Internet Marketing Tools – What is a List Really?
As a novice marketer, before I had any idea what I was doing, everyone always talked about lists. They said "List this" and "List that." I really did not get it. I did not understand what a list was and how valuable an internet marketing tool a list was.
So I decided to figure it out-well, now I get it. I make dense amounts of money and get tons of subscribers because I understand the art of list building. And now I hear from lots and lots of folks who were like me when I started. They kind of see that it is important, but not really why -or even what a list really is!
A list is not just a bunch of names. That's what spammers think-that it's just about getting as many emails as you can and sending them all a bunch of garbage. Spammers buy lists of names and load them into the autoresponder and fire away. Do not ever buy into that!
Internet marketing tools include Excel and Word documents … but your list goes beyond that. A A list is not a bunch of names … it is people. Actually, what a list really is-is the bond that you've formed with someone else over a period of time. Whether your list is stores or individual customers, they will take your recommendations, because you have built that goodwill.
So when you're building your list, you want to build not just the database, you want to build that bond.
To do that, you want to be in regular contact with them. I believe that there's nothing wrong with emailing your list four, five, six days a week. I consistently have some of the highest response rates from my lists, because I keep in constant contact.
Focus your time, effort, and energy on giving your list content, content, content. At the same time, every single time ask for some sort of sale at the end.
Make every email full of useful and interesting content, and bridge the gap between that content and the offer that you make and you will find that people read those emails over and over again.
Why? Because they know that it's going to be content rich-they know they're going to learn something.
Would not it also make sense that they'd trust you more? If you're willing to give them good stuff on an ongoing basis for free would not it also make sense that, wow, the paid stuff must be awesome?
When I started, I was not good at getting stories out to my list. I stunk at it. What did I do instead? I did interviews on an ongoing basis. I let my interviewee give the good content and they bridged the gap for me to sell the product through my affiliate link.
And when I say "some sort of sale" I do not always mean a straight sales pitch. Sometimes I just give recommendations where I do not earn a dime.
Other times, when appropriate, I give recommendations through their affiliate program for the services or the products that I use. In those cases, I might earn a small percentage or as much as half and it does not cost my customer anything additional.
I built a bond with my list … they know I only recommend quality products and services … I get more sales-of my own products and other people's too. My list grows, my customers get great products, I earn money … so that is a win-win situation. That is the real power of a list .