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How to build a responsive email list?

by Zack Sprague
24 replies
Hey Guys,

How are ya? I'm going to go ahead and get straight to the point. I have created a squeeze page and I am wanting to start an email list. A few months back I did a test on an old squeeze page that I done. and I used Adf.ly for traffic. Here were the test results. I spent like 10 dollars for 10k visitors and man let me tell ya the conversion rate was horrible. My subscribers wouldn't even open their emails. Most of them bounced. Today I am asking you. I Improved the squeeze page and I want to send traffic to it. But I am willing to spend up to $50-100 for paid advertising. One guy who coached me for a good 2 hours told me to use forums to gain subscribers. The market my email is going to be is the health market and its a bout lose weight.
#build #email #list #responsive
  • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
    First -- I have nothing to do with this market, so this is just coming from alternate experiences...

    Perhaps the material and messaging they are receiving after they opt-in is just not at high enough levels of marketplace sophistication? That is, maybe they didn't converting because what you are delivering has no value (ie, they've already heard what you are saying and don't see any need to continue).

    Weight loss is a big, wide-ranging marketplace and consumers are smart because we've all been bombarded with messaging for decades on weight loss, dieting, exercise, etc...

    A forum could be a good platform for you to interact and acquire some customer appreciation, but be prepared for a lot of work quid pro quo. Also, why would your forum be different from the frillion other ones?

    It doesn't appear that opt-ins are the issue, which is great to have one piece figured out!
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  • Profile picture of the author Zack Sprague
    I created a free ebook on how they can lose 5 pounds. It contains some exercises and helps them create their own diet. I guess you didn't hear what I said in the post. I purchased 10 dollars worth of traffic from Adf.ly I have heard from many people that the traffic at that site is very untargeted and are only freebie seeksers. Their not targeted what so ever. I was asking what traffic sources would you recommend me for testing. Forum marketing? Paid traffic sources?
    Signature

    Sincerely,
    Zack Sprague

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    • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
      Originally Posted by Zack Sprague View Post

      I created a free ebook on how they can lose 5 pounds. It contains some exercises and helps them create their own diet.
      My guess is that they already know how to do both of those things.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
    Also... just looking to what I would consider the leaders, television productions level operations with massive budgets and what their overall messaging is.

    "Do this 20 mins a day for 90 days and get these results"

    Edit: "Do this 20 mins a day, 3 days a week for 90 days and get these results"

    Then they sell the "do this" know how. The exercises, the dieting, etc... are all ancillary or secondary to this message. You are trying to sell the exercise and diet (your giveaway)
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  • Profile picture of the author Zack Sprague
    I am wanting to help them though by providing value to the subscribers instead of email offer, after offer.
    Signature

    Sincerely,
    Zack Sprague

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    • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
      Originally Posted by Zack Sprague View Post

      I am wanting to help them though by providing value to the subscribers instead of email offer, after offer.
      Yeah, I understand. But like I said, perhaps they already know how to diet and exercise and just see no reason to buy anything from you (your poor conversion rates).

      Perhaps someone with more experience in this area could point you in a better direction.
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      • Profile picture of the author Zack Sprague
        The conversion was poorly due to the traffic I bought from Adf.ly? Did you ever bought traffic from adf.ly before?
        Signature

        Sincerely,
        Zack Sprague

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        • Profile picture of the author lukeguy
          Originally Posted by Zack Sprague View Post

          The conversion was poorly due to the traffic I bought from Adf.ly? Did you ever bought traffic from adf.ly before?
          My suggestion would be to join a health forum and get involved there. Gain authority and make sure people trust your knowledge. You got to fish where the fish is at. Or use Facebook targeted ads. Some people see great results with this.
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          Get growth for business by reading my blog: www.lukeguy.com

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  • Profile picture of the author homer343
    Hi Zack,

    Just a heads up, and my 2 cents on the whole deal. I thought I could get adf.ly traffic to a squeeze page once with the idea that the traffic will be so cheap, surely there must be at least one person in there that is interested and wants to buy my affiliate products etc. Nope.

    In fact, I did get a few subscribers, but they were all junk. very slim open rates, and no click-through's whatsoever.

    Not that I'm a guru (far, far far from it), but for what my experience has told me, is that you need to pay for proper traffic from decent sources. i.e solo ads, media buys, maybe even ppc (critics, feel free to chime in here).

    I hope that helps
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  • Profile picture of the author globalsuccess26
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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  • Profile picture of the author mkusua
    first thing...Adfly...will likely not give you a quality list.

    Advertise your offer to people who really need it...

    It's also important to niche down.
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  • Profile picture of the author jakescott91
    Hey Zack, Good work for getting something going! As always, looks like you've already had some great advice here. But I am having a little laugh to myself about your actual question...
    Not because you asked it, but because although your getting great answers, none are answers to the question you asked haha.
    I am no expert either, but do you have any idea whether you are looking for recommendations for Solo ads, PPC etc...
    Can anybody suggest the best source of traffic to buy if you are building a list in the weight loss market?
    I wish I had some sort of affiliate link to promote to ya!
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  • Profile picture of the author jakescott91
    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-i-newbie.html
    Looks like there is a bit of info here on buying traffic.
    It looks like Cal Champlin’s Solo Ads has some good reviews, not sure how targeted to your niche though which will be your problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    If you want to get a good quality and high responsive list, I would recommend that you advertise your website or lead capture page through pay per click ads.

    This will get you far better results then other places.

    Just make sure that you work with Yahoo, Google, and Bing.

    Never work with the smaller pay per click companies out there. They really do have JUNK traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author xzynwa
    Actually adf.ly can provide a level of traffic but it might interest you to know that traffic generated through the site in question do not visit voluntarily, maybe in their quest to get something they are redirected to the adf.ly site. They invariably register with fake emails to get past whatever to get the main thing they want.

    However, the traffic from the site mostly works best for the internet marketing niche, though not the best traffic form.

    Finally, considering your budget I will advise you from experience to use Bing ad network as you can get penny clicks for high competitive keywords but you need to know what you are doing. Forums can also give you good results but will definitely take a whole lot of time before it comes true.

    Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zack Sprague
    Hey Guys,

    Whats up? Its been awhile. So I have decided to try out paid traffic sources for my list building. However I haven't really done it yet. I will admit I am scared to use paid traffic sources because I dont want to lose money, I want to gain money. So I am going to look at a few resources that I have on my computer and get a good idea. I was thinking about doing PPC or Solo Ads. I am however working on another site using SEO for the traffic on it. This old website did make me money. December is coming and thats when my dad will lose his job. My mom is out of work right now, but luckily she has an interview for a place that will start her out at 8.15 an hour. My dad however had an pancreas attack last year that almost killed him. An my mom told me today that his stomach is bothering him again. So we are worried about him getting yet another pancreas attack as well. I need to start something and get serious so that we can be free of worry of money problems.
    Signature

    Sincerely,
    Zack Sprague

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  • Profile picture of the author quadagon
    Is this an original product or are you reselling or running an aff campaign?
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    I've got 99 problems but a niche ain't one
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  • Profile picture of the author Zack Sprague
    aff campaign for the SEO website and the email website will be aff to.
    Signature

    Sincerely,
    Zack Sprague

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  • Profile picture of the author quadagon
    Cheers Zack, Its a hard market place with lots of competition but plenty of money to be made.

    Could you go time specific in you ppc buying ie loose x before thanksgiving, christmas, your wedding.i haven't looked at the traffic for these just thinking off the top of my head.

    Not sure i can be much more help, if you create your own product in this niche let me know therrs loads of help i can give you then.

    Good luck with this and good thoughts to your family


    Eric
    Signature
    I've got 99 problems but a niche ain't one
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  • Profile picture of the author Zack Sprague
    I'm going to be probably studying PPC for the next few days. Ill give it a try. I think I will put in at least a small 100 dollars budget to test out PPC. It may be hard, but I have sub-niched it down.
    Signature

    Sincerely,
    Zack Sprague

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    • Profile picture of the author Ben Holmes
      Originally Posted by Zack Sprague View Post

      I'm going to be probably studying PPC for the next few days. Ill give it a try. I think I will put in at least a small 100 dollars budget to test out PPC. It may be hard, but I have sub-niched it down.
      You'll lose it all.

      That's my experienced crystal ball talking.

      Before you get into PPC, you need to have a good funnel in place, you need to already be getting free traffic, and most important of all - you need to know your numbers.

      How much does each subscriber mean to you in terms of profit?

      If you don't at least have a decent estimate of that number, how are you going to know what to spend, or when you're spending too much on PPC?

      Next, you'll need good PPC tracking software. Adtrackz Gold is the classic, but I understand that Prosper202 will also do the trick. Start spending money on PPC without tracking in place, and you're just going to be throwing your money away.

      PPC is the fastest, most scalable traffic you can get... but it comes at a horrendous cost if you are just starting out and don't know what you're doing.

      Start slower... begin with free traffic methods - then slowly scale up into small PPC buys, with tracking in place.

      P.S. Forums are indeed an EXCELLENT place to start...
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Zack Sprague View Post

      I'm going to be probably studying PPC for the next few days. Ill give it a try. I think I will put in at least a small 100 dollars budget to test out PPC. It may be hard, but I have sub-niched it down.
      Ben gave you some good advice. If you're determined to try it anyway, here's some free advice.

      Think Facebook, for a start. You can set your budget and not get a nasty surprise when someone tries to click-bomb you. Also think "cheap clicks". Your $100, well spent, could get you a couple of thousand targeted clicks, enough for a real test.

      When you say you've "sub-niched it down", what do you mean?

      Are you talking keywords or audience demographics? If you're talking just keywords, you could be wasting money.

      Have you done your ideal customer avatar? If not, do that first. If so, then find people like that on FB, target your ads just to them. Do they "like" a specific page? Target your ad, and your landing page, to people who like that page.

      There's a lot more to it, but if you're going to drop some cash on a test, do it intelligently. You are looking to find a) if people you think should respond, do respond and b) what they respond to best.
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  • Profile picture of the author quadagon
    Google and bing both do free online courses probably a good place to start.
    Signature
    I've got 99 problems but a niche ain't one
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  • Profile picture of the author davereineke
    Hi Zack

    My thoughts are that getting good quality is the key. Getting paid advertizing that good is quite expensive (well can be if you don't know what you doing. PPC is good but at the end of the day you always need to fill up with cash. Free traffic done well is always the best

    I do YT and being consistent with is the best form of traffic in my opinion. After a while u start getting viral sustainability. That goes for most forms of free traffic. The formula is

    Use a Strategy and be consistent with it...most people can't be consistent because it take a mind set, but I promise its the best way.

    Just my 2 cents worth....use it don't use...
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