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By Susanne Myers in Featured

emailmktgAre you actively building at least one list in your niche right now? If not, you’re missing out on quite a bit of potential growth and income. Let’s talk about seven reasons why you need to build a list.

Build A Relationship With Your Readers

The main reason to build a list is to be able to build a relationship with your readers. They have to know like and trust you before they ever consider buying something through your site (be it your own product or an affiliate offer). A list allows you to stay in touch and gives them that chance.

Connecting With Your Target Market

Not only are you building a relationship with your subscribers, you’re also connecting with your target audience. This means that once you have a list, you can ask them what they want to learn more about, what problems they are facing and the likes.

Bring People Back To Your Site

An email list also allows you to bring visitors back to your site. How many times have you been surfing the net, ended up on a really great site…but half an hour later you can’t remember what it was or how to get back to it (unless you spend a lot of time going through your browser history, which no one does). With an email list, you can continually send them more and more great content that includes links back to your site.

Branding Yourself As The Expert

And speaking of great content…it, in combination with a list allows you to brand yourself as an expert. Your readers get great advice from you over and over again on a certain topic. It won’t take them long to figure out that you know what you’re talking about…which again builds the trust you need to create a profitable and sustainable online business.

Easy To Automate

One of my favorite aspects of list building is the fact that it’s so easy to automate. I set up my list once, I drive traffic to the pages of my site that contain an opt-in box and then I start adding email messages to my autoresponder. Each of these things I only have to do once, but they will continue to work for months and years to come… growing my list, making money from my list etc.

Making Multiple Offers

Another big advantage of having a list is that you can make multiple offers. Think about this…if you are passionate about gardening, you’re not going to buy just one gardening book, subscribe to one magazine and buy one set of tools. Instead you’re going to get several of each and you’ll keep spending more and more on your hobby. Your target audience is no different. By having a list you can make them multiple related offers (again, both your own products or affiliate offers or a combination of both).

Being Able To Generate Income With The Push Of A Button

Last but not least, let’s talk about the reason that brings me the biggest peace of mind. If you have a responsive list (even if it’s relatively small), you have the ability to generate extra income at the push of a button. There have been many a times when we needed a few hundred extra dollars for unexpected bills. Each time I was able to come up with the extra cash just by sending a special offer to one of my lists.

I hope this convinces you that having a list for your online business is important and that this article encourages you to get started right away. In fact, I’m so passionate about this, I’ve put together a great resource for you. Sign up for this free ecourse on setting up your first email list in 7 easy steps at http://www.affiliateecourse.com/listbuilding/

By Jennifer Davey in Featured

emailmktgI have been blogging a bit lately about WHY you need an email list, so I thought I should write about HOW to grow your list.

Your marketing should drive traffic (website visitors, people) to your website so that they can sign up for your list. Your list will allow you to leverage the “Know, Like and Trust Factor.”

1. Make it easy and intuitive for people to subscribe to your email list. You can do this by having a call to action (that tells visitors to subscribe) on EVERY page of your website. Be sure to always have the sign up box in the same location on all the pages.

2. Don’t ask for too much information. One mistake many small businesses make is asking for a ton of information on their list sign up form. The more information you ask for, the less likely that potential clients will subscribe.

At a minimum ask for their email address. At a maximum ask for their name and email address unless there is a reason you MUST ask for more information. (Such as you’re mailing them something).

3. Make a compelling offer. A compelling offer is VERY clear on the result the person accepting the offer will receive. It talks about the solution, not the process.

Ultimately, potential clients don’t care about you, they care about the VALUE they will receive. The value is what is going to compel them to take you up on your offer.

4. Link to a landing page (or squeeze page). You know your website inside and out, but your visitors don’t. You have about 4 seconds from the time a visitor lands on your page till they are either hooked or leave. Don’t give potential clients too many options which may paralyze them, keep it simple with a singular message and call to action.

5. Include your offer in your signature. One of the best (and must underused) places to share your compelling offer, or link to your landing page, so you can quickly build your list is the email signature. It allows you to get a clear message out to everyone you touch about the solution you provide.

6. Suggest your subscribers forward your newsletter. Potential and current clients who are subscribed to your list already know how great the content you provide is. Make it easy for them to recommend and refer you by including a link that allows them to forward your newsletter.

7. Provide Value. When you email your list, be sure to pack your newsletter, e-zine or blast with interesting and valuable content. I always recommend my clients follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the content should be informational, educational or helpful and 20% of the content is for your call to action.

8. Watch your unsubscribe rates. This is an often overlooked factor, but it’s useful for letting you know when you are off track. If you send out what YOU thought was relevant content and see a larger than normal unsubscribe rate, you can quickly correct without causing much damage.

9. Include an opt-in check box to your contact form. Make it easy for potential clients who are contacting you to sign up for your list. If they are interested enough to contact you, they are most often would like to be on your list.

10. Have a thank you page that reminds subscribers that they need to confirm their email address.

Getting potential clients to fill out the subscription box on your website is only half the battle. With permission based marketing you need them to double opt-in. In other words, they need to fill out your form, go to their email program and click a link before they are subscribed.

Managing their expectations and understanding of the process will make it MUCH more likely that they follow through and confirm their subscription.

Once you have these 10 tips working for you, it’s time to start marketing.

Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist, Jennifer Davey, is the author of the “14-Step Formula for Getting Clients, Building Business and Making More Income”, Grab a FREE copy of her Report “What you Need to Know to Be Successful at Getting Clients” visit:
http://jjscoaching.com/free-report/

By Sue Schlaiffer in Featured

emailmktgToday’s Internet marketing atmosphere is plagued with email spam that doesn’t seem to stop as unethical spammers just hammer our email boxes with multiple offers for prescription drugs and other more intimate products.

Although spam attacks are annoying, it is important to keep your marketing reputation intact with quality email content sent only to your subscribers after receiving a double opt-in consent for your information.

Your focus is definitely to build a loyal, responsive list of subscribers willing to receive your emails and the safest way to build that list is with the double opt-in process.

In your rush to get your Internet marketing business going without a list, you might mistakenly try some shortcuts that will get you branded as a spammer.

Buying a list, gathering email addresses from forums and social networking profiles or using email addresses your friend uses is a definite No-No. Even when those email addresses are effectively public knowledge, you do not have permission to invade their email with your message.

Building your list without being branded a spammer requires some specific processes that start with the double opt-in on your website or blog. When you offer your visitors something of value to them, like a short report with information or step-by-step instructions they need, they will give you their email address and name in order to download it, which builds your list.

If you’ve correctly set up your site, that email sign-up will automatically go to your autoresponder and initiate a sequence of emails that will require a click on a link to verify both the email address and the permission to market to them.

When that happens, your new subscriber is added to your database on the autoresponder and a link to download the product is sent to your new member, along with a welcome email.

Even if you have permission to send emails to your subscribers, do not forget your manners. Send welcome emails and ones thanking your subscribers for anything they do, like provide information to you or buy one of your products.

The double opt-in gets you permission to send marketing emails, but it will not keep your subscribers happy if you treat them as strangers. An unsubscribe click is all it takes to lose them forever.

To keep your subscribers happy why not use the holidays and send out an email with offers of a special, free gift and it’s download link. No hoops to jump through. Just a gift from you to them. Make sure it is valuable to both them and to your marketing campaign. Include genuine holiday wishes in the email.

Email campaigns where permission is first sought are very successful, and most successful Internet marketers have built lucrative businesses with it. Make all marketing methods work for you, and these could include offline methods too, by printing your webpage link on everything you distribute. It does not have to be a large advertisement, just a simple link to your site and maybe one line of text offering something free.

Your best asset when you are building your list is patience. It takes time to build a responsive list and shortcuts will not benefit you. Never send unsolicited emails, instead use the double opt-in process and you will be more successful.

For tons more list building tips and tricks to build your own SUPER TARGETED list of subscribers send for a free copy of my 8 part mini course, available at www.list-profits-formula.com Check it out now and get your free mini course today!

By Ivana Katz in Featured

This week I received at least 500 emails offering me great discounts on Viagra and just as many messages from the son in law of the late bank president of Nigeria, offering me millions of dollars. How many cases of Viagra do you think I ordered? and how many billions of dollars have I had transferred into my offshore account? Zero, zilch, zip, none!

I continue to be amazed by the number of people, who still believe they will sell loads of products/services if they send unsolicited emails to millions of email addresses.

It is unfortunate that because of a few people who have abused the email system, genuine business messages are now NOT being delivered. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have had to take drastic action and implement rigid spam filters and many people have set up rules in their email software which discard messages that contain certain words, phrases, subjects etc.

Getting Your Messages Delivered, Opened & Read

So even before you start thinking about writing an email message, you need to be sure it gets delivered. Your chances of having your email arrive, be opened and read greatly increase if you:

  1. Personalise your email, ie. include the person’s name in the subject line as well as the body of the message.
  2. Only send messages to people you know and who know you. (We will cover creating your mailing list next time.)
  3. Avoid using words such as “free”, “make money”, “extra income”, “lose weight”, “satisfaction guaranteed”, “IMPORTANT”
  4. Do not send attachments
  5. Send text messages rather than HTML emails
  6. Do not use ALL CAPS
  7. Ensure your emails have a meaningful subject that relates to your message

Creating Compelling Messages

So you’ve had your message delivered and even opened. Congratulations you are half way there! Let’s now look at some points to ensure your message is read and action is taken:

  1. For a good-looking email, format your message to 65 characters or less per line. Use a hard return (that means hit the ‘Enter’ key when you get to 65 characters). Use a fixed width font, like Courier New.
  2. Personalize, personalize, personalize. People love seeing their name and business name in print. Use it in the subject line and in the body.
  3. Write just like you talk. Use plain, easy to understanding English. Be friendly and personable in your writing.
  4. Get to the point right away. Your first two sentences should include a summary of the whole email.
  5. Put passion into your email. Let your customer know you are excited about the offer.
  6. Write to one person. Think of your customer and pretend like you are talking only to him/her.
  7. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short and simple.
  8. Use subheadings. Think of them as mini headlines. These are great for breaking up large bodies of text.
  9. Use action verbs whenever possible.
  10. Create urgency. Let recipients know the issue is time sensitive.
  11. Encourage people to forward your message onto others
  12. Explain who you are and how readers can contact you.
  13. Do a spell check and grammar check
  14. Avoid URLs (website addresses) that wrap. Ensure links are short, so that they do not stretch over 2 lines. If you can’t control the length of the URL, tell the readers how to put it together in their web browser.
  15. Use only ASCII characters. Many email readers can’t display text other than the standard set of ASCII characters (roughly equal to what you see on your keyboard)
  16. Always offer an option to unsubscribe.
  17. Include a PS. at the end of the email. Use it to effectively highlight a reminder or a point of interest.

The best ways and times to put email to work

  1. Acquire new customers at incredibly low costs
  2. New product announcements
  3. Holiday season and event specials
  4. Stay in touch and on customer’s mind
  5. Endorse and cross sell other products

Next time we will cover ways to collect email addresses and how to manage your email list.

Ivana Katz of Websites 4 Small Business makes it easy for you to get your business on the internet. If you’re looking for a professional and affordable website designer, visit www.web4business.com.au and download a free website plan.

By Donna Gunter in Featured

One of the quickest ways to build your email marketing list is by creating an ethical bribe, or what I refer to as a client attraction device. This free giveaway serves to entice visitors to your site to sign up for your email list because they want to access your solution to their problem proffered in your email list opt-in box.

What are the two most important characteristics of an effective client attraction device? It must provide the solution to at least one of the problems of your target market and utilize the keywords that your target market might use when seeking this type of solution. Secondly, your offering must have a high enough perceived value that your visitors would be willing to pay for it.

I routinely opt into many lists just to get the client attraction device. More times than not, the giveaway is simply a long reiteration of a problem, with the solution being available for purchase on the web site. This is the WRONG way to introduce yourself to prospects. Don’t be afraid to share some solutions with your prospects — it’s part of developing the Like, Know and Trust factor with them. If you are truly an expert in your field, the info you share for free is only the tip of the iceberg of the variety of solutions you can provide to your prospects.

What is the easiest way to create your own client attraction device? Here are 10 ideas that you can use to package your information into a valuable ethical bribe for your web site:

  1. Audio of a presentation. Hold a teleclass on a particular topic and record it, or simply record a presentation with audio recording software on your computer. An audience isn’t necessary for a good recording — it is quality content that is the key.
  2. Interview of an expert. Request to interview a noted expert in your target market. Ask the expert questions, or pull questions from a pre-assigned list you’ve been given. Record the interview and have it transcribed to create a two-part giveaway.
  3. Special report or ebook. A special report is simply a short PDF report that runs between 2-5 pages. You can create this pretty easily by writing an article that’s 1500-2000 words. Typically an ebook is longer than a special report, combining several articles, or topics, to make a more complete overview of a topic. Format it to be easily read and add a bio page and and upsell page and your report is complete.
  4. Checklist. A checklist is a 1-2 page PDF file that walks someone through a to-do checklist to complete a task. To create a checklist, simple outline the steps required to complete a particular task and insert a checkmark box in front of each so that the user can print out the list and mark off the steps as they are completed.
  5. Video. Using video to promote your business is one of the hottest Internet marketing strategies today. You can create an info video that is a training or tutorial video made by using video screen capture software, or record yourself answering questions or presenting a topic with an inexpensive video camera. Upload it to your site or to one of the video hosting sites, and you’ve got a new client attraction device to give away.
  6. Software. For as little as $50, you can hire a programmer to create a simple piece of software to help your prospects automate a task or solve a problem. Another option is to buy a license for some inexpensive software that you can then distribute as you wish.
  7. Rolodex (Resources) list. Once you have developed a relationship with your prospects, invariably you will get asked to make recommendations for vendors to perform certain tasks. Because this list is valuable in that you have already gone through a number of services to find just the right provider and are thus saving your prospects hundreds of dollars and hours of time, create a list of these providers in a PDF document.
  8. Templates. Templates are another time-saving device that prevents your prospects from having to reinvent the wheel. Package together templates you regular use, like templates for telephone followup calls, emails, email newsletters, to-do list, budgets, etc. Anything that will let your prospect use as a model for developing her own version will be greatly appreciated.
  9. Worksheet/workbook. Sometimes information is better delivered in a format where the prospect can jot down ideas, answer questions, or brainstorm. A PDF worksheet or workbook is the ideal format for that to happen. Create a document with a series of questions and space to answer the questions, along with a bit of introductory text to set up the question, and you’ve created a useful workbook.
  10. Ecourse. An ecourse is a series of emails that deliver information over a specific course of time via email. Your ecourse can last as short as 3 days or as long as 52 weeks. Once you pick a topic, simply determine the number of points that you want to make as you discuss the topic, and then create an email that thoroughly explains each point. Put the emails together in a sequence in your email marketing program and you have an ecourse.

If you simply request visitors to opt into your ezine list or your blog list, you’re not maximizing the work that your web site can do for you. Add a client attraction device to your opt-n box and watch your list grow!

Internet Marketing Automation Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create prosperous online businesses that make more profit in less time. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com

Permalink: http://www.submityourarticle.com/a.php?a=72156

By Titus-Hoskins in Featured

List building is one of the most vital elements of
any business – online or offline – mainly because
building a responsive customer/contact list simply
means money in the bank. It is a proven marketing
tactic that works.

List building can take on many forms and can be as
simple or as complicated as you want to make it.
Unfortunately, for most webmasters, it only means
slapping an opt-in form on their site to build a
simple subscriber list that allows them to send
out a weekly or monthly ezine/newsletter to entice
these subscribers back to their site or to buy a
recommended product.

For other webmasters and marketers, including myself,
list building can be taken to a whole new level. They
fully exploit list building for its many benefits and
rewards. For them, list building is a powerful and
effective marketing tool that simply delivers more
traffic and sales.
 

Some History

List building is close to my heart. It was the first
“serious marketing topic” I explored when I first
started marketing online. It was a very tangible
topic since my goal was to build a list of 1000
subscribers for my site’s newsletter. Just the
act of accomplishing that feat told me most of
what I needed to know about list building. And
it sparked my interest.

List building is now one of my targeted keywords;
so you know I make it a point to read and absorb
everything I can possibly get on the topic. It has
proven itself to be a very lucrative education,
as I now owe much of my online earnings directly
or indirectly to list building.

Building an Opt-in List Is Very Easy

I found building a list very easy to do. Here are
some of the most effective ways or things you can
do to build your list quickly:

1. Have an opt-in form on EVERY page of your website.
Make it double opt-in and remind subscribers that
they have to confirm their contact information.

2. Offer something FREE. Whether it be a free ebook,
ezine, tips, guides, software… just make sure you
entice your visitors to sign up or opt-in. I find
giving a visual, tangible image of your ezine or
guide will increase your conversion rate, so invest
in some good professional graphics.

3. Use simple psychology. People want to be a part
of a group; they want to be in the know… offering
secrets, private memberships and access to valuable
information will always draw in the most subscribers.

4. If you have your own product, doing joint ventures
with well-established marketers is the fastest way to
build your list. Don’t forget the squeeze page where
you collect the contact information; again offer a
special bonus to further entice people to opt-in to
your list.

5. Use pop-up or slide-in forms. I have found these
will greatly increase your sign-up rate. But don’t
rely only on gimmicks; offering useful, relevant
content on your pages will always help you garner
the most subscribers.

6. Social media sites, videos, blogs, forums… don’t
forget the new “Internet” is an excellent hunting
ground for building your list or lists. Make sure
you at least have a blog and RSS feed connected to
your site to help spread your content around the
web and gather subscribers.

7. Never forget that the web is the best “viral medium”
we have ever had. Always encourage your present subscribers
to help spread your message and content. If your ezine/content
is first rate, people will recommend it to their friends
and colleagues. Let your subscribers build your list for you.

Building a Responsive Loyal List Is the Hard Part

I have always found building a list is the easy part;
however, building a responsive list that’s loyal is
the real hard part. Keeping your subscribers interested
in your information and getting them to respond to your
“call to action” is the difficult part.

I have found only good, informative content will keep
your subscribers coming back for more. If you bombard
them with “product offers” week after week… they will
just unsubscribe from your list or simply stop reading.
So try to limit your offers to products that you have
tested and used.

Keep in mind that almost everyone is now operating a
list and your subscribers will probably be bombarded
with hundreds of offers when a major launch is done.
I personally ignore most of the major launches these
days, which takes you out of the marketing loop; but
everything has become so satiated lately with so many
well-known marketers jumping on the bandwagon, it is
turning many potential buyers off.

Instead, whenever I find any good free resource,
product or marketing tip – I pass it along to my
subscribers. Over time, this has a way of building
some good loyalty and good will, resulting in the
occasional sale when I do offer a product recommendation.

The Art of the Follow-up

Having said all the above, there is one aspect of
list building that has proven very effective and
very lucrative for me. It is a little different
from offering an ongoing ezine or newsletter and
has to do with the simple follow-up.

I call it micro-list building (for the lack of a
better word). I build hundreds of separate lists
dealing with the different niche products I market,
micro-marketing and micro-targeting to interested
prospects. These are follow-up emails (10-20 or more)
offering valuable information on the product being
promoted. These follow-up emails also usually contain
or offer special deals, bargains, bonus products and
coupons if the prospect buys from your link.

I use an unlimited Autoresponder system (Aweber),
which lets me have countless campaigns ongoing at
the same time. These follow-up campaigns do require
some “set-up” work since you have to write at least
7-10 emails for each campaign; but once they are in
place, you can forget about them.

Studies have shown that it usually takes 6 or 7
follow-ups before a prospect will buy. Having all
these lists of prospective buyers will increase your
traffic and sales. This is one major reason for you
to start building your lists today. If you’re like
me and make your living with online affiliate marketing,
list building is something you simply can’t afford not
to do. Your livelihood will depend upon it.

Cookie Your Lists

If your objective is to make money from your list
or lists – here is my number one proven strategy
for monetizing your list.

Your lists are simply a way of gathering prospective
buyers for the products you’re promoting. Your goal
is to get them to buy directly from you or thru your
affiliate link. One way of making more sales is to
“Cookie Your List” – most affiliate products will set
a cookie when a prospect arrives at their site from
your affiliate link – this means no matter when they
buy in the next couple of days or months you still
get credit for the sale.

I usually pick and promote affiliate products that
have a 90-day cookie or more. This cookie is very
important because if the prospect buys in the next
90 days… you receive credit for the sale. A special
few marketers and companies will even give you a
lifetime cookie.

One tactic I use is to promote 4 or 5 different but
related products in a niche market – pointing out
the benefits and disadvantages of each. You remain
neutral but your goal is get your list’s prospects
to visit each product’s site so that they can be
“cookied.” Then it doesn’t matter which affiliate
product they finally purchase since they are
“cookied” and you will get credit and the sale.

Let’s face it, when we’re in the right mindset to
buy a product… we usually do it within a few months
of considering the idea. That’s why the “cookie” is
so important to your overall sales. Combine this tactic
with your list building and you will greatly increase
your sales.

For me, the object of list building is to find those
prospective buyers when they’re ready to buy. Then give
them valuable, helpful information, along with bonus
gifts or special coupons/bargains to sweeten the deal.
And I make sure all the prospective buyers are “cookied”
with my affiliate IDs.

As I mentioned before, list building can be as simple
or as complex as you want to make it. The possibilities
are endless, but I would suggest anyone with a website
should have a rudimentary subscriber or membership list
just to build a sense of community and to take advantage
of repeat visitors. Anyone who is doing affiliate marketing
should definitely explore all the different avenues, like
the one above, to fully harvest all the rewards list building
will give them.

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