Do some of us overthink the list thing?

23 replies
1. Once we sign up with aweber, for example, we are now entitled to create as many lists as we want.

2. Many of us already write articles but too many of us send that traffic to affiliate pages directly rather than our own list-building squeeze page.

3. I read a lot of people concerned about sales emails or content emails how many and what ratio. Perhaps this is a reason for number 2.

4. Once I started sending traffic to my own squeeze page, I just send 7 good content emails with a very short sales letter for the product incorporated into each.

5. My sales increased many times since I adopted that simple strategy.

So what do I have now? The opportunity to sell to people 7 times instead of just one and their gone. Plus, I have a much larger list than ever before. Is it possible that it is that simple?
#list #overthink #thing
  • Profile picture of the author Intrepreneur
    I've bought a lot of products on copywriting and sales. I've read in almost every one of those products that people are much more likely to purchase after further corrospondence.

    You can increase that rate by doing good autorsesponder copy.

    I also highly recommend checking out RayDal's autoresponder WSO, it's the best I've seen.
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    • Profile picture of the author FriendlyRob
      Originally Posted by Intrepreneur View Post

      I've bought a lot of products on copywriting and sales. I've read in almost every one of those products that people are much more likely to purchase after further corrospondence.

      You can increase that rate by doing good autorsesponder copy.

      I also highly recommend checking out RayDal's autoresponder WSO, it's the best I've seen.
      Dude, thanks for backing me up on this one! I was really struggling with the question, "can it really be that simple?"
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  • Profile picture of the author nicholaswind
    Hey friendlyRob.
    I took your ebook since my goal is now to become a better writer.
    I've had my blog up and running for 5 months now and I've been surprised how much I enjoy posting to it.
    You are right about getting a high converting squeeze page to send your prospects to.
    This changed my life financially as I continue to learn and get better.
    Since the vast majority online don't make money (95%+) , I beleive this is one of the biggest factors and I blog about it.

    We have so many folks to help but unfortunately many refuse to work the IM process.
    My list builds daily now only because I do things right now.
    Now I can say building a list is easy but it was not for some years and I was the only one to blame.
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    I'm in the niche market of people who are looking for a simple way to MAKE$ from Home and learn Marketing.
    http://www.cashflowduplication.com

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  • Profile picture of the author mikeyman120
    Originally Posted by FriendlyRob View Post

    So what do I have now? The opportunity to sell to people 7 times instead of just one and their gone.
    Don't forget you can also sell to them forever or until they unsubscribe.

    Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author Intrepreneur
      One thing is don't forget to tell them why they are rceiving the email at the top of each email and how to unsubscribe.
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      • Profile picture of the author Aitor Astobieta
        Yes, this works but you have to do it the right way.

        You have to give them good information but always leave them hanging, and then you offer your product where they can find the information they so desperately desire.

        Sometimes I give away too much information, and they are not interested in my offers.

        So there is a right and a wrong way of doing it.

        Or maybe I am overthinking?
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        • Profile picture of the author Intrepreneur
          Originally Posted by Aitor Astobieta View Post

          Yes, this works but you have to do it the right way.

          You have to give them good information but always leave them hanging, and then you offer your product where they can find the information they so desperately desire.

          Sometimes I give away too much information, and they are not interested in my offers.

          So there is a right and a wrong way of doing it.

          Or maybe I am overthinking?
          No buy RayDals WSO and you'll see the difference.

          :-)
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          • Profile picture of the author FriendlyRob
            Originally Posted by Intrepreneur View Post

            No buy RayDals WSO and you'll see the difference.

            :-)

            I just got it, and quickly perused some of the pages, I think you are right,

            it appears to be an excellent strategy.
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    • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
      Originally Posted by mikeyman120 View Post

      Don't forget you can also sell to them forever or until they unsubscribe.

      Mike

      Mike, this is the bit that most people get wrong, they build a lists and sell sell sell.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by M Thompson View Post

        Mike, this is the bit that most people get wrong, they build a lists and sell sell sell.
        The problem isn't with the "sell, sell, sell," it's with blown expectations.

        I get emails from dozens of companies that do nothing but sell, and it's fine because that's what they told me to expect.

        What causes lists to blow up, and the relationships with them, is when a list owner promises quality content and delivers nothing but sales pitch after pitch. There's a disconnect that makes the receiver feel cheated, used and abused.

        I tell people upfront that I will be sending them a mixture of emails - some pure content, some purely something I think they might like and they can buy or not as they please, and mostly a mixture of the two. That approach has mostly worked out pretty well...
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        • Profile picture of the author discrat
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          The problem isn't with the "sell, sell, sell," it's with blown expectations.

          I get emails from dozens of companies that do nothing but sell, and it's fine because that's what they told me to expect.

          What causes lists to blow up, and the relationships with them, is when a list owner promises quality content and delivers nothing but sales pitch after pitch. There's a disconnect that makes the receiver feel cheated, used and abused.

          I tell people upfront that I will be sending them a mixture of emails - some pure content, some purely something I think they might like and they can buy or not as they please, and mostly a mixture of the two. That approach has mostly worked out pretty well...

          Yes this is a great point. In my Capture Box I also tell them they will get my Free E-mini Course along with it they will also get info. on the "best and hottest offers" in the particular Niche !! Let them know ahead of time. Then you can put Sale pitches in everyone of your Follow up emails !!
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  • Profile picture of the author FriendlyRob
    Some very important additional point have been made that I was too lazy to put in my original post.

    1. Now that they're on my list, I can continue to send sales copy
    2. As long as I remind them that they originally subscribed and that they unsubscribed
    3. I misspelled the word "they're" in my original post.
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  • Profile picture of the author barryd
    I'm just getting started in this IM'ing thing, but I took Jason Fladlien's advice and send 2 or 3 good content emails before I send a sales email, then repeat the process.
    Personally I like calling it an "Ezine" more than an email, let's people know my intent is to continue to send them worthwhile content.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ram
      Yes, people overthink list building. In fact, too many people try to think of ways around it!

      You are doing things right. A tweak here or there, maybe, but essentially just what we do.

      We never,, ever, ever send "generated" traffic to anywhere but a squeeze page. Ever. Ever.

      By generated I mean from any kind of ads, press releases, articles, etc. Anything we do to generate new traffic leads to a squeeze page. Always.

      Then we send the list where we want them to go.

      We never bother with other strategies. Makes things a lot simpler and allows for easier targeting and tracking.
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      • Profile picture of the author FriendlyRob
        Originally Posted by Ram View Post


        We never,, ever, ever send "generated" traffic to anywhere but a squeeze page. Ever. Ever.

        .
        So, when you say never, ever, ever. You mean sometimes right?
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      • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
        Originally Posted by Ram View Post

        Yes, people overthink list building. In fact, too many people try to think of ways around it!

        You are doing things right. A tweak here or there, maybe, but essentially just what we do.

        We never,, ever, ever send "generated" traffic to anywhere but a squeeze page. Ever. Ever.

        By generated I mean from any kind of ads, press releases, articles, etc. Anything we do to generate new traffic leads to a squeeze page. Always.

        Then we send the list where we want them to go.

        We never bother with other strategies. Makes things a lot simpler and allows for easier targeting and tracking.

        After the squeeze They can always be redirected to a OTO ( I prefer suggested link) if using single opt or with double opt the conformation page can always serve as an OTO page .
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Desai
    list building is AWESOME *** i started making money after i started collecting via squeeze pages *** put your opt in form on the RIGHT side of the page *** yes it makes a differencee *** just trust me on that one
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    I have nothing to sell you :)
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  • Profile picture of the author Brad Gosse
    I have never really done mailing lists. Am i crazy? Show me the light.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Originally Posted by FriendlyRob View Post

    1. Once we sign up with aweber, for example, we are now entitled to create as many lists as we want.

    2. Many of us already write articles but too many of us send that traffic to affiliate pages directly rather than our own list-building squeeze page.

    3. I read a lot of people concerned about sales emails or content emails how many and what ratio. Perhaps this is a reason for number 2.

    4. Once I started sending traffic to my own squeeze page, I just send 7 good content emails with a very short sales letter for the product incorporated into each.

    5. My sales increased many times since I adopted that simple strategy.

    So what do I have now? The opportunity to sell to people 7 times instead of just one and their gone. Plus, I have a much larger list than ever before. Is it possible that it is that simple?

    Yes it is that simple.... You also have to take into account the valuation of the lifetime of your subscribers.

    Meaning, when you promote other offers over time you will get sales so the value of each subscriber will increase.

    Mike Hill
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  • Profile picture of the author steve-wilkins
    It is all well and good building a list that you can make money from but you also have to deliver the content. I have signed up for many lists in the past and received so much re-hashed PLR. So what did I do? Simple- unsubscribe.

    I spend a few hours a week writing really good content now that I deliver to my list of loyal subscribers, which is what they are - LOYAL! So I make sure I treat them with respect and over deliver with my content. of course I also send offers to my products and affiliate products but that is on a ratio of: 5-1, being that I deliver 5 contect packed emails to 1 offer.

    It works well for me and I still haven't had a single unsubscriber, well yet anyway (touch wood)
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  • Profile picture of the author marimack
    Hi Friendly Rob and others:

    I am implementing my first campaign and at the moment am dizzy with information overload. any advice will be much appreciated.

    1. Just in the last few days I got it through my thick head that a squeeze page is necessary, and then realized that to do this i had to have a domain name. webhosting and autoresponder and feel overwhelmed. I realize that I have to just take it one task for a time but any advice for an all inclusive service would be great. But my real question is, I do have to have an auto-responder at this point, right?

    2. Lists: Are any free or paid lists legit? free leads net will give me 5000 leads and there seem to be lots of others.

    3.Web hosting: If just setting up for a squeeze page, does price for web hosting matter? there are free webhosts, $1 hosts and free trials? I know of the "biggies" like Go Daddy and Hostgater.

    Thanks everyone, look forward to your replys.
    Marimack
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by marimack View Post

      Hi Friendly Rob and others:

      I am implementing my first campaign and at the moment am dizzy with information overload. any advice will be much appreciated.

      1. Just in the last few days I got it through my thick head that a squeeze page is necessary, and then realized that to do this i had to have a domain name. webhosting and autoresponder and feel overwhelmed. I realize that I have to just take it one task for a time but any advice for an all inclusive service would be great. But my real question is, I do have to have an auto-responder at this point, right?

      2. Lists: Are any free or paid lists legit? free leads net will give me 5000 leads and there seem to be lots of others.

      3.Web hosting: If just setting up for a squeeze page, does price for web hosting matter? there are free webhosts, $1 hosts and free trials? I know of the "biggies" like Go Daddy and Hostgater.

      Thanks everyone, look forward to your replys.
      Marimack
      Here are my suggestions (read "opinions")...

      1. Whether you need an autoresponder or not at this point depends on whether you plan to set up pre-programmed messages so that anyone who signs up get the same sequence using the same timing.

      If all you plan to do is broadcast newsletters, etc., then all you need is a mailing list program. Most hosting plans will have something available, especially if they offer Fantastico in the control panel.

      The downside is that if you do decide to transition to a regular autoresponder, especially a service like Aweber, you'll likely lose some subscribers when you ask them to reconfirm.

      2. I would avoid these lists until you have a lot more experience and can tell a legit list from a bogus one. Most legitimate email lists are fairly expensive.

      It's tempting to latch onto one of these freebie lists, but they're usually compiled by scraping emails from the web, dubious co-registration offers, etc.

      3. Just my prejudice, but I'd avoid the ultra-cheapie and free hosting deals for a business site. Something like Hostgator's baby plan (~$4/mo) will get you started nicely.
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