Building a list

[William Joiner]

After stumbling around on the internet for a year trying various web site promotions, I have come to the conclusion that a mailing list is the only way to make money. I am in process of building a list with my free web site at www.billjoiner.ws.

What is a ball park number for a minimum number of members in a list to do a joint venture? I do not have a product but would use my member list for the joint venture.

Also, I would like any suggestions and advise as I am a greenhorn.

[Mike Merz]

Hi, William ... welcome to JV Notify Pro.

Though it's not the size that counts (no innuendo intended), but the relationship you have with your list ... and how targeted the list is to the offers you're passing on to them ... most merchants that are searching for potentially productive JV partners (as opposed to simple affiliates) look for a list of 1500 to 3000 as a starting point ... some as high as 10,000.

But ... again ...minimum list size is just one way of pre qualifying a potential JV candidate ... and it's not always a prerequisite.

Best,

Mike Merz

[Jack Bissey]

Bill,

I too am struggling to build a list....I have one product now, my own ebook and another in the works......I will share any information I have and if you get a list together and want to test market using my ebook, i would be happy to discuss it.

Regards,

Jack

[Edmund Loh]

Bill,

I too am struggling to build a list....I have one product now, my own ebook and another in the works......I will share any information I have and if you get a list together and want to test market using my ebook, i would be happy to discuss it.

Regards,

Jack


Hi Jack,

Re. building your mailing list, I can share a method with you though it's quite basic (because if I write it all here, it may as well be a book!)

Looks like you have an eBook ready and another one in the making, so you'll want to prioritize your Internet Business Model this way:

1. Make your Index page a Landing Page to collect leads. Tip: You say you have another book in the making, right? Why not use it as a special report to offer to your visitors for free in exchange for subscribing to your list? It'll give them a further incentive. ;)

2. When they subscribe, they'll go to your Thank You page to download the report. Cash makers are here now: you pre-sell your main book in the Thank You page. Secondly, you have links mostly pointing back to the sales letter of that book. Thirdly, you may want to gently remind your subscribers about it via follow up emails. :P

I've done quite well focusing on these 3 gentle reminders that I was able to sell a $97.00 Resell Rights products up until now since the day I started online. 8)

Of course, the success factors include:
- how well your sales letter is written
- how well your special report and main ebook is linked and related together


With the system taken care of, your main methods of building your list (effectively) include:
- joining Give Aways (better if you're in the Internet Marketing circle)
- PPC (I personally dont do this, but have had friends do well with this)
- eZine advertising (I do this one, but repeat advertising and compelling ads count)
- ad swaps (my favorite!)

This is just a general outline but I hope this helps.

Edmund Loh

[Sam Heyer]

Hi Bill and Jack,

Edmund hit the nail on the head. I'm not sure why his strategy seems so secret to many (I think because marketers are still raking money in from this method) ...

But I can personally say that his simple method that he laid out works incredibly. It will build you lists with numbers far greater than any other method - my "squeeze pages" as they're called convert at over 50% - but as Mike said, it's not really the subscribers that will get you money, it's how you sell to them...

That all ties in with the relationship of your list, but the upsell and backend selling of your list is crucial. Many refer to this as the marketing funnel ... you start by selling them smaller priced items and then work them down the funnel until you are selling high ticket items. Now naturally you are going to sell more items at $19 then at $5000, but that doesn't mean you're going to make more profit there.

Another quick lesson about your list is something that I have a course coming out soon on ... your "list" isn't just your list. It is compiled with 5 different groups of people and once you know this, you will be multiplying profits many times over.

Your list starts with subscribers (the ones that signup for the freebies) then you have the affiliate (the person that might/might not buy, but promotes) then you have the customer (one time buyer of smaller product) then you have the long term customer (the person that buys over and over again - high levels of trust) then there are the JV partners.

All of these people come from your simple lists. When you are selling to your list, don't just sell the $29 ebook over and over again. Think about the model that I just showed you and work people down the marketing funnel while keeping the 5 different groups in mind. I have yet to see someone not make money with their list using this model.

I hope this helps ... if you have any questions about Edmunds system ASK! This will help you tremendously, so if anything is unclear just post a question.

Have a great day,
Sam

P.S. Thanks for that invaluable post Edmund :)

[KingUmar]

Hi edmund,

Thanks for your valuable information,

Regards,

Kingumar

[TimothyP]

Thank You Gentlemen For Your Comments ........

As a newcomer to this forum, I certainly fall into the category of trying to put it all together.

The key phrase for me from Edmund's comments was "Once your SYSTEM is in place .....". My biggest shortcoming has been impatience ... not hammering in all of the nails on a particular project and getting it out there half-arsed, and then moving on to the next half-arsed effort.

It is certainly worth noting that the first post on this thread was over 2 years ago, and the advice being given is still straight on today.

One of my goals for joining this forum was to immerse myself in a community that communicated more on a personal level as opposed to the general Internet "My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog". I am as success driven as the next guy, but a little honest, straight forward banter from time to time is certainly refreshing. My first several days exploring this forum lead me to believe that I have made a good choice.

Well, off to review my own list building efforts in hopes that one day we may be working together.

Enjoy Your Journey,

Timothy Prahl

[charleskirkland]

This is one big question that you need to ask.

Do you have a list of BUYERS or FREE seekers. Both are good but you need to know the buyers have much better quality- they will spend more LOTS more.

One way to kill 2 birds with 1 stone is this. It really works.

1. Go buy a copy of Sid Hales Rapid Action Profts script, get a paypal account and get a Aweber account.

2. Setup your script to give 100% on the front end and the OTO and OTO downsell. (Yes there is a way to do a OTO downsell with this script. Oliver Bowen made it happen. Plus he is a member here.)

3. Now get you aweber acount setup with do a popup or a inline frame inside the sales letter. This is part of the list building. you are giving the JV's 100% so you have every right to get every name you can. Give out the free report on the popup or the inline frame.

4. Go get JV's with a list and tell them you will give them 100% instant paypal payments if they promote.

5. Make sure you have a killer set of JV tools ready for your JV's, emails, banners, text link, etc.

6. Make sure you have a good followup in place and make sure your remove the person from your freeopt list to your buyer list.

7. Setup the JV's with a higher % then just buyers. This ways when the buyers send traffic they get a lower cut.

8. Use a TAF to gain extra traffic. ViralInviter works really good.


What are the benifits of a good list?

This is from 1 email Monday and 1 email Tuesday to a small list of buyers.


http://seocodebreaker.com/listquestion/clicbank1.JPG

This is the power of having buyers on your list.

Thanks
Charles Kirkland

[charleskirkland]

My answer must have NOT been very good since nobody has followed up.

Charles

[affiliaterockstarx]

Great answer...

[Mike Lucas]

Hey Guys,

I thought I may have been on my own with list building ! Bill, Jack,
It' s comforting to know that we are all at different levels, and the more experienced members are willing to offer there help.

Thanks Charles for your shared info.

Mike

[Todd Lamb]

My response is similar to those who have already posted....the money is definitely in the list.

A squeeze page with an offer of a really good report is a decent way to build your list. On all of my sites I offer a minimum of 2 reports to secure the opt-in.

If you want to see an example head to www.OnlineSuperWealth.com (http://www.OnlineSuperWealth.com) which is a simple squeeze page with an offer.

An important factor is to direct traffic to your squeeze page, and you must have well placed content to do that.

As my mentors (if you are just starting...hunt someone down to show you the way!) have pointed out many, many times...content is king.

Be sure to post a quality article in an ezine etc with the link to your squeeze page. If you have a good offer there, people will opt-in and you will start raking it in!

The downside is...when you are just starting out even that can seem overwhelming. Do not get discouraged...stay awake later and get up earlier, it will come together for you if you put the work in, even if it is 30 minutes in morning and 30 minutes at night.

Take Care
Todd

[imported_Kim Roach]

Some excellent tips here. I especially like the point about quality over quantity. So true!

It's really in the relationship you develop with your subscribers. A mailing list of 1,000 subscribers can outperform a mailing list of 10,000 subscribers if the relationship is there.

Some of my favorite list building techniques include...

article marketing
ad swaps
video marketing
free reports

Simple... but it works.

- Kim Roach

[atedman]

Hello Everyone

On the subject of "content is king" has anyone used the ContentFX membership site?

If it delivers half of what it claims it would be a real time saver. This my first post so apologies if this question is inappropriate.

Alan Tedman

[Steven G. Johnson]

Those were some really great tips that Charles
gave...

I use a lot of those methods myself to build my
different lists...

Here's a screenshot of one of my smaller Clickbank
accounts...I sent a mailing to one of my sublist
and made $600 and that wasn't the updated
image:

http://www.thequicklistformulas.com/images/cbsalesept.png

That is proof of how important having even a small list is to your
online business, but the important thing to remember is to make
sure to build a good relationship with your subscribers before you
start bombarding them with offers...

Good Relationships = BIG MONEY!!!

[Chris Derenberger]

I'm just now getting my list built.. I had a small software created from scriptlance.com and added it to a couple giveaway sites. The visitor has to enter info in my squeeze page to get software, I had 114 subscribers in the last 24 hours..

It seems to be working great!

[Jordan Sanders]

steven g. johnson and charleskirkland --

very impressed with both of your profits. I was just wondering, were the hundreds/thousands dollars of profit from a high ticket item? Or did you make so much money by selling something cheaper to a HUGE list with lots and lots of sales?

I'm asking because right now I have a new, small list (although growing everyday). what should my strategy be? should I try to sell an expensive item or just keep hitting them with small stuff? Or should I send a couple newsletters (since my newsletter is brand new) without any product offers at all to build trust?

[Steven G. Johnson]

Hey Jordan,

My advice to you is to not send them offers just yet...

Work on growing your list and building trust with them
at the same time...

Remember, a list of 300 subscribers that trust you is always
better than a list of 10K subscribers that have no trust for
you...

[Jordan Sanders]

Yeah, that's what I was leaning towards... thanks for the advice Steve.

[Mike Lucas]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of building a list, and I'm taking the squeeze page approach with a giveaway report, can anyone share the best way/s to get traffic to it at a reasonable cost.

Thanks.


Mike Lucas.

[david lechner]

Everyone says to give away ebooks or information in exchange for their email address, but most people that sign up are Freebie seekers.

Maybe this is why my list doesn't convert very well.

[Robert Cefail]

How big is your list? I have a very large list and am looking to do swap mailings (reciprocal mailings) promoting our new launch Web Freedom Now (www.webfreedomnow.com).

Bob

[Mohamed Mnafeg]

Hi everyone
I have one advice just train your freebies seekers to be buyers.
give them free trial offers because they are coded with words like"free, gift,.."
with this offers you train them to give you their credit card info
and if it's ok upsell.


Thanks
Mohamed Mnafeg

[JayDeiboldt]

David, you have to "warm up" your subscribers. Give them free stuff, then sell them little by little.

I turned a list of Warriors who are used to buying $7 products, into a list that regularly converts on high-ticket items.

It's all about the relationship you build with them.

They aren't buying your stuff, they are buying you.

[charleskirkland]

The list is never about the money. I know this is strange.

The money is in the list ONLY if they know you, trust you, and buy from you.

But just give you list members insane value and build the trust up first. Never try to sell
them until you have given them so much value until it is insane.

I have a small list of people who bought my PPC video course a few months ago. They just signed up for free and then I sent them a email every days for 3 weeks straight.

I then made them a offer for the course for a discount of only $297 if they got it in the first 48 hours. I sold about 27 seats with a list of less then 300 people. By the way I got that list by running PPC ads. By the way what I did was from a idea I got from Frank Kern, go buy everything he has.

The landing page they went to didn't have a order button, the only thing they could do was sign up for a free course. Thats it. Then I wrote the emails and did the videos based on the feed back I got from the emails that they gave me back.

There was never any time that I even tryed to sell them anything.

Just hard core A** kicking tips that most people have never heard off.

By the end of the 3 weeks they knew me, trusted me, knew what I was telling them worked. And the emails were written just like I would write to a friend.

It's about if they trust what you are telling them and do they trust you.

When you are giving away free content don't hold back.

Now there is no reason anybody dosen't have a list.

Do you have $20 and a paypal account?

If yes then do this.

I went to the Warrior forum and paid $20 via paypal and did a WSO.

What's a WSO? Its just were you give members of the warrior forum a discount to buy your program.

The benfit of this is you get feedback and reviews about your product before you ever launch it.

Check out the feedback I got for my wordpress videos.


http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-special-offers-forum/10340-free-videos-how-i-get-over-64-326-visitors-every-month-made-almost-5-888-clickbank-sales.html


I made the offe so anybody could get the videos for FREE. I made it a point not to charge anything for it. Plus since they could see that I was charging people on my home page that made it even more valuable to the Warrior forum members.

As of a few minutes ago I had over 1,363 page views and 442 people have signed up from that little $20 post.

Plus I'm going to have some great reviews that I can have on my home page.

But back to the list.

Anybody could do the same and builda list very fast from WSO's. But you have to think out of the box. Jonny Andrews has a program coming out in a few more days that is loaded with ways you can get tons of free traffic.

Free traffic that you would build a list from.

Thanks
Charles Kirkland

[atedman]

Brilliant tips as ever from Charles. You can learn so much on this forum.

Has anybody had any experience of buying leads? I know Get Response sell them.

I can see how using the techniques described in earlier posts, that once you have the leads you could build your relationship before trying to sell them anything. But is buying leads an unnecessary expense and to be avoided?

Thanks.

Alan