List Building Methods

Continuing to discus list building methods, here are some additional ideas you can use to help build your community by utilizing various list building methods! Perhaps you are already using some of these techniques – maybe some of them are new! In either case, I invite you to take a look at these methods to see if they will help you with your audience.

Remember, not every method will work with every crowd – test it out, see what works and what doesn’t work. And, if you have any questions, leave a comment below and ask!

Cross-promote through joint venture e-mail campaigns

Successful Internet marketers know how to find ideal joint venture partners for cross-promoting each other. Look for an established company or Internet marketer who sells to a niche market that would be interested in buying what you sell.

When trusted experts and service professionals refer you to their community of buyers, you gain instant credibility in the minds of loyal customers. And associating your business with a successful company or service professional is one of the best ways to establish credibility with your own prospects.

A joint venture e-mail campaign is a very effective viral marketing tactic. And make sure you have great information products to show potential joint venture partners.

Co-registration

Co-registration is a tactic that encourages visitors to opt-in to your list in the process of completing an offer.

A great way to achieve the full potential of co-registration is by promoting a contest on your site. When visitors enter your online contest, they leave their e-mail address and give you permission to contact them. Co-registration can be integrated into offers of free software, eZines, and other online promotions.

When you create valuable information products to build your brand and establish your expertise, you generate opportunities to get listed on high-traffic sites as part of their co-registration offers. When visitors register for a contest or service at an affiliate’s site, they are given the option of checking a box to receive your follow-up information on an area of interest to them.

How to get the most out of newsletters

An electronic newsletter (or as referred to in the past, eZines) is a powerful list-building tool. Newsletters are easy to deliver by e-mail; they’re a great way to get prospects and customers involved in your business; and they’re ideal tools for staying in touch with loyal customers and prospects.

Identify newsletters that serve readers who would want to buy your product or service. Offer your articles to the publishers. By including a link to your web site or squeeze page in the author’s resource box, you can reach thousands of potential customers in just a few hours.

You also need to send out your own newsletter to keep in touch with customers and potential customers. As you try these various list building methods, keep in mind that you don’t need any experience in Internet publishing to start writing a newsletter. Follow these simple tips to get started with your own eZine:

• Keep it short and simple to start with. Send out an e-mail letter with news and information every 2 to 4 weeks to stay in touch with your target market.
• As you get better at writing newsletters, you can start to enrich your publications by adding graphics and stories.
• Always be sure to add something of value to your customers’ lives. They may not need you today; but if you stay in touch by offering valuable tips and information, you’ll be the first person they go to when they make a decision to buy.

Add your information product to a giveaway site

Add your product to a site that allows you to give things away! GiveAway Promote has a good article of places you can do this.

How sites like GiveAway Promote builds your list:

• This site allows you to build a free list by adding your own product to the giveaways.
• Visitors get your product by signing up for a free membership and joining your opt-in page.

Throughout these past blog posts, we have come back—time after time—to the same place: Creating valuable information products is the best way to generate leads and build your list. And the more information products you create, the more visible you will become on giveaway sites like GiveAway Promote.

Be sure you use an exit pop-up

Every successful Internet business must have a window that pops up when visitors abandon your web site or sales page without opting in or buying a product or service. This is a great place to include your photo and a brief audio message, along with just enough text to show visitors how important they are to you.

This is not the place to hard-sell visitors, unless your research tells you that customers in your target market respond to hard-selling. Otherwise, be sure to use your exit pop-up as a chance to get valuable feedback. Ask visitors why they’re leaving without signing up for a free eBook or mini-course. Entering into a dialogue with visitors at this stage of the sales cycle can save the day.

When to use an index page

If you have a large web site, visitors will need to be guided as quickly as possible to your opt-in page. The value of an index page is its ability to lead visitors to areas they’re most interested in. If you need an index page, be sure to make it easy for visitors to get to your opt-in page by clicking just once.

If you don’t have a web site, many servers will host a simple index page for you. In this case, your index page becomes your lead-capture page. Like a squeeze page, its only purpose is to entice visitors to give you their e-mail address and permission to follow up.

Beware of clutter. An index page should not be full of noise—resist the temptation to fill your index page with text and images that only distract visitors from the real reason they got there. Make it easy for visitors to find what they want, and they will have a compelling reason to opt-in to your list.

Writing articles

Throughout these emails, I have emphasized the importance of creating content-rich information products. Writing web articles/blog posts is one of the fastest and most powerful ways to generate leads and establish yourself as an expert.

People love to read articles that offer real solutions to real problems. If you take a few moments to search for topics of interest on the Internet, you’ll find a few articles that reward you in some way for the time you take to read them. Yet most content on the  web today is poorly written—and painfully boring.

Never underestimate the power of Web articles to generate leads and build a community of loyal customers. The best way to build a list is to write and publish content-rich web articles that add value to people’s lives. Always write about real problems for real people. When you do, your list will skyrocket. As a member of the Ultimate Blog Challenge, our challengers know this first hand!

Pay-per-click ads

Pay-per-click ads on search engine pages can be a powerful tool for generating leads and building a list. The downside of pay-per-click is that it can take a lot of trial-and-error testing to get it right. Many Internet marketers find that they need to invest several thousand dollars before they reach their break-even point. Based on this, of all the list building methods outlined here, this one will cost you the most.

If you decide to give it a try, monitor activity to be sure your web site is converting the traffic that you’re paying for. If your web site has a high conversion ratio, pay-per-click can be a lucrative investment.

Writing an eBook

Many Internet marketers shy away from writing an eBook because they think they don’t have time. But an eBook doesn’t have to be—and indeed, shouldn’t be—as long as a physical book.

Hard copy and LCD are completely different media. I’m an avid reader, yet I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to read anything longer than about 50 pages on a computer screen. Note: As you try out these list building methods described here, keep the process simple!)

Even 50 pages is hard work. Most readers don’t have that much time. A good eBook rarely needs to be longer than 25 pages. Cut out the fluff and get to the point. Readers will thank you for it later.

Storytelling is the best way to connect to potential customers and create a bond of trust. Stories let us know each other better through our shared experiences. When you write content for the Worldwide Web, think of yourself as a storyteller first, and as an Internet marketer second.

If you really want to build the kind of list that dreams are made of, master the art of connecting to people through the stories you tell in your web articles, Newsletters, and eBooks. There is no better way to build a community of loyal customers around your Internet marketing business.

List Building Methods

Using the various list building methods explained here you can build your list! Before you start going crazy thinking you need to do all of these, start by picking one and mastering it. Only once you have it down pat, then move on to the next one you want to try. If you have a favorite one, leave a comment below and share it!