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Is blogging the only effective way to utilize email marketing?

by MrJoeRed
17 replies
2 questions:
1. Is blogging the only effective way to utilize email marketing?
2. What kind of income does the average blogger receive?

I am new to IM and like I said in a previous thread.. my buddy Alex Becker said email marketing is the way to go, I just am not sure how to utilize this method.
#blogging #effective #email #marketing #utilize
  • Profile picture of the author Ben Holmes
    Blogging is simply one of many possible ways to drive traffic to a squeeze page. I argue that it's better in the long run, because a blog gives you more options.

    Average income? No way to calculate it... a *true* average, probably around $5/month. But that means the totals from EVERYONE who 'blogs'.

    Serious bloggers? Perhaps $5,000-$15,000 or so. But this is not just 'blogging' - this is online marketing using a list, driven by your blog, and adding your own created products into the mix.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Holmes
    Addendum:

    Building a list is the way to go...

    There's two main methods of earning with a list... 'Churn & Burn' or 'Relationship Building'... pick a mentor, they'll show you.

    Or you could read all you can, and buy a few WSO's, and get there more slowly.

    But most people who actually earn a full-time income online have a list that they market to.
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    • Profile picture of the author MrJoeRed
      Hopefully I will be making more then $5 a month lol I plan on putting a lot of time into this.

      People mentioned a few times that I should get a mentor.. and I am definitely open to it. But where the heck do I find one??
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  • Profile picture of the author alvinhy
    You don't even need a blog to utilise email marketing.
    You can also have a landing page or squeeze page to attract opt-ints.

    Build a relationship with those leads and there you go, a profitable email list.
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    • Profile picture of the author MrJoeRed
      How do you build a relationship without blogging? What other methods other then blogs are there for email marketing?

      Sorry for all the questions
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by MrJoeRed View Post

        How do you build a relationship without blogging?
        You can build the relationship almost entirely by email. You "just" need a traffic-generation method, and to drive enough targeted traffic to an opt-in page, to build the list.

        Blogging, of course, is one of the ways that you can help yourself to do part of that (both the traffic-attraction part and the "getting people to opt in" part), but it's by no means the only way.

        Let me put it this way: if you had to choose between the two (arbitrary though it sounds!) you could do affiliate marketing far more easily and successfully with a list and no blog than you could do it with a blog and no list!

        Originally Posted by MrJoeRed View Post

        What other methods other then blogs are there for email marketing?
        Plenty. Any traffic-generation method (http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ffic-tips.html) with an opt-in page from which you can build a list.

        (Personally, I use article marketing to attract the traffic to all my niche sites, which is convenient for me, for two main reasons: first, article marketing traffic tends to be very responsive and high-quality and those people buy a lot; secondly, it means I can re-use all the articles that I use to generate the traffic as emails in the autoresponder series with which I monetize the traffic after people have opted in. I do have little websites as well: I don't know if you'd call them "blogs". They don't "look like blogs", i.e. they don't have dated posts, frequent updates, and all the rest of the stuff that people think of as "bloggy", but technically they are actually made from blogging software, so arguably they're "blogs". Depends how you look at it).

        But "blogging", per se, certainly isn't essential, for successful email marketing.

        What is essential is a really good email marketing process, in which you set and fulfil your subscribers' expectations well, and have a really good continuity-process: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6123982

        Originally Posted by alvinhy View Post

        You can also have a landing page or squeeze page to attract opt-ints.
        Nope. Incorrect.

        Squeeze pages don't "attract opt-ins". They handle/manage/collate opt-ins. You still have to get the targeted traffic to the squeeze page somehow. Squeeze pages are not in themselves a traffic-generating strategy!

        .
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        • Profile picture of the author MrJoeRed
          Ok so basically I make a site.. probably as an affiliate. Hopefully my traffic opts-in and then I send emails about a certain niche and encourage them to puchase an e-course or product/service every now and then?

          And thanks for the response =] that was some very good content
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Originally Posted by MrJoeRed View Post

            Ok so basically I make a site.. probably as an affiliate. Hopefully my traffic opts-in and then I send emails about a certain niche and encourage them to puchase an e-course or product/service every now and then?
            That's one basic framework that can work, and work very well; yes.

            Be clear that (for affiliate marketing purposes) the money is in the relationships you build with the list-subscribers, not nearly so much in the website itself. The primary purpose of the website - whether it's a "blog" or not - is to collect the visitors' email addresses, because that's the monetizable part of the equation. (So, unsurprisingly, that's the part that needs nearly all the work, effort, skills, planning and attention - not so much the website, as long as it's clean, simple and designed to collect email addresses!).

            .
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            • Profile picture of the author MrJoeRed
              Awesome that is so helpful! So I was going to do something along the lines of fitness and weight loss.. does it matter that this niche is pretty saturated? I know competition is high but if i pay for solo ads do you think I will generate enough opt ins and eventually sales?
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              • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                Banned
                Originally Posted by MrJoeRed View Post

                So I was going to do something along the lines of fitness and weight loss.. does it matter that this niche is pretty saturated?
                Some say "yes"; some say "no".

                I think it depends mostly on how you're going to generate your traffic.

                I don't believe in "saturation" at all, to be honest, but I still wouldn't want those niches, myself.

                Originally Posted by MrJoeRed View Post

                if i pay for solo ads do you think I will generate enough opt ins and eventually sales?
                I think it would be very, very difficult (maybe impossible) to find responsive enough solo ad leads for those niches to build your business that way. In my opinion (and I make no claim to great expertise on this subject!!) solo ads are for IM-related and MMO-related niches (which you should definitely avoid anyway).

                I do honestly think fitness and weight loss are among the most difficult niches for someone starting out (and not entirely because of "competition").

                This might help you: have a look at this post, and the others linked to inside it (one of them might even be about the weight loss niche, as I remember): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8561081

                .
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                • Profile picture of the author MrJoeRed
                  I am about to make my first website.. and honestly, I would like to make decent money doing this. Would it be easiest to start in MMO? What is a good niche for a beginner? I was going to do weight loss because I actually know a good amount about it, but if it's tough to get subscribers and make sales then I don't want anything to do with it.
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                • Profile picture of the author MrJoeRed
                  Oh wait you say stay away from MMO? What kind of niche would be profitable for a beginner? I don't want to invest a ton of time in a website and not be able to convert anything
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                  • Profile picture of the author Gh0zt
                    Originally Posted by MrJoeRed View Post

                    Oh wait you say stay away from MMO? What kind of niche would be profitable for a beginner? I don't want to invest a ton of time in a website and not be able to convert anything
                    MMO is very profitable - but - how can you preach something you know nothing about?

                    Knowledge and passion are an essential part of marketing - if you really KNOW the market/niche then you KNOW what the problems are, you KNOW the basics, you know a few secrets, you've developed a few idea's - you can easily talk to your consumers about that niche because you are essentially one of them.

                    If you came at me with two products and asked me to choose which one to promote for you - and the first one was martial arts related, and the second was Majong related - I would go with martial arts...

                    I could sell both - make no mistake about it - but, as I know martial arts it would make my job a hell of a lot easier!

                    As for your original question....

                    "Is blogging the only effective way to utilize email marketing?"

                    NO.

                    Peacocks (clothing store in the UK) right now have little slips on the checkouts asking people for thier emails - clearly they are not a blog.
                    **The funny thing is: they are doing NOTHING to help capture leads except the promise to keep people up-to-date about in-store offers - which is probabily why it looked like nobody had touched the stack of slips! - If they would only offer some sort of incentive - a 10% discount on ONE item would be enough - they will learn when thier marketing guys get onto them I'm sure....

                    There are tonnes of ways to build email lists... (if you give your email to a supermarket or even to the police, they sell your information, your email goes on someones list) - that is the reality of how profitable it is - and the reality of information selling.

                    We are living in the age of information

                    As for ways of getting emails - there are tonnes - run a contest, run a special offer, offer a service via email... online? promote on forums, facebook, twitter, your own webspace's/profiles/blogs. Offline? promo's in shops (pay the owner), at events, in social clubs, at universitie's, at uni accomodation entrance halls.

                    The list's are endless - think about it and trust yourself and go for it - then whatever you learn along the way get's counted as "true knowledge" (something you know for certain! because you tested it yourself)

                    Just sayin'
                    Hope I answered your question,

                    Peace,
                    Gh0zt
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      • Profile picture of the author Annbose
        Blog is not only the way to make a relationship with your client or customer. But you should have strong bonding with them by any means like what they need or like to receive so that you can offer them the right thing at the right moment.Let them provide you the feedback and keep in touch with them by social media.
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        • Profile picture of the author clicknetsecrets
          It will show you the absolute secrets you need
          to know to become a raving success online.
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  • Profile picture of the author prbarton
    Seems like you're looking for a sure fire way to make money. And, there is none. All that can be said is that every business should be building a mailing list. That means they need a way to attract new subscribers regularly to be constantly building and refreshing their list.

    This is where I would start. This is the one asset that will always make you money (if you handle it right).

    If you're in a hurry you need to have some cash to pay a coach/mentor and enough left over to implement the plan. You don't need some $5K guru yet. When you have a 100K business and want to expand then consider the super guru. Keep your education costs in line with your experience level.

    If you don't want to pay someone to speed you along then you need to settle down, pick a niche and start studying. Meet the people in the niche. You can become an "expert" by association. Educate yourself. Remember you will become more informed then the next newbie. All you have to know to get started is more than the "new" guy.

    Lots of people make lots of money without building a fancy website. And, it is something you can always work on as you begin to define yourself.

    This is a process. It has to begin with you knowing what you want. Clearly define your goals. Pick a course of action and stick to it.

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Developer99
    Some good reading here thnks all..
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    Developing software which makes users go WOW
    I love google and yahoohttp://yahoo.com

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