal Orders
Note: This article is part of our Complete Guide to E-Pal.
It’s hard to tell whether a new E-Pal customer will be good or bad, and having to deal with bad customers gets annoying quick. Instead of gambling on each new customer, it’s better to focus on keeping the good clients you already know. But how do you keep your good clients? In this article, we look at the four main ways to ensure you get repeat E-Pal orders from your preferred clients.
Overview of Problem
As an ePal, you’ve probably had some bad orders. If it’s not scammers, it’s rude and demanding customers who might try to force you to do things you’re not comfortable with. Every once in awhile though, you find a great client. Someone nice, interesting, respectful, and who you genuinely enjoy spending time with.
But there’s so much competition on E-Pal, especially when some ePals are charging as little as $3/hour! How can you keep your best customers, when you have to compete with rates like that? You certainly don’t want to have to go through a whole new batch of bad customers all over again, just to find some new good ones.
Additionally, as you grow your E-Pal following, you may gain new customers, only to realize you’re losing your old ones. Unless your new customers are paying significantly more money, this revolving door of customers will keep your business stagnant. It will actually prevent you from growing. Even if you don’t have time to take on new regular customers, you probably don’t want to lose the ones you have.
This article will help you encourage your best customers to keep coming back and giving you repeat orders on epal, so you can make a steady and reliable profit, while still allowing you to gain new followers.
Overview of Solution
The way to get repeat epal orders comes down to four main points: Be reliable, establish a personal connection, go above and beyond in service, and follow up with your customers after the order. You must do all four of these things to become successful on E-Pal.
Be Reliable
The first tip is important and may seem obvious, but is often overlooked. If you want repeat E-Pal orders, you have to maintain a consistent schedule. Your customers have lives, responsibilities and routines, and they won’t order from an ePal who doesn’t fit their routine.
This doesn’t mean you have to be on E-Pal every day, but it does mean you need to have a consistent schedule. This could be frequent, such as everyday or the same time every week, or infrequent, such as the 3rd day of every month. The important thing is to be predictable. That way your clients will know they can expect you to be online, and will order from you again. Even if you’re infrequent, if you’re consistent, loyal customers will set reminders and mark you off on their calendars.
If you think maybe you can do multiple sessions but aren’t positive, it’s better to only advertise the times you are most sure about. For example, your public schedule might show that you’re available every Monday, but then notify your fanbase that this week specifically, you’ll also be online on Friday.
Part of being reliable also means responding to customers quickly. If you take too long to respond to a message, they may move on and look for another ePal.
Personal Connections
Creating an emotional connection with your customers is the single best thing you could do to make sure they come back to make repeat E-Pal orders. This point is so important to so many different platforms and industries, that we’ve written an entire article just about fostering personal connections. Below are some additional tips that apply to E-Pal specifically.
Shared Interests
This is where E-Pal triumphs over other websites. It’s specifically designed for connecting users with shared interests. Not only does it connect fellow gamers, but also those who love specific games.
There are also other service types, such as drawing, language exchange, karaoke, and even a general purpose Hobbies Talk service. With all the options available it’s easy for an ePal to find clients who share similar interests, and for them to find you.
Common Goal or Common Enemy
Bond over your common challenge. This could be in-game, like a really tough endgame boss, earning an elusive achievement, or making it to the end credits.
You might realize you have a common goal outside the game as well, such as equality for certain groups, hate for certain politicians, or share ideological views.
You could even gossip about other ePals or clients, but maybe be nice with this one.
Shared Trauma
Again this could be either in-game or IRL. It could be something like commiserating over trying to beat a certain mission, only to fail after hours of struggle.
Many ePals have expressed that they sometimes need to act as councilors. Just like a therapist would, you should definitely take customer notes.
You may need to navigate difficult topcis to know what to avoid, and be empathetic to what was said in the past.
If you feel comfortable, sharing your own personal trauma can really help a client build a personal connection with you.
Provide High Value Service
This isn’t necessarily about either overcharging or undercharging. Providing high value service means giving a lot compared to what you charge, so that customers leave thinking that you were definitely worth it. It can be summarized with the pseudo formula below:
Value = Service Quality / Cost
Use this formula to help decide how much to charge. If you know your service is about average, you can lower your prices to provide value. Alternatively, you can choose to charge a lot, but if you’re charging higher than the average ePal, you better also be bringing some phenomenal service.
But your time has value to you as well. So rather than lowering your cost, we recommend raising your service quality, as the best way to provide high value. Fortunately, there are many ways to do that. These are all optional, so choose the method that fits you best.
Skilled Gamer
This one is a no-brainer. If you’re well known for being really good at certain games, clients seeking your help will give you tons of repeat E-Pal orders.
If you can carry a client through a game twice as far as another ePal can in the same amount of time, that’s instant high value.
Knowledgeable
In game, this could be tips, tricks, secrets, shortcuts, or any other unique knowledge or experience related to the game. Maybe you know some kind of trivia about the developer or studio who made the game, or maybe you just heard about the sequel’s release date.
This could also extend to real world. Knowing about what’s going on in the news will keep you updated on current events. If you’ve traveled a lot, or researched about other areas, this worldly experience will help you connect with clients from all over. It will also give you tons of topics to talk about. Being knowledgeable and well read may also be helpful for clients facing problems in their lives. You will be able to provide advice based on real facts, rather than just feels.
Have A Great Personality
This is dependent on the persona you have adopted as an ePal, and is highly subjective to the type of customer you’re targeting. Not everyone likes the same personality type, so it’s up to you to use your best judgment as to the personality you should be presenting.
If you’re not sure yet, you can target a large customer base, by being upbeat and energetic. Giving off a fun and positive vibe, and encouraging a generally enjoyable experience will appeal to a large number of potential clients.
Extra Services
Some customers might have very particular requests, which aren’t officially supported by ePal. If you know your client likes to fold origami with you, have paper ready before starting the order. This sort of personal touch really demonstrates high value, and goes a long way in making the customer feel like you care.
Even though this is technically against E-Pal’s rules, a controversial fact is that many clients are looking for NSFW services, and many ePals are happy to provide them. If you fit into this category and are comfortable and willing to perform these services, the same advice holds true. Know what your client likes, and be prepared to supply it. But always understand the risks involved and remember to be safe, legal, and consenting.
Follow Up
After important interactions, make sure to follow up with your clients. Here are some helpful tactics for followinig up with your E-Pal clients.
Upselling
Have you ever tried to buy a specific item, and when you went to checkout they asked if you would also like to try this other thing? That’s called upselling, and this suggestion method is a way to encourage you to spend more money. Use this upselling technique to encourage repeat orders.
Did your client mention a personal problem they’re having? Tell them you also offer Emotional Support service. Are you watching anime together? Make a plan for you to do Language Exchange together.
Leave Things Unfinished
You don’t have to beat the game in one sitting. Intentionally leaving things unfinished gives both you and the client a break, and encourages repeat orders. This is especially helpful for games where you must progress together in order to access later levels or areas. MMORPGs have a lot of missions that must be done sequentially, or areas that require a team to unlock, so clients may be willing to wait and order you again so that you can continue to play together.
You can also make your unfinished business personal. If you hinted at a secret or embarrassing moment, you can say something like “I’ll tell you more about it next time.” If you had a particularly good conversation, you can drop a “You’re a really good listener, can I come to you for help/to talk in the future?”
Reminders
Once you’ve done your upselling, and your new client is excited about your next meeting, both of you should add it to your calendar. You can playfully say something like:
Hey don’t forget about me! Make sure to add a reminder in your phone
Just like in dating, sending a message afterwards is a good way to indicate you had a good time and want to do it again. Send a couple of messages to enjoyable clients, especially those you’ve already set future appointments. A foolproof way to do this, without seeming desperate or annoying, is to send these 3 messages:
- Right after an order:
that was fun! really looking forward to the next one
- A reminder, a day or two before your next scheduled meeting:
glad its almost friday so we can play again 😉
- One more right before your scheduled meeting time, to ensure they show up:
its friday! u ready? i just need a sec to log on
Of course, if any of these messages leads to a conversation, make sure to keep it going!
Putting It All Together
With our four rules, you’ll be growing your loyal fanbase in no time, and getting tons of repeat orders on E-Pal.
Do you agree with our list? What are your best tips for getting repeat orders? Let us know what you think in the comments below.