4 Easy Ways to Integrate List Building Into Your Current Online Marketing
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If you've spent much time marketing anything online, you've probably heard the mantra "The money is in the list". And that's usually true, especially if you're consciously building a list of targeted subscribers – people who want and need the types of services or products you provide.
One thing clients often say is "How can I be sure my list is targeted? I can not control who signs up!"
So before we get into the ways to integrate your list building efforts, here are a few tips to ensure that all those new signups are really targeted to what you offer:
– First and foremost, do you have a freebie? If not, you should! That is, by far, the easiest way to get people to actually sign up. Most people do NOT want any more emails in their inbox than absolutely necessary, and generally will not sign up to get a newsletter if there's not anything else in it for them. So create a freebie that hits a nerve for them, and makes them "gotta have it". You can get ideas from questions that clients ask you over and over again, or by polling clients or even your network on Facebook and Twitter to find out what their burning questions are.
-Use language that excludes people that are not right for you. So if you're a coach for single parents, mention single parents in your freebie title. As an example, your might be freebie "Ten Steps to Raising Well-Balanced Kids in a Single Parent Home". If someone stumbles across your website, but are not a single parent, that freebie will not speak to them. They will not care about that info, and so they will not signup. This ensures that the people that sign up want the kind of expert advice that you're providing.
Take a good hard look at your current freebie or newsletter signup. Is it speaking right to your ideal clients? Is it compelling – something that will help them solve a problem they're currently having? You may decide it's time to change things up a bit, and now's the time to do it!
Once you're confident that what you're offering speaks right to your ideal client, here are the 4 Easy Ways to Integrate List Building Into Your Current Online Marketing:
1. Your Website or Blog – this may seem basic, but do you have your freebie and signup displayed prominently on your site? All to often I see clients wondering why nobody is signing up for their list, but when I check out their site, it's very hard to find their signup. It's at the bottom of the page, or on one page but not another. You want to display your freebie & signup consistently on every page, as close to the top as you can get it. Ask a friend or family member to sign up for your newsletter, and you'll get a much more honest picture of how easy-to-spot and compelling your offer is. If the text blends into the rest of the page, or the page is too busy, you might consider having an eBook cover designed – this gives more pizzazz to your offer, and also increases the perceived value.
2. Your Resource Box on Article Directories – are you using article marketing for your business? If so, do you mention your freebie (with a link to sign up) in your Resource Box? Why not? That is a great place to encourage signups. They're read your article and hopefully have found it of value, but they're not on your site! If they leave now, they will not have any idea that you offer a great freebie related to that exact topic!
3. Your Social Media Profiles – if you're active on social media, you probably have your website listed. Hopefully, you have a well crafted business description that speaks to your ideal client, and tells them exactly how you can help them. But did you know that you can actually provide a way for them to sign up right from within Facebook? You can use the Profile HTML app or the Static FBML app to display html code right on the sidebar of your personal profile or on your Fan Page.
On Twitter you can have a custom Twitter background created that gives visitors more info about you, and directs them where to go to sign up for your freebie.
On your YouTube videos, add the signup link to the description box, or use the annotation feature to add the web address right onto the video itself.
If you're already using social media regularly, then let it work double-time and help you with your list building efforts!
4. Your Offline Marketing Materials – just because list building is thought of as an online tool, there's no reason you can not advertise your freebie on all your offline marketing materials as well! Create a short, compelling description of your freebie, and add that to your business cards, postcards, invoices, proposals, or any other offline correspondance. This will give you leverage to build your list with people that may not be as active online, but are still a good fit for you.
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