12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Have you ever built a list that was unproductive?

by John Atkins
10 replies
This thread was made for all of you list builders like me.

We all know that e-mail marketing is one of the best types of advertising.

I have lists in more than one niche & all of them are productive. It's also really amazing that I have never heard of anyone that regrets building his list because it was useless...

But, I guess it could happen to someone if he targets the wrong audience...

So, back to the main question.

Has anyone ever built a list that was unproductive?

If so, what niche were you working in?

Do you think that you made some mistakes while building it?

And, what was the size of the list?


Looking forward to hear from you!
IM Headlines
#built #list #unproductive
  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    I have one now that has about 400 people I think but they never buy anything. It's my fault really because I'm not all that interested in the niche and I have nothing in common with my subscribers. I tried to fake it but I'm not very good at it. Still, they keep signing up so maybe I'll figure them out someday. lol.
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1027815].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Sara Young
    In one of my niches I built a list of about 6,000 subscribers and they never bought anything!

    Then I built another list in the same niche using a different method. I only have 2,000 people on this list but I'm making a nice monthly income from it.

    The difference between the 2 lists was who I was targeting.

    The site that generated the first list had general content (and the site design was pretty lame) and many of the subscribers were from foreign countries and/or teenagers.

    The second list had content targeted towards buyers in the US, and that made all the difference.

    I'll add that in this niche I am selling physical products (which is different form most people on this forum it seems).
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1027918].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author yocupp
      Which are the best lists for ROI? The ones you build organically(one generated without too much automated help) or a list with mainly automated help? And in addition...Are these automated LIST BUILDING systems all they are pumped-up to be?? How targeted can lists be??

      I am asking this as a fairly inexperienced soon-to- attempt,hope-to-be improved list builder.

      Any thoughts?
      Signature
      CLICK HERE FOR AN HONEST, FRANK LOOK AT HOME BUSINESS OPPRORTUNITIES!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1032934].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
        Originally Posted by yocupp View Post

        Which are the best lists for ROI? The ones you build organically(one generated without too much automated help) or a list with mainly automated help? And in addition...Are these automated LIST BUILDING systems all they are pumped-up to be?? How targeted can lists be??

        I am asking this as a fairly inexperienced soon-to- attempt,hope-to-be improved list builder.

        Any thoughts?
        Your lists can be as targeted as you want them to be... It all comes down to how you are setting up the system and what's on the pages your traffic see's.

        Mike Hill
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1033790].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dsmpublishing
    I had a list that i built through giveaways last year and it was a total waste of time even freebies i sent didnt get much of a response either. But my other internet marketing lists have great responses and i offer similar things. i got rid of my giveaways list a while ago and when i was looking through them i noticed lots of fake email addresses and would say only 20% gave real ones the rest used their company name with a temporary one i.e. decembergiveaway@yourdomain.com and had obviously deleted it as soon as they had downloaded it.

    im sure it was nothing i did im sure the same people did it with many lists with the intension of doing so before they even joined the giveaway.

    I do have others offering my products at giveaways and the viral traffic from it converts so the jury is out at the moment.

    kind regards


    sam
    X
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1028159].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Spinethetic
    I don't really know if mine is unproductive or not, sales are kind of odd I think;
    I've been list building for 3 months so my list is about 1000 so far.

    My open rates are around 15%;
    When I send out an email promoting a clickbank or affiliate product about 75% of that 15% clickthrough, but never purchase. (and yes I check my affiliate link )

    But when I send them to one of my own sales pages I get about an 8-9% conversion.

    Seems a bit strange to me ...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1032815].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    I personally build lots of profitable lists in many different niches but I also have some (had) that are not profitable and what I do with those is I get rid of the names and emails on that list and then sell the website.

    The way I build my lists I also have a content site attached to it so I can at least sell the site if nothing else because of the other revenue streams.

    So when it comes right down to it nothing goes to waste!

    Mike Hill
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1033783].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cgallagher93
    I've never had a failed list, I think I have pretty good bonds with my subscribers and also rather good social skills.

    However, I've had 2/3 total failures in the past, but I don't see them as unproductive.

    Every mistake we make is for a reason and there are always new ideas and we learn from the mistakes we make anyway.

    I have a friend in the IM niche with a list of over 4000. Unfortunately, when he came to promote his deal fell thorugh at the last minute, and he had to promote another product resulting in zero sales.

    These are the unfortunate things that happen in business but the true entrepreneurs are the one's who seek positivity in everything and continue to learn from their actions; be them considered "successful" or "unsuccessful".
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1033905].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AndrewStark
    Targeting the correct people and building a relationship will make far more than a general list.

    e.g. If people opted onto your list for an adwords report then follow-up with adwords products and keep on sending content relating to adword products.

    If you have a general front-end product you will have a list of people who generally interested in what you have to offer, and your chances of success will be lower.

    It's better to have a small list of people who think you're an expert than a large list of people who can't remember why you started sending them emails.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1033948].message }}

Trending Topics