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Need Help monetizing my list

by rawaccess
13 replies
Hello people with vastly more experience than I

Problem: can't sell on the list.

For 4 or 5 years I've built and maintained a free list on Aweber. List size peaked at 10k. Unable to sell on it years ago, I stopped promoting the list 3 years ago and the list has since lowered to 4-5k.

Aweber currently reports 1k daily opens. There appears to be more opens as I've purged the list a few times of unopeners only to receive many emails asking why they stopped receiving the email.

The list is for a free daily niche 'advice' built from a big social web following. The users are aware it's daily and love it. The social following is quite popular. Many list readers are unable to start their day or function properly without reading the daily email. Seriously. [edited out a useless bragging statement.]

But I can't seem to sell anything on it. I've tried about a dozen times. 3 times this year and several times 3 or 4 years ago. This year I've tried the famous fat busting berry and two ebook guides pertaining to the niche I've written for around $11. All three have a hand written sales copy. The berry email had an affiliate link to a lander and the ebook guides included a paypal button in the email.

Berry had 1k opens and 22 clicks to lander and the guides had 1k opens and 100 clicks to paypal.

No sales.

Wft?

Did I build a chump list? Possibly. It was build from a lower-tier traffic source (social often is low-tier traffic and mine is) yet I've figured out how to live well off this traffic in other marketing ways for 4 years now. So, understandably, I've never concerned myself with monetizing this email list.

However, I constantly read how 'the list' is gold.

The final straw was when I met this guy who makes his living marketing on lists as a hired gun. The look on his face when I told him my story...

It seems I'm not making good use of this list but what I'm I doing wrong?
#aweber #email #list #marketing #monetizing
  • Profile picture of the author ipsummedia
    Originally Posted by rawaccess View Post

    Hello people with vastly more experience than I

    Problem: can't sell on the list.

    For 4 or 5 years I've built and maintained a free list on Aweber. List size peaked at 10k. Unable to sell on it years ago, I stopped promoting the list 3 years ago and the list has since lowered to 4-5k.

    Aweber currently reports 1k daily opens. There appears to be more opens as I've purged the list a few times of unopeners only to receive many emails asking why they stopped receiving the email.

    The list is for a free daily niche 'advice' built from a big social web following. The users are aware it's daily and love it. The social following is quite popular. Many list readers are unable to start their day or function properly without reading the daily email. Seriously. Even Rihanna is on the list

    But I can't seem to sell anything on it. I've tried about a dozen times. 3 times this year and several times 3 or 4 years ago. This year I've tried the famous fat busting berry and two ebook guides pertaining to the niche I've written for around $11. All three have a hand written sales copy. The berry email had an affiliate link to a lander and the ebook guides included a paypal button in the email.

    Berry had 1k opens and 22 clicks to lander and the guides had 1k opens and 100 clicks to paypal.

    No sales.

    Wft?

    Did I build a chump list? Possibly. It was build from a lower-tier traffic source (social often is low-tier traffic and mine is) yet I've figured out how to live well off this traffic in other marketing ways for 4 years now. So, understandably, I've never concerned myself with monetizing this email list.

    However, I constantly read how 'the list' is gold.

    The final straw was when I met this guy who makes his living marketing on lists as a hired gun. The look on his face when I told him my story...

    It seems I'm not making good use of this list but what I'm I doing wrong?
    You can send them to PPL offers where you will get paid to generate a lead.
    Generally you will get paid $1-2.5 per lead
    Hope it helps
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  • Profile picture of the author Jacomara
    I doesn't seem like a very targeted list, maybe concentrate on a building a better quality list. With this current list I also think PPL offers will work best.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Holmes
    Why don't you survey your list to find out what they are interested in?
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  • Profile picture of the author Doctor Dolittle
    Hi.

    How about giving this a try;

    Instead of writing your content in an email, add it to your website (obviously on a new page). Then continue sending your emails on a daily basis but this time, just send a few paragraphs, ending with a teaser that links to your website.

    If your post is long, split your content over two pages, minimising your risk of a high bounce rate.

    This will then...

    1) Buy you time until you know what to do with your list
    2) Keep your list interested in what you do
    3) Increase the traffic to your website
    4) Increase your ranking due to its increased popularity (maybe?)

    It also goes without saying that you will have some Google ads on the page and providing it is relevant to the content, an affiliate link and sign up box.

    Hope this helps? Let me know thoughts etc?

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author discrat
    Originally Posted by rawaccess View Post

    Hello people with vastly more experience than I

    Problem: can't sell on the list.



    But I can't seem to sell anything on it. I've tried about a dozen times. 3 times this year and several times 3 or 4 years ago. This year I've tried the famous fat busting berry and two ebook guides pertaining to the niche I've written for around $11. All three have a hand written sales copy. The berry email had an affiliate link to a lander and the ebook guides included a paypal button in the email.
    You have tried sending a Broadcast JUST 3 times this year ? Is that what you are saying ?

    If so you need to up the amount of times your List gets an email from you.

    Plus, your List may not be a quality, high targeted one.

    This is a problem I first ran into when I started Email Marketing. The more refined you can drill down your Market, the more Conversions you will have for a specific problem.

    For instance, I first targeted ANYONE who wanted to make $100 a day with Internet Marketing. I then narrowed it down to people who wanted to make $100 a day with List Building.

    The change was monumental.

    So think about that


    - Robert Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author Javisito
    What exactly did you try to sell to your list?

    Have you sent them any other e-mails beside this dozen promotions?

    If you have not and just send an e-mail every once in a while you probably have no relationship with the list whatsoever.

    Try e-mailing them more frequently and make sure to be targeted.
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  • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
    For starters, there's two things you need to be doing online. Creating content and making offers.

    It looks like you're creating the kind of content people enjoy, but you're neglecting the fact that you need to make offers. I'm guessing your niche has something to do with weight loss since you promoted the berry thing?

    If that's the case, then you should have promoted that berry thing EVERY DAY in your emails. PS. Please Take a Second to Check Out This Week's Sponsor (BERRY LINK)

    That's a pretty simple rough draft, and a really easy way, to promote something for them to look at and get them used to looking at offers from you. Eventually they'll be wondering... what's the next offer and looking at it with anticipation just like anything else.

    OR

    You can offer a paid, no ad version. $2.95/mo and you don't get the promotion. You can get a few people interested in something like that too.

    The point above about putting the content on your site is also a great way to get people back to your site where you can show them banners/ads... if you aren't already doing that.

    Since your list is about advice, I'd recommend considering self help, motivation, success, and related ebooks to promote, and even amazon physical products.

    Just start testing out different things, having sent 3 offers in the last year is WAY too few for someone who emails every day.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew Trujillo
    It could be that you don't understand your niche well enough. Just who exactly are you targeting and how exactly were you able to build a list that big is what I wonder? Free marketing? Paid marketing? Did you buy a list from somebody and add in into your autoresponder account? Lots of questions I wonder. First of all, if you just built a list and aren't helping them that might be a big reason why they aren't answering your emails, or maybe you are promoting products not related to your niche? Or could it be you purchased a list of names and added them into your list and none of them know who you are ? If that's the case that is a sure wrong way to build an email list. It's really tough to say why you are in the situation without the full scoop. Don't let that discourage you though.
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  • Profile picture of the author tristatemedia
    i agree with the top answer: survey them and i am sure they will be more than happy to let you know. i would survey them but give away something for the survey. like a contest. the winner will win $100 or something like that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by rawaccess View Post

    I constantly read how 'the list' is gold.
    It often is, but this list may be an exception to that.

    The thing that surprised me, out of all the information in your original post (and there's a lot of information there, it must be said!) is that you're still getting about 1,000 "opens" from this old, shrinking, badly-treated list. That makes me very reluctant indeed, in principle, to say "Just write it off and concentrate on stuff you're earning a living from" (which is my normal instinct, in such cases).

    Originally Posted by rawaccess View Post

    It seems I'm not making good use of this list but what I'm I doing wrong?
    Well ... a few things, probably, I think.

    But most of the things I think you've been doing wrong aren't completely compatible with still getting 1,000 "opens" from the list, so I'm not completely confident.

    If you'll excuse the observation, though, I really do think the "fat-burning berry promotion" was probably a disastrous idea, as was evidenced by getting 1,000 "opens" and only 22 clicks-through: that's one of the "scammiest" things there are, to promote, in the public perception.

    I certainly agree with the suggestion(s) above that you should "try asking them", anyway. And good luck!

    .
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  • Profile picture of the author maxqsoft
    Many have found that one of the best ways to monetize a blog or magazine is with a business directory and a list is similar. I am not sure what industry niche you are marketing to but you mentioned trying to sell the fat busting berry. Let say for example you are in the fitness industry and 10% (400) of the people on your list are business managers in that industry. The business managers would love to have the opportunity to sell to the other 90% (3600) people on your list. Who would not want to introduce their product and services to 4k people who have demonstrated an interest in the industry.

    Have a business directory developed for your industry with all the latest features that resembles your website. Introduce your list to the directory and encourage the managers and business owners to list their business for a small fee $30 per month. The business owners would eat this up their business would be exposed to 4K new people. If 100 companies list their business that represents $3000 reoccurring revenue every month.

    The big question is where do you get a world class business directory software? You can get your business directory 100% free all you need to do is share the revenue generated. They will invest the time and money to create your directory and host it FREE. They are directory experts and so they can complete most directories in less than 1 month. You the publisher will always get the larger share of the revenue from 50% to 80%. Your revenue share increase as the number of paid listings increase.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexander Swift
    If you can't sell to them then PPL,CPA and selling solo ads are your friend!
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  • Profile picture of the author Edwin Torres
    Yeah your list seems pretty dead but there are ways to revive it.

    What I would do is create a brand new optin gift. Make a free video or something that helps them out with a big problem or question people would have in your niche.

    From there I would send out an email telling people to go and opt in for the free gift. Link them to the squeeze page.

    This way you are keeping the subscribers that are still engaged and interested in your topic.

    From here you can scrap your old list and market to the new ones now.
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