The Power of The List
| Category: E-mail Marketing | Date: 2002-06-19 |
Many of you fail to realize that your online marketing efforts are completely wasted because you fail to build a list of the targeted prospects who stop by your website but do not make a purchase on the first visit. Direct Marketing experts knew that the key to making a sale was to develop a trust relationship with their potential customers. They also knew that their prospects needed to be exposed to their sales message at least 7 times before they were ready to make a purchase. The Direct Marketing experts began building trust by offering a free report that was of value to their target market and they built their lists using the names of the prospects who requested their free reports. Now they were able to contact these individuals with future offers.
This "rule of 7" takes on even greater significance on the web where distrust is rampant and poor customer service or outright fraud is the rule rather than the exception. In order to build and maintain a "trust relationship" with your potential customers, you must deliver something of value to them, for instance, targeted information. The easiest, most cost effective and consistent vehicle that you could use to deliver this information is an online newsletter. Many marketers have failed to understand this concept even though it is one of the most widely accepted methods for contacting prospects who have raised their hand and said I am interested in what you have to say.
Here Are 5 Key Reasons Why You Need To Maintain An Opt-In List:
Building Trust: Maintaining an opt-in list enables you to share your views and ultimately your personality with people who would never get to know you otherwise. If you communicate your message honestly and effectively you can gradually build trust between you and your subscribers. Keep your messages consistent (do not contradict yourself from one message to the next) and the positive perception your subscribers have of you will continue to grow. Eventually, you will find that these people place great value on your word. This can be compared to the effect that the great motivational speakers, like Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar, have on their audiences. These master speakers have the ability to hold a room spellbound (not to mention sell a ton of products). This is what you must do with your list. Build and maintain trust, your reputation and move your salesmanship to print.
Building repeat traffic to your site: Frequent email contact with your website visitors invites them to return to your site over and over again so that they could review the product(s)/service(s) in which they had once expressed interest and possibly move you closer to a sale.
Building Additional Revenue Streams:
Many clients who seek your advice and expertise (and many who are willing to pay for it) will seek you out after initially being exposed to you through your publication.
Advertisers looking to target your market will pay you for ad space in your publication.
You now have a vehicle for targeted joint ventures with other publishers/marketers seeking to target your subscriber base.
Building your reputation as an expert in your field: The more you publish is the more your subscribers will look to you for guidance. As was stated in #1 they begin to trust you. This "expert status" greatly increases your exposure and with that your opportunities explode. For instance, since I began publishing my own newsletter and writing articles, I have been invited all over the world to speak at seminars and contribute to various websites.
Building the value of your business: Many experts consider a customer/prospect list to be one of the most important assets of any business. Your goal should always be to increase the value of your online business. If you ever consider selling your business, an opt-in list will be seen as a valuable asset by a potential buyer.
Ok, So How Do We Grow A List To Critical Mass As Quickly As Possible?
Promote your mailing list consistently and constantly. Make use of every resource at your disposal: announcement lists, directories, newsgroups, award sites, etc. If you do not know how to do this, consider hiring a professional service to do it for you.
Participate in ad swaps with other publishers. Do not take this step lightly. I know several publishers who have grown lists to over 40,000 names within 6 months time by utilizing this simple, and cost effective (how does FREE sound to you?) mechanism.
If you are looking to find publishers to swap ads with, I highly recommend getting a copy of the Ezine Ad Swap Tracker. This free software is available from our website at goldbar.net Then visit Troy Mcdonalds website at www.homebasedprofit.com to join his free mailing list of publishers willing to swap ads.
Here is a tip for you to take ad swapping to another level: contact several other publishers whose newsletter targets an audience similar to your own and suggest that you promote each others lists. The best way I know of to do this is to set up a form on your website where your prospects can subscribe to multiple newsletters at the same time! This is another technique that has seen some lists numbering in the tens of thousands built literally overnight!!
If you are looking for a great software product to implement this idea, stop by master CGI programmer Will Bontragers site and pick up a copy of his Master Subscriber Pro script. It is a top notch program that makes setting up newsletter joint ventures a snap.
Write original articles. The net is full of stale, rehashed content. Newsletters, such as this one, which publishes only original content (with a very rare guest article thrown in) are more likely to be appreciated and read by subscribers and, more importantly, recommended to others.
If you implement these 4 ideas when you build your list or begin revitalizing your existing one, you will notice your prospects turn to customers much faster than if you did not have a list.
Two Important Technical Considerations To Keep In Mind:
Make sure that your list is managed on listserver software that is capable of handling the exact needs of you (as the maintainer) and your audience (the subscribers). Many excellent packages exist ranging in price and complexity. My suggestion is this: make sure you are completely comfortable with the maintenance of your listserver before you agree to any longterm commitments.
Make absolutely sure that your list is secure. This means only you and perhaps the tech support at your webhosting provider should be able to send messages to the list. I have seen too many good lists tank because they either had weak security in place or the list management software that was being utilized allowed anyone to mail to the list. One malicious person can bring in an avalanche of unsubscribes and a ruined reputation.
An important note: once you have built this trust relationship with your subscribers, never ever violate it. Live by these rules and you will build relationships with prospects that will turn into lasting relationships with customers.
About the Author
Article by Marc Goldman, Goldbar Enterprises subscribe to The Marketers Resource Weekly: The Free Internet Marketing Resource for the New Millennium. Subscribe at goldbar.net Discover the exclusive members only website that will propel your business to dizzying heights.
webmaster@goldbar.net
http://www.goldbar.net
This "rule of 7" takes on even greater significance on the web where distrust is rampant and poor customer service or outright fraud is the rule rather than the exception. In order to build and maintain a "trust relationship" with your potential customers, you must deliver something of value to them, for instance, targeted information. The easiest, most cost effective and consistent vehicle that you could use to deliver this information is an online newsletter. Many marketers have failed to understand this concept even though it is one of the most widely accepted methods for contacting prospects who have raised their hand and said I am interested in what you have to say.
Here Are 5 Key Reasons Why You Need To Maintain An Opt-In List:
Building Trust: Maintaining an opt-in list enables you to share your views and ultimately your personality with people who would never get to know you otherwise. If you communicate your message honestly and effectively you can gradually build trust between you and your subscribers. Keep your messages consistent (do not contradict yourself from one message to the next) and the positive perception your subscribers have of you will continue to grow. Eventually, you will find that these people place great value on your word. This can be compared to the effect that the great motivational speakers, like Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar, have on their audiences. These master speakers have the ability to hold a room spellbound (not to mention sell a ton of products). This is what you must do with your list. Build and maintain trust, your reputation and move your salesmanship to print.
Building repeat traffic to your site: Frequent email contact with your website visitors invites them to return to your site over and over again so that they could review the product(s)/service(s) in which they had once expressed interest and possibly move you closer to a sale.
Building Additional Revenue Streams:
Many clients who seek your advice and expertise (and many who are willing to pay for it) will seek you out after initially being exposed to you through your publication.
Advertisers looking to target your market will pay you for ad space in your publication.
You now have a vehicle for targeted joint ventures with other publishers/marketers seeking to target your subscriber base.
Building your reputation as an expert in your field: The more you publish is the more your subscribers will look to you for guidance. As was stated in #1 they begin to trust you. This "expert status" greatly increases your exposure and with that your opportunities explode. For instance, since I began publishing my own newsletter and writing articles, I have been invited all over the world to speak at seminars and contribute to various websites.
Building the value of your business: Many experts consider a customer/prospect list to be one of the most important assets of any business. Your goal should always be to increase the value of your online business. If you ever consider selling your business, an opt-in list will be seen as a valuable asset by a potential buyer.
Ok, So How Do We Grow A List To Critical Mass As Quickly As Possible?
Promote your mailing list consistently and constantly. Make use of every resource at your disposal: announcement lists, directories, newsgroups, award sites, etc. If you do not know how to do this, consider hiring a professional service to do it for you.
Participate in ad swaps with other publishers. Do not take this step lightly. I know several publishers who have grown lists to over 40,000 names within 6 months time by utilizing this simple, and cost effective (how does FREE sound to you?) mechanism.
If you are looking to find publishers to swap ads with, I highly recommend getting a copy of the Ezine Ad Swap Tracker. This free software is available from our website at goldbar.net Then visit Troy Mcdonalds website at www.homebasedprofit.com to join his free mailing list of publishers willing to swap ads.
Here is a tip for you to take ad swapping to another level: contact several other publishers whose newsletter targets an audience similar to your own and suggest that you promote each others lists. The best way I know of to do this is to set up a form on your website where your prospects can subscribe to multiple newsletters at the same time! This is another technique that has seen some lists numbering in the tens of thousands built literally overnight!!
If you are looking for a great software product to implement this idea, stop by master CGI programmer Will Bontragers site and pick up a copy of his Master Subscriber Pro script. It is a top notch program that makes setting up newsletter joint ventures a snap.
Write original articles. The net is full of stale, rehashed content. Newsletters, such as this one, which publishes only original content (with a very rare guest article thrown in) are more likely to be appreciated and read by subscribers and, more importantly, recommended to others.
If you implement these 4 ideas when you build your list or begin revitalizing your existing one, you will notice your prospects turn to customers much faster than if you did not have a list.
Two Important Technical Considerations To Keep In Mind:
Make sure that your list is managed on listserver software that is capable of handling the exact needs of you (as the maintainer) and your audience (the subscribers). Many excellent packages exist ranging in price and complexity. My suggestion is this: make sure you are completely comfortable with the maintenance of your listserver before you agree to any longterm commitments.
Make absolutely sure that your list is secure. This means only you and perhaps the tech support at your webhosting provider should be able to send messages to the list. I have seen too many good lists tank because they either had weak security in place or the list management software that was being utilized allowed anyone to mail to the list. One malicious person can bring in an avalanche of unsubscribes and a ruined reputation.
An important note: once you have built this trust relationship with your subscribers, never ever violate it. Live by these rules and you will build relationships with prospects that will turn into lasting relationships with customers.
About the Author
Article by Marc Goldman, Goldbar Enterprises subscribe to The Marketers Resource Weekly: The Free Internet Marketing Resource for the New Millennium. Subscribe at goldbar.net Discover the exclusive members only website that will propel your business to dizzying heights.
webmaster@goldbar.net
http://www.goldbar.net
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