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Are We Building A List Blindly?

by Darren Tan
13 replies
Dear Fellow Warriors (Especially Newbies),

We all know it's very important to build a list whether you are in info market or physical products market, so I shall not repeat.

The entire IM industry is touting "Build a List, The money is in the List", but frankly it's BS..

Why BS? Do I even know what I'm talking about?

90% of the people whom I see building a list totally misunderstand the meaning of "Build a List, The money is in the List", their lists will only be responsive (at most) the 1st 3 months because:
  • they are thinking in terms of how much $$$ they can make from the list of leads
  • worst, once they have a list of buyers what do they do? feed them more offers or what I call "chasing the buying frenzy", once the buying frenzy is over, the list is BS
Peeps, why do you think some IMers can build a comfortable income with just a list of 1000 subscribers & for other IMers, they can't even make close to 500 lousy bucks with a list of 10000 subscriber?

LIST LOYALTY! Without list loyalty you can forget about $$$ in the list.

What's list loyalty? Definitely not about sending your subscribers:
  • sales video or testimonials faking as content videos
  • content that your neighbour next door is also rewriting
If you really want to learn about list loyalty, go search for early to rise, join their mailing list (I can miss everybody's email, but I read early to rise newsletter every single day), it's definitely not a site I own (how I wish I'm one of them).

Early to Rise is one of the e.g. why they are a $100m company (or is it $30m, I don't remember) with a list of 450 000 subscriber, their list are probably one of the most responsive in the world.

They are not worrying about:
  • how many links I need to build today
  • what's the ROI for my PPC campaigns
  • how many articles do I need to syndicate
  • how many linkwheels do I need to build
  • how many keywords do I need to research
And why do I reveal my source of education? Because I know 90% of IMers will never go into that kind of effort to really build an IM empire.

If I did offend some people because of my post, I do apologize.

For those that think it's useful, remember 1 thing, long term revenue in your pocket is the only thing that counts, nothing else matter.

Regards,
Darren
#call #list #list building #list loyalty #wake #wake up call
  • Profile picture of the author Darren Tan
    How weird, nobody's reading...
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    "You are surrounded by simple, obvious solutions that can dramatically increase your income, power, influence and success. The problem is you just don't see them."
    Marketing Legend - Jay Abraham
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    • Profile picture of the author butters
      So the money is in the list... The guys who teach this stuff, well some of the people I have watched over the last year, they state that you need to build loyalty, relationships etc... So, the "money is in the list" statement is correct.
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingIQ
    People have a very shallow understanding if any understanding of what marketing is at all. Within the online marketing niche - which is very small - a few people are successful at selling shovels to the gold rush.

    People read about this success and think they can do it to. The plagiaristic mentality at work.

    No one will stay subscribed to a list that does not offer them real value. Just like no one will participate in Forums just because you put them up.

    Money follows Value - PERIOD.

    So if you can provide value to your subscribers then you win, if you can not then you lose. Simple as that.

    Over and over... I did this, then that,... blah blah. And no regard for the person on the other end.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hanz
      I'm subscribed to quite a few IMers, including here on Warrior. Heck, I get 3-4 emails from the same person everyday trying to sell me something. LOL!
      "Make 5K with this system"...then 2 hours later "Hey, you don't know what you're missing, check out this brand new system!".....then 4 hours later "OMG, this money machine is yours, check it out!!!"
      My inbox is exploding!!!!
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      • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
        I wish I could 'think back' to the 'good ole' days' when businesses first started collecting the names, addresses, and phone numbers of customers by using postcards and the promise of a chance to win the drawing for a free trip to Hawii... but even though I'm far too young to remember the dawn of the Golden Age of 'list building' I still see it often enough that I'm pretty sure that it works.

        -Dani
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        • Profile picture of the author lightcam
          Just briefly, whether you're an online or offline business, your list is your business - it's your clients, customers... call it what you like.

          It's really important to build a relationship with your customers and try to deliver the best damn service or product that you can.

          Under promise and over deliver...

          Just build this simple formula into every business venture you're part of, whether you're an employee, employer, seller... or whatever.

          So, build your list and communicate with the mindset of giving them quality info. Don't focus on the money

          Hope this helps any.
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          • Profile picture of the author R.Rapp
            I completely agree. I wish people would stop spam selling their lists because this gives us all a bad rep, and soon it will become increasingly difficult to get anyone to subscribe because everyone fears being spammed to death.
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            • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
              It's true that the 'make money' niche is extremely saturated with IM'rs all hawking the same affiliate products, but the thing is, every day new people begin their search for their quest for riches, freedoms, etc.
              But in the 'niche' markets, like 'how to stop male pattern baldness" there's not as much saturation, and it's an 'image obsessed market.' So there's tons of products that could follow that.
              I think what most people miss out on about list building is that you have to make different offers to different folks and continually 'prune' your list to properly market segment and find out their interests and price limitations.

              -Dani
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              • Profile picture of the author Darren Tan
                You might be right, Dani...

                Just that I personally feel that, if you really love your clients in the market you mention, you probably don't need to sell them so many solutions, you only need 1 solution that work...

                And that's when they really trust you for their life time.. After which I'll think about what other things that can help them to reach their ultimate objective rather than only solving baldness, and keep them for life...

                This applied to all markets rather im itself...

                Regards,
                Darren

                Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

                It's true that the 'make money' niche is extremely saturated with IM'rs all hawking the same affiliate products, but the thing is, every day new people begin their search for their quest for riches, freedoms, etc.
                But in the 'niche' markets, like 'how to stop male pattern baldness" there's not as much saturation, and it's an 'image obsessed market.' So there's tons of products that could follow that.
                I think what most people miss out on about list building is that you have to make different offers to different folks and continually 'prune' your list to properly market segment and find out their interests and price limitations.

                -Dani
                Signature
                "You are surrounded by simple, obvious solutions that can dramatically increase your income, power, influence and success. The problem is you just don't see them."
                Marketing Legend - Jay Abraham
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              • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
                "The money is in the list" is a nice catch phrase, kind of like "Git'r Done" is for Dan Whitney (Larry the Cable Guy).

                The money is not in the list. The money is not even in the relationship the owner has with the list.

                Done properly, the money is in what the list represents. A group of people with a common interest who want to hear what the list owner has to say. The money is in the relationship you, as the list owner, have with each individual human being on that list.

                Remember, your list members are not in a stadium somewhere reading your emails on some monstrous Jumbotron together. Each person is sitting all alone, looking at a screen which they regard as their personal space, and by joining your list, they are inviting you into that personal space. Treat those individuals right, and you forge long-lasting and profitable relationships. Treat them wrong, and you'll find the locks have been changed and your messages piled out by the trash cans.
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                • Profile picture of the author Darren Tan
                  Yes John, that is totally what I'm talking about, but somehow 90% of us has been treating our subscribers like pcs of green bills..

                  Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

                  "The money is in the list" is a nice catch phrase, kind of like "Git'r Done" is for Dan Whitney (Larry the Cable Guy).

                  The money is not in the list. The money is not even in the relationship the owner has with the list.

                  Done properly, the money is in what the list represents. A group of people with a common interest who want to hear what the list owner has to say. The money is in the relationship you, as the list owner, have with each individual human being on that list.

                  Remember, your list members are not in a stadium somewhere reading your emails on some monstrous Jumbotron together. Each person is sitting all alone, looking at a screen which they regard as their personal space, and by joining your list, they are inviting you into that personal space. Treat those individuals right, and you forge long-lasting and profitable relationships. Treat them wrong, and you'll find the locks have been changed and your messages piled out by the trash cans.
                  Signature
                  "You are surrounded by simple, obvious solutions that can dramatically increase your income, power, influence and success. The problem is you just don't see them."
                  Marketing Legend - Jay Abraham
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  • Profile picture of the author Chad Eljisr
    I really believe it is essential to build your list of targeted leads. Of course we all know and hopefully agree that we have to deliver value to our list etc...

    But the truth is, there is no abc formula to do that. There are some almost unknown marketers to whom I am subscribed where I consistently open each single email they send, while there are some other "BIG" gurus email that I consistently ignore... How come? Is it maybe because I relate to some, and I don't relate to others? What that means?

    For me it means going back to basic marketing: it is not enough to build a super list targeting a super niche. You get a much more responsive list if you talk to your tribe, to people within your target niche that relate to you and feel that they trust your ideas and know how.

    I am no guru wanabe, but I am still working on my tribe

    My 2 cents...

    Chad
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