While I completely agree that email marketing can be very effective, it's not the only way. I have a list but I didn't get it with an autoresponder. I posted on a forum in my niche and offered value and they came to me via email, and over 3 years, I have captured quite a few addresses. I created my own forum a year ago and to be able to post, you must sign up and give your email. Other than that, I have put little into email marketing. I know I personally ignore a lot of those emails that I get. I do pay attention to the ones that are sent by people that I am very familiar with and have some sort of relationship with. Other than that, I ignore them. Also I am not a fan of giving away free products. People just don't seem to place as much value in what they get for free.
How come this is even a question? Of course email lists are useful as this is the way you communicate with your audience. or do you believe they'd rather be checking up on you every now and then to see whats up and if you come up with anything new/interesting? Try giving something away that will require a registration to get it (any freebie like an ebook, a tutorial or an access to a video clip..). Another great way to get your email list growing is OPC (other people's customers) - find partners out there that offer similar (but not the same!) services you do and introduce each other to your clients via email. Make sure you never trade your email list without any permission from your customers though - this stinks. What you'd rather do is tell them how this person can be useful for them and let them decide if they want to subscribe to him or not.
I so need to get an autoresponder setup for more than just getting referrals. I also need to follow up with my signups that used the free $10 and are test driving the system. I need to make sure that they see the daily earnings that they receive each day and not to forget about the system. It is easy to just sign up to something but not see the benefits after that. The emails would be a reminder. Someday I will get motivated enough, and maybe have a bit more time. I do know that once done it will be well worth the effort. Chad
Great ideas here! My only suggestions about using email lists would be to limit your emails to twice a week--about 3 days between posts; make sure the subject heading your emails catches the eye; and that you grow your list on a regular basis. Here's to your success! Brian
Thanks Brian! I need to cut back on some of the other things I am doing for marketing right now. I am working full time during the day and in the evening trying to market. Marketing can be a very time consuming task, as I am finding out. Chad
h It's better not to ask. Just do it. Yes it's useful if your product reach the right market. There are a lot of marketing techniques in online business/marketing. Most importantly....DON"T STOP promoting
Building a list is very important.. I would think its the backbone for any online business. If you think about it if you have a site and you get visitors you only have that one shot to make a sale. If you build a list in the future you can sel to them over and over again..
This information is very helpful. I'm just starting to build my list and I have been trying to figure out what's the best way to go about it. What should I send to them first. How do I make sure they don't unsubscribe... After reading your post, I have a more precise picture in mind when it comes to developing and growing my list. Thanks
Imagine you have a list of 5,000 subscribers, small by today's standards, and you want to personally type a message to every person on that list. Let's also assume that you are a very fast typist or are adept at cutting and pasting, and it takes you only 30 seconds to manually address, personalize and send each email. You would complete 2 emails every minute. If you could keep up that pace without stopping to eat, going to the bathroom or sleeping, you would finish the task in about 2,500 minutes... just over 41 hours... or a little shy of 2 whole days. Not a very appealing idea, is it!. An autoresponder could accomplish that same chore in mere minutes. Working hard and working smart are not the same thing, so don't get them confused. Your offer could be anything, as long as it is useful and has value to the subscriber. Make sure it provides a solution to a problem, satisfies a pressing need, contains actionable information, or simply makes the user feel good. It could be a short report, a tip sheet, a video series, a podcast, an ebook, an interview, an e-course, an audio product, templates, tutorials, graphics, software, or whatever you can think of that would be suitable and beneficial to your particular market group. Unfortunately, there's no absolute way "to make sure" they don't unsubscribe. That's completely unavoidable and explains why you must always be list building to offset the percentage of subscribers you will inevitably lose. Hermas
