LIST BUILDING

As an internet marketer, one of the most common phrases you will hear is “list building”.

You might wonder why this idea of building a list is so important in your ability to make money as an online marketer. Many wonder why they cannot just build websites, write some copy and collect their profits. Why is it so vital that you consider building a list?

First, let’s talk about what building a list means. Basically, this is where you have visitors to your site fill out a form with their name and email address.

Using this information, you stay in touch with your list (whether they have bought from you yet or not) via email. You will send good, quality information as well as the occasional sales letter to this list.

With any niche that you choose, you will need to make the decision as to whether building a list is even a viable option. However, if you think about it, there is usually some room for up-selling in just about any niche.

For example, if you have a website related to infertility and how to overcome it, you might wonder what else you could offer that group of people. If they use your program and are successful at getting pregnant, you could offer them all kinds of baby related items during their pregnancy. It is important to think outside of the box!

As marketers build their lists, they often see the huge potential they have in that niche. Taking the example above, perhaps you decide to write your own ebook that will complement the one you have been selling.

For example, if you have been selling an ebook  titled “How to Overcome Infertility Naturally”, you might decide to write one called “Yoga Moves for Infertility”. 

This way, you can still sell the original book, but now you can also offer your list this accompanying book.

To see the potential, let’s assume your list has only 500 people right now. Your ebook is priced at $19.95, and you send an email out to your list (which takes all of about 2 minutes).

If 150 people on your list purchase your ebook, you just made a quick $2992.50 for one email! That is the power of list building.

Of course, if you had to hire out the writing of the book, your profits would be a bit reduced. However, what if your email pulled a better return? You could make even more than that!

BUILDING A LIST WITH INFO PRODUCTS

List building is one of the cornerstones of having a profitable internet marketing business. The basic premise is that you can either sell to someone one time or multiple times.

Once you have their contact information, you can market to your list on a regular basis. Of course, you also want to be respectful of those people who have signed up for your list.

The key, however, is getting the right people on your list in the first place.

Some people believe that by offering something for free that is of great value you will attract more people to sign up for your list. While this may be true, you also need to consider what kind of people these would be.

Since they are looking for something for free, you need to consider whether they are just freebie seekers and not real customers. Depending on the niche you are in, this could present a problem.

The other option that really works well for some marketers is creating a short report or eBook that they could sell for a very minimal cost. This separates the freebie seekers from the real buyers who are looking for an answer to their concern or problem.

By making this small purchase, these buyers are raising their hands and saying they want information. This gives the marketer an opportunity to sell them other, more in depth information later.

For example, let's say you have a website about how to lose that extra 10 pounds before swimsuit season. Instead of offering all of your information on your website, you have two options.

You can write a free report that people can get when they sign up to your website. However, you could charge $3, $5 or $7, for example, to get this report.

That way, you know that the buyers signing up for your list are so interested in material about that topic that they are willing to pay for it. Now you have a list of actual BUYERS instead of just interested people who like free information.

List building is one of the most important parts of an internet marketer's business. It pays to take the time to really think about each niche and what will work best for that particular market. While a free report may be the very best thing to use in one niche, it might not work at all in another niche.

TRADING LISTS

Most internet marketers have heard the term list building, but are you familiar with the idea of doing joint ventures with your list?

The phrase “joint venture” may sound very official and a bit daunting, but in reality it is a very easy process for internet marketers who want to make boat loads of money in a very short period of time. Of course, it takes some work and preparation in advance, but it can be a lucrative proposition.

The basic idea of the joint venture as it relates to list building is this: You find another marketer who is interested in “trading” lists with you for a sales campaign. Here is an example:

You have a website about making money online. You teach mainly about affiliate marketing, and how you can use it to make money from home. You meet another internet marketer who has a great eBook about selling things on eBay for other people on consignment. This does not directly relate to what your website is about, but it is yet another way people can make money from home.

This would be a great opportunity for you to do a joint venture because the information in the eBook will give your list another way to make money from home to support their affiliate marketing efforts.

Maybe they can buy more software, domain names and your training materials if they are making extra money on eBay! So, you approach this other marketer and devise a plan to market to each other's lists. After all, your information will also be of great value to his list.

You create an email explaining affiliate marketing and offer a free short report about why it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. He sends it out to his list, and immediately you notice a spike in your list sign ups! You then offer his eBook on your website for a “discount” rate of $29.

You are splitting the profits, and your list is 500 people right now. Let's say only 100 people buy the book. That means you just made $1500 for sending out ONE email!

It is easy to see how list building along with a joint venture can be extremely profitable. There is nothing more fun than watching your bank account grow just because you are sending out the occasional email. So, what are you waiting for? Start building that list today!

LIST BUILDING IDEAS

When you start an internet marketing business, you often do not know which way to turn. You hear so many seemingly great ideas, but implementing them can be frustrating and a chore.

Each day, you wake up feeling like you are flailing in a hundred directions.

Should you write articles today?
Build a website?
How about keyword research?

It can become a challenge to get yourself to stay on task!

List building is one of those “must do” things on every internet marketer's daily task outline.

By building a list, you are ensuring future income because you will have a great database of people who are interested in your product or service. You can continually keep in touch and build rapport with a group of people who want to hear your message. This is what you call a nest egg for the future.

You can set up an account with an auto-responder service such as Aweber and create opt-in forms. The way that you word your opt-in form is very important. You do not want to ask for way too much information, however you want their first name and email address at the very least. This way, you can create content that you personalize to that person.

One thing you always want to put in your opt-in box is something about how their information will be handled. For instance, you might want to put a sentence such as “I value your privacy. I will not share or sell your information”. Some people put things like “I hate spam as much as you do.”

In the end, list building is something you must take seriously because if you make your list angry or they do not trust you, it will not serve to build your income over the long term.

Building a list should be thought of as a business in and of itself. Make an actual plan for how you will do it, what you will offer to get them to sign up and what your future plans are to market to your list of subscribers and take action!

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR LIST

Internet marketers often discuss the idea of list building amongst themselves. It is one of those areas of the online business world that is known to be quite lucrative, but seems to lurk in the shadows when you try to figure out the success formula.

Some marketers seem to have a knack for turning lists into millions of dollars each year while others cannot seem to get one person to sign up for their list. The question becomes: What is the most important key to building a list successfully?

There really is one major part of list building that must be applied for it to work. Without this key, there is no chance that the list will be an income producer.

Building rapport and trust: Let's face facts- no one will sign up to be on the mailing list of a SALES PERSON.

As an example, would you call up your local telemarketer and ask to be put on a monthly list of people they can call and harass? Most likely, you would rather have a root canal than talk to a telemarketer several times a month, right?

Well the same can be said for internet surfers. If they smell a sales pitch, they are going to run the other way. No one wants to be sold to. However, they do want to be appreciated, informed and rewarded for their patronage to your site.

How do you inform and reward your website visitors?

The answer is by giving them something of value for FREE. This does not mean giving them rehashed PLR content that they can find online for free.

This means giving them information that makes them wonder why you are giving it away for free! You want your customer to imagine how wonderful your other products are that do cost money. After all, if they got such great information for free, what will they get when they pay?

List building truly can be a money maker, but the very first step has to be building trust and giving something for nothing.

Someone has to step up first, and that is you as the site owner. You must say “Here, take this free information as a thank you for putting your name and email address in the box.” Then the follow up begins!

Remember, no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.