Getting started building your list
Today I will start on how to build your list. This was the number one item holding people back from the survey. The good thing is that more people are starting to understand the importance of a list for their business.
The previous post talked about finding you product. Now we will go through how to get started. Here are the steps we will discuss.
-
Describe your ideal customer
-
Go where your customer does to find their biggest questions
-
Create an ethical bribe they just must have
-
Create a squeeze page and drive traffic to it
-
Follow up, build the relationship and sell the product and related products you pick.
Now it is time to do a bit of thinking. I know sounds like the dreaded 4 letter word – WORK. This is a step that most people skip and then wonder why things don’t work for them. You really need to create a customer profile. Who is the person that would be most likely to buy the product you selected? If you know that then setting up a system to build your list becomes easy.
The next step will be to find or create an ethical bribe that the customer you are targeting just has to have. This will allow you to not just build a list but to target your list building efforts to people that will want what you are planning to sell.
You can find out what this would be by visiting the forums that your target customer would visit.. See what the problems are that are asked consistently. See what questions are being asked at Yahoo answers on that topic. How often does the same or slight variation show up?
This will allow you to create something they just have to have because you are addressing their biggest question.
Now create a squeeze page and drive traffic to it. This will be discussed in more detail in a later post.
Send email to build the relationship and sell the product to your new list. Send related offers to them too.
That is the overview of building your list. For a detailed step by step plan I strongly recommend you check out Promo Dashboard. In easy 20 minute a day steps it will walk you through all of the details to accomplish just this.
Next time we will talk about hosting and setting up your squeeze page.
Mike Paetzold
Related posts
Disclaimer: Some of the links mentioned within this post or posts it may lead to are my affiliate links and in such case I will get compensated for recommending those products. However, I will never recommend something that I don't personally believe in and I welcome your questions and feedback.
March 16th, 2009 at 11:53 am
A very important post, Mike! The day a marketer starts their own opt-in list is one they’ll always look back on fondly – by the time one gets to 6 or 7 figures a year, we all know it’s our mailing list that was most influential in getting us there. Even the big joint ventures are always done between marketers with big mailing lists, so that list is vital to every aspect of your online business.
Doug Champigny´s last blog post..Affiliate Marketing – The Conscientious Affiliate Marketer
March 16th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Getting the ethical bribe right is a critical first step. It must be something that speaks to your browser’s needs. Since most are looking for information and by virtue of being on your web site are at least somewhat interested it should be relatively easy to come up with the right ideas.
Then make sure it delivers what it promises. This is the first step in building your prospects trust in you.
March 16th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Mike, all so true.
I suppose list building is an art on itself.
And you need different approaches (and bribes) for each niche.
I’m just trying to work on squeeze pages, looking out for your next post.
Fred
Fred Lotgering´s last blog post..Twitter More Traffic More Sales
March 16th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I know list building is an important step in your online business. It is good to see that you are going to give everyone a few lessons. Get ready for the ride.
Andre Arnett´s last blog post..The Effect Of The Twitter Effect
March 16th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
If people just follow your advice and take action on it, they will start building a good list. The list truly is one of the (if not the) most important things anyone can do to build their online business.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:10 am
Hey Mike,
Great post. If you’re an online marketer, you don’t have a shop for customers to walk into all the time so you have just got to have a list to keep your products in front of them, build relationships and grow.
Ric Raftis´s last blog post..No Follow Links In Article Directories
March 17th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Mike. Thanks.
Starting and continuing to build a list is probably the most important thing we as marketers can do. Although it is possible to create cash flow without a list, it is much easier to with one.
Keep up the good work.
Ron
Ron Barrett´s last blog post..I Want To Participate In The Giveaways, But I Don’t Have a Gift! Help Me!