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Listbuilding for ecommerce?

by TheEliteWarrior
12 replies
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Hey guys,

List building is a great way to retain potential customers I was wondering if any one has used listbuilding in the ecommerce realm successfully?

In general, I've just seen sign up forms for newsletters but I think the affiliate marketing method of offering a niche related freebie would be of greater effectiveness to bait people into the lists. Any thoughts?

Would be great to hear from your thoughts about list building for ecommerce!

Hear from you!
#ecommerce #listbuilding
  • Profile picture of the author lukevdp
    Like everything, it depends on what market you are in.

    I have a store in the premium gift market, and at the moment we have a list of about 2000 customers. These are people that have purchased in the past.

    When I send out an email, I don't send a catalogue style email because our range rarely changes. Instead, I send emails with competitions where people can win an item in exchange for filling out a survey, or writing a review, or something like that.

    When I send an email I will get 2-3 sales that I can track directly to it. I probably get more than I can't track. And I also get a lot of reviews/survey entries.

    So in my market, it is worth the effort, but it's definitely not something I rely on, and I only do 3 promotions a year. (Mothers day, Fathers day, Christmas)

    In different markets, for example, in a consumables market, I'm sure email marketing is bread and butter.
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  • Profile picture of the author alksense
    I don't try to build lists but I do have lists of thousands and thousands of customers email addresses in various niches because I capture them when I receive orders.

    Once I capture a lead (get a sale) I will email the buyer with a limited time "thank you" discount code to other niche related stores that I own (my stores that sell items I think the customers may also be interested in).

    There are A LOT of niches that I won't enter directly because either the products are not expensive enough or because they are too customer service intensive. In this scenario I follow up with my customers via email with an affiliate link a niche specific category in Amazon or to another eCommerce site that I will earn a commission off of via Commission Junction..

    This doesn't make up a large part of my business so I don't go out of way to build lists but once I have the information in my system I always try to make as much money as possible off it...

    Hope that helps!
    Anton
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  • Profile picture of the author Anton543
    I think the best is having a newsletter form and also emails you get when people buy something. Send out ocassional newsletters (maybe once a month on special deals) or when a new special product is added t the store. Other than that, I don't think you need to specifically work to build a list.
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  • Profile picture of the author anandshaw
    Though I have not tried this yet, How about a wishlist feature. The email list you create from this will be very product/category specific. You can notify them when you get a good deal from your supplier on these specific products.
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  • Profile picture of the author atfless
    It is always good to give away a freebie! Sometimes this is difficult to set up... I have had great success with giving away a free e-book that doesn't cost any money. If you search the web, you will find e-books available for free, that allow free distribution. Even if they are not 100% related to your niche, many people will be interested in getting it, especially if it is well known.

    If you take it one step further, you can set it up as a product in your store, add a promo code or something similar to make it free, and when they register for your site, you receive all of their information. This is them opting into your e-mail newsletter. I wouldn't advise using the rest of the info, but it is nice that they have already registered, and they will be able to purchase from your store much quicker when they are ready, since they are already signed up!
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  • Profile picture of the author Danceparty
    Everyone loves to read top lists or top secrets about the niche they are purchasing in. This is a great hook to get them on your list. I sent out emails to my 5k customers with cyber Monday promo, the orders went through the roof... It works 100% of the time. That's why groupon is in business (even though its a crappy business)
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    • Profile picture of the author TheEliteWarrior
      Originally Posted by Danceparty View Post

      Everyone loves to read top lists or top secrets about the niche they are purchasing in. This is a great hook to get them on your list. I sent out emails to my 5k customers with cyber Monday promo
      Great idea with the top list!

      What do your cyber Monday promo's have? Are they just discounts? How many sales on average do u get from them just out of curiosity?
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  • Profile picture of the author rockong
    Are we talking about ecommerce stores in general? One that is loaded with thousands of physical products? Because with physical products, email newsletters won't have the same effect as creating and sending newsletters for electronic products.

    For items such as software, ebooks, etc that can be sent electronically, then email opt-ins are great. For physical product ecommerce stores, I'd say that your results will vary.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheEliteWarrior
      Originally Posted by rockong View Post

      Are we talking about ecommerce stores in general? One that is loaded with thousands of physical products? Because with physical products, email newsletters won't have the same effect as creating and sending newsletters for electronic products.

      For items such as software, ebooks, etc that can be sent electronically, then email opt-ins are great. For physical product ecommerce stores, I'd say that your results will vary.
      Yes, for ecommerce stores with PHYSICAL products.
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  • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
    I send a free item and a coupon/discount code 90 days after the date of the purchase that is slightly related to what they bought (by category).
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    • Profile picture of the author TheEliteWarrior
      Originally Posted by Silas Hart View Post

      I send a free item and a coupon/discount code 90 days after the date of the purchase that is slightly related to what they bought (by category).
      I'm assuming you send a free intangible electronic gift? What's the free item about?

      How do you gather that list in the first place for the tangible product store?
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      • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
        Originally Posted by TheEliteWarrior View Post

        I'm assuming you send a free intangible electronic gift? What's the free item about?

        How do you gather that list in the first place for the tangible product store?
        From the payment, my customers have to submit their Name, e-mail address, and Physical Address.

        I send a free gift, such as a small keychain and a coupon code to the customer within 90 days to get them to return to my store where once every 3 months I run a "$Buy XX.00 in stuff and receive your 2nd item for XX% off."
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