The key to online marketing where you sell your own or someone else’s products is to build a targeted list of responsive customers.
Easier said than done right?
Not really, at a very basic level, with a few hours each week you can easily hit Phase 1 of list building where you collect 10-15 subscribers each day turning into a list of 1,000 subscribers in less than 6-months.
With a little more knowledge and effort you can double that rate and really tap into a goldmine within your targeted niche market. I know of several online marketers that have lists of less than 5,000 subscribers that make 100K + online – it’s not entirely the size, but rather how targeted, responsive your prospects are along with how much they trust you.
There are pot-holes along the path to building your list, some of the most common mistakes that are made include:
1. Not getting started! Don’t laugh, I would say that 90% of you fall into this category right now. You haven’t yet setup your autoresponder list management account, you have not taken the 5-minutes or so it takes to setup your initial campaign and create a professional looking form to put on your website. This autoresponder makes this entire process of getting a subscriber opt-in form onto your website or blog dead-simple – no extra training required.
2. Lack a Compelling Incentive. Look, the reality today is that users are being asked for their contact information around every corner as more and more content is being placed behind membership-oriented sites…that means they need an incentive to sign up. Your incentive has to be attention grabbing, compelling, relevant, and even a little mysterious (leaving your subscriber on the edge of their seat) for them to become a member on their list. The better job you do of giving away a few prime pieces of content, the more successful your list building campaign will be.
3. Missing or Ineffective Sequence. Ok, this may sound obvious, but I see it all over the place where someone does a good job of getting me on their list, but then I may get 1 or 2 emails max. where it becomes clear to me that person had NO idea of what to put into an email marketing follow up sequence. Do yourself a favor, get hold of the Create A Minicourse guide which gives you the sequences and examples you need to create a compelling email follow-up sequence that actually pulls in customers.
4. No Product To Sell: Let’s just get em on the list and then we’ll figure out what to sell them right? Getting them on the list is better than nothing, but ideally you have a purpose behind the course – a set of steps that lead to certain results for your customers opening the opportunity for you to promote related products to them along the way – your own or someone else’s. By testing product offerings along the way you accomplish a few things: 1) Get your prospects used to seeing a combination of information and offers 2) You get instant feedback on what your customers buy and what they don’t and 3) You discover gaps in the existing products that offer you product development opporutnities
5. Not staying in touch. Ignore your list and they will disappear. It’s not like they are waiting to hear from you day-in, day-out – although that will happen if you treat your list well. If we miss a week’s mailing I do get several emails from you guys asking what happened to me! Nice to be loved! You need to stay in contact (at least once each week). I like to program a few months of 1-week autoresponse lessons with at least once-per week mailout with valuable information.
6. Not Soliciting Feedback. Perhaps the most valuable part of building and having a list is to constantly (once per month at least) ask them about their frustrations, dreams, goals, experiences so you get to know who they are, what they want and how you can help them achieve more in life. This is the so-called "pot of gold" for any of you who wish to develop your own information products…you will uncover incredible opportunities from your very own list once you begin soliciting feedback.
As you can see, these are not rocket science…you need to get started NOW, understand what your market want, give away some of your best content to drive your relationship deep, don’t be afraid to recommend great products and services and collaborate with your best subscribers (your raving fans) to build valuable products and services.
Following this advice will build you a long-term, high-growth, sustainable business for you that can propel you to the very top of your market and win you ongoing, leveraged, passive income.
