If you’re serious about building your Internet business, then you’ve got to be serious about building your opt-in list. Nothing else can guarantee you financial security like having your own list of loyal, dedicated subscribers who read your emails, buy your products and act on your affiliate offers.
Here’s how to add a hundred or more subscribers week in and week out like clockwork, without any magic and without relying on SEO. And if you’re thinking 100 is too small of a number, know that this method can be ramped up significantly once you get the hang of it. One of the biggest mistakes new marketers make is thinking they’ve got to somehow add 5,000 subscribers to their list this week and another 50,000 next week, but it doesn’t work like that. As with anything else, start small, have a plan, and work your way up to the big numbers.
And one more thing – even if you only continue to add 100 subscribers to your list per week, in just 10 weeks from now you’ll have 1,000 subscribers on your list. And if you’re treating your list right, those 1,000 subscribers can mean another $1,000 or more PER month to you – or $12,000 per year. For many people, that’s enough to cover the mortgage or buy a brand new car every 2-3 years.
So let’s get started: The first thing you need is a squeeze page that converts your traffic into subscribers. Hopefully you already have one, but if you don’t, it’s an easy fix. Google “Squeeze page templates” and do some searching.
Upload the template of our choice to your web hosting, making whatever changes are necessary in the verbage, and add in your autoresponder code. If you don’t yet have an autoresponder, Google that too. There are many good ones out there with Aweber, GetResponse and MailChimp being among the most popular.
Now then, here’s where you’re going to get your traffic: First you’re going to locate fellow marketers in your niche who have their own email newsletter or list. You can do this by going to forums in your niche, pulling up the newsletters you subscribe to in your niches from your email box, and searching Google for additional newsletters in your niche. Your goal is to compile a list of marketers in your field who have their own emails lists.
Next, contact these marketers one by one with a personal email asking them if they would be interested in selling you a paid solo ad to their list, and ask them how much they would charge to send it out.
Before you get worried, know that this can be extremely cost effective. If you choose your lists intelligently, you might get a couple of hundred new subscribers for less than fifty dollars. Also be open to placing an ad inside their newsletter, preferably at the TOP of one of their mailouts as opposed to buried near the bottom.
Spending some time on Google should provide you with a list of potential newsletters, or if you want to save time, check out the Directory of Ezines. They tell you how many subscribers each list has and what they charge, along with other information that makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.
Not every ezine owner you contact will agree to a paid solo ad, but many will because they know it’s easy money for them. Keep in mind, you only need a few good ones to make this work. And yes, you are investing in your business to build your opt-in list using this method. But again, every subscriber you get can mean another $1 per month to you in income if you treat them right. Plus, you can actually MAKE money using this method – Here’s how…
During the opt-in process, make your new list member an offer they can’t refuse. This isn’t the time to go for the $197 sale – they don’t know you yet and have no reason to trust you. But if you can offer them tremendous value at a stupid low price, you’ll be accomplishing several things at once.
First, you’ll be giving them great value. How do you think they’re going to feel about you after they receive far more than they paid for? They’re going to feel great, and they’re going to be open to more offers from you. Heck, they will probably be LOOKING for more of your offers to take advantage of.
Second, you’re teaching them to buy from you. Once you make a sale to someone, that person is FAR more likely to buy from you again in the future. In fact, every new person on your list who buys from you – even if it’s just a $7 or $10 product – is easily worth 10 subscribers who have not purchased anything from you yet.
Third, you are recouping your advertising costs, and quite possibly making a profit.
Forth, you are FAR more likely to be remembered by your new customer because he or she has purchased from you. This means when you send them an email tomorrow, next week and next year, they’re more likely to open it and more likely to act on it.
Fifth, you are demonstrating that you give tremendous value for their money. Thus – and this ties in with the first 4 points – they are not only more likely to buy from you in the future – they’re also more likely to participate on your blog or forum, more likely to tell others, and more likely to promote your products if they happen to also be a marketer.
I simply cannot emphasize enough how important it is to make them a great offer from the very start. If you’ve got a powerful $47 product or $97 product that is perhaps getting stale, you might consider offering it to new subscribers for $7. Let them know this is their only chance at the deal, and go ahead and tell them the only reason you’re giving them such an amazing bargain is because you want to make a dynamite first impression and turn them into a raving fan.
One last point: Now that you’re building an email list, be sure to give them plenty of great information and education, along with plenty of soft sells. This will keep them happy, opening your emails, and purchasing your offers. Always respect your list, and never bombard them with a slew of offers and no content. If they suspect your only reason for emailing them is to make a buck, then you’ve lost. But if they can tell how much you care about them, they’ll remain your customers for a long, long time.
