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Is the only thing a "list" is good for is to promote affiliate products?

by ChickenMan
26 replies


I've unsubscribed from several lists now because most of them are nothing but "have you seen Product X?!?!?! People have been making a 'killing" off this, try it now."

Someone made up a good point on a site(can't remember where) that if these guys are already making a decent income, then why the hell are they wasting space by trying to sell affiliate products?

Right now, I'm only subscribed to Sara's list for EPF who's been offering good advice concerning EPF(which is what I am working on right now), Travis Sego, Michael Brown, and PPG because she offer tips and is the reason I found EPF.

I mean it's ridiculous because most of the products that they promote are pretty "crappy" to keep my language clean.

I thought the point of a list was to establish a working relationship with some buyers rather than send out a mass email saying buy this product?
#affiliate #good #list #products #promote #thing
  • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    Yes there does seem to be more and more 'spammy' emails coming out these days and even from the 'gurus'. It does get ridiculous and you would think a list would be better put to use if you did use it to build up a solid relationship with your subscribers.

    That doesn't mean you can't promote anything, personally I will only promote an affiliate product to my subscribers if it is something that I have used myself and was really impressed with.

    Spamming your subscribers I think is the fastest way to lose them all!
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  • Profile picture of the author Fraggler
    I have seen the same and I don't last long on the lists that do nothing but promote other peoples products.

    I don't believe you have to use your list just for that. If you are into product creation yourself you should be making your list hang on your every word so when you do release that product it can be launched with the full force of a lot of hungry readers. This will get the ball rolling for a more successful launch.

    A lot of lists are nothing more than a noticeboard of newly released offers...
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    There's a term for list marketers who just slam you with every offer they can find...

    Churn & Burn

    They don't give a crap about building trust or a relationship. They're not in it for anything but to make as much money off of you "suckers" as possible. When they kill the current list that you're on, they say "so what?" and start a new list. I'm sure a lot of them make a lot of money doing it. And meanwhile, they give all list marketers a bad name and make it harder for those of us who do value trust and repeat customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChickenMan
    The guy who did Mobile Monopoly, my god his emails are nothing but products that he's an affiliate of, which is where part of my rant comes from.

    I know there are some good ones out there, I have a few from the WF that I didn't include earlier, but so far I've been hating the idea of list building and opting into someone's list unless the person is fully legit and only going to promote something that's worth value, not just another hot item product.

    I'm not really into product creation though.
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  • Profile picture of the author christopher jon
    In the end, a list is always about selling something. It doesn't matter who you are or what business your in.

    GURU X pitches crap product A, Pizza Hut sends me coupons and Designer B Tells me about the latest developments on his premium themes... a list is always about selling something.

    The only difference is how you go about promoting products and making your pitch.

    In the very few cases where a list is not about selling something, it's about keeping me as a paying customer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ellen Violette
    People sell affiliate products if they think it's something their list is interested in knowing and they don't teach it or don't know it well enough to teach it-at least that's the right reason to sell an affiliate product!

    As a buy, I always say do I need this right now? Am I actually going to use it? And is it a good value?
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    • Profile picture of the author vicone
      A list can be a good opportunity for you to establish yourself as an authority with a group of people. They get a chance to become aware of your skill, expertise and judgment in the area which is the focus of that list.

      Then, when you do have something worthwhile to recommend, the readers are likely to take that recommendation seriously.

      The email messages are an opportunity for the list owner to voice opinions in a selected area, letting the recipients see that the sender "knows his stuff" and that the opinions - and recommendations - are dependable.

      If you do then choose to create products of your own, there is a group you have easy access to who are ready and willing to look mere closely at - and possibly buy - what you are offering.

      Unfortunately, a lot of marketers, including many 'gurus', are more interested in "flogging" any product which will bring a quick return.

      Ivan
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    • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
      Originally Posted by ChickenMan View Post


      I thought the point of a list was to establish a working relationship with some buyers rather than send out a mass email saying buy this product?

      ...and some of us do just that. If you subscribe to Paul Myers' Talkbiz News or my newsletter, you get content. We may make a sales pitch, usually for our own products, but I can't think of a time I've sent out an email that was only a sales pitch. Neither of us will email you every day or every other day either. I can't tell you Paul's reason for that, but mine is because I don't want to wear out my welcome. I'm in this for the long term. I want my subscribers to know, like, and trust me.

      The kind of marketers you're talking about have a massive turnover of subscribers. They have to keep replacing them because they burn them out so fast. To me, it's a selfish way to market because you're always taking and never giving. Readers catch on to that, and they don't like it. Some of them even make posts in forums about it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
        Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

        ...and some of us do just that. If you subscribe to Paul Myers' Talkbiz News or my newsletter, you get content. We may make a sales pitch, usually for our own products, but I can't think of a time I've sent out an email that was only a sales pitch. Neither of us will email you every day or every other day either. I can't tell you Paul's reason for that, but mine is because I don't want to wear out my welcome. I'm in this for the long term. I want my subscribers to know, like, and trust me.

        The kind of marketers you're talking about have a massive turnover of subscribers. They have to keep replacing them because they burn them out so fast. To me, it's a selfish way to market because you're always taking and never giving. Readers catch on to that, and they don't like it. Some of them even make posts in forums about it.

        I'd pretty much guarantee (except maybe in some exceptional cases) that their unsubscribe rate isnt any higher than yours. Dennis
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        • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
          Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

          I'd pretty much guarantee (except maybe in some exceptional cases) that their unsubscribe rate isnt any higher than yours. Dennis
          Well Robert, I just came back from Aweber. In August I had 1 unsubscribe per thousand emails. That was a good month. In July I had I had 5 unsubs per thousand. In June it was 3.6. The worst month so far this year was 12.4 per thousand. That's on a list of around 10,000 subscribers.

          I could be wrong, but I'm guessing I'd win your bet.
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          • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
            Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

            Well Robert, I just came back from Aweber. In August I had 1 unsubscribe per thousand emails. That was a good month. In July I had I had 5 unsubs per thousand. In June it was 3.6. The worst month so far this year was 12.4 per thousand. That's on a list of around 10,000 subscribers.

            I could be wrong, but I'm guessing I'd win your bet.
            On how many emails per month sent... Unsub rates per email sent are probably not much different % wise

            As they send more emails the overall numbers will be higher. but on average the % of unsubs per email send is constant no matter what the content of the emails

            For instance i just set up a series of 8 emails going out once a day to a completely free content laden video series, no squeeze nothing asked

            There is an ad under each video but its pure content, the unsub % rate will be the same as if i was pitching them.
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            • Profile picture of the author addice
              I've realized this to most of the internet marketers out there too.

              Promote, promote, and promote. I remember (was it Michael Resmussen? or someone else?) said that there must be a balance between promoting and giving free valuable content for your subscribers (and he's one of them who does that).

              He was saying that you can't keep promoting, because people will get tired of you pitching to them all the time, and eventually the list will get lesser and lesser people. It's also a no-no to keep giving free content all the time, because that will pre-set the minds of the subscribers and eventually when you decided to offer some paid product, they are not going to buy.

              It's best to promote as well as continue to give free quality content to the subscribers, then they will probably be staying there longer.

              Just my 2 cents worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author dremora
    All this list spammers are the reason I switched from forced opt-in to optional sidebat opt-in. Most people download whatever pdf and unsubscribe right away these days.

    I stopped sending affiliate links to my list, I promote only my own products or the friend's products that I personally used and got good results. I unsubscribe from everyone spamming big launches or promoting crap products. If you don't like that being done to you, don't do it to others. Maybe this makes me a bad marketer but I choose to stick to this simple rule of thumb.
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  • Profile picture of the author smartsites
    You are right in your thinking about what a list is but you are going to find people who abuse their lists and yes it's annoying. Don't worry about others and build your list the right way which is by offering valuable information and pitching only things that you use and believe in. There is nothing wrong with selling to your list if it's done the right way. We all want to be sold and we appreciate it when someone pitches us something that adds value to our business and or life in some way.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anonymous Affiliate
    I've never had great success promoting affiliate stuff to my lists.

    In fact, the best use I've made off my lists is to ask them EXACTLY what they need or want, and then create that very product and sell it to them. Conversion rates of over 10%... I won't say anymore...
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    • Profile picture of the author ikelove
      Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

      I've never had great success promoting affiliate stuff to my lists.

      In fact, the best use I've made off my lists is to ask them EXACTLY what they need or want, and then create that very product and sell it to them. Conversion rates of over 10%... I won't say anymore...
      10%? How large is your list? I ask because as someone who is still learning the ropes, I'm curious if 10% is considered a good number or a bad number.
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      • Profile picture of the author Anonymous Affiliate
        Originally Posted by ikelove View Post

        10%? How large is your list? I ask because as someone who is still learning the ropes, I'm curious if 10% is considered a good number or a bad number.
        10% conversion on a sales page? it's HUGE!
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  • Profile picture of the author ChickenMan
    I don't recall list building being as big as was when I first learned about IM in June, or at least I didn't notice it.

    It's just that I've seen so many people abuse their lists and go all promote crazy and promote all of these products that I am sure they've never even tried themselves.

    Right now though, focusing on one thing is my goal which is to get through and finish EPF.

    Just thought I'd rant a little about lists because I've grown tired of these emails that don't offer anything other than promoting a product that they're an affiliate of.
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    • Profile picture of the author magicmarcus
      i have found that marketing works really well to your list if you help them get what they want.

      focus on what they want... if you aren't sure... ask them.

      you can ask them using things like surveymonkey or even a simple form mail.

      take the time to care about their needs and you will get much better conversions.

      i am super picky about what i promote to my list and 9/10 times i will send them to a video showing them how i would use the product with some tips and tricks they can use.

      this works well and your list will thank you for it

      bottom line... give value and get paid more!
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  • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
    I'm not a big fan of IM email lists myself due to excessive affiliate offers and useless regurgitated PLR content. I generally unsubscribe very quickly, especially when I get affiliate offer after affiliate offer or get a sloppy re-written PLR laden email.

    That said, there's a lot more to email marketing than what we commonly see in the IM world. I do several corporate email marketing campaigns for clients that promote their own retail or B2B products, no affiliate offers in sight.
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  • Profile picture of the author sidpoudyal
    ChickenMan,

    I totally understand where you are coming from but the REAL purpose of a list is to MAKE MONEY! Yeah, you are generally supposed to build a relationship with you list so that it is responsive and everyone trusts each other but that is so that they TRUST YOU when you push an offer.

    I would like to see less efforts put into product launches and more effort put into coming out with a quality software or service but there is not anything I can do about anyone else. I just need to keep in mind the kind of internet marketer I want to be and how I want everyone else to view me.

    Kind Regards,
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  • Profile picture of the author Aniee Kesem
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    • Profile picture of the author mrbawb
      Ya gotta know when you give your information to someone they're gonna promote to you.

      It's in the nature of a marketer.

      I agree it should be a relationship building tool.

      Then every so often you offer something.

      That's how I see it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Fred_Acker
        Which came first - Email Marketing or The Newsletter?
        Is their a difference? I think so...

        For some email marketing is a profit center for their business. For others, a newsletter is simply a way to keep their relationship with their customers/clients and readers going strong and making a profit along the way.

        I'll be the first to admit that "I Suck at Email Marketing!" Because I'm lazy. The thought of writing out 365 emails a year just seems to make my hackles stand up. Even if it could produce the results that some marketers speak of I still wouldn't do it.

        On the other hand, I can write out 52 newsletters (short 2-5 page reports really), turn them into pdf files and then use a template that says:

        Your newsletter is ready for download - Click Here

        In fact, I'm setting one up as I write this :p

        I know some will balk at the Click Here part and say it's adding an extra step for the reader but I haven't heard any complaints about it.

        Then, if I really get enthusiastic about a product, in between downloads I can write short emails promoting products.

        I think it's just a matter of how you choose to run your business.

        As an end user, I really don't mind getting the promos from certain lists. What I do hate is getting 3rd party promos or promos from lists I never subscribed to (or at least don't remember doing so).

        It's just a part of being on the web.

        One more thing and I'll shut up...

        have you ever read those promos and checked out whats working and whats not?

        You can build a nice swipe file from some of them.
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        • Profile picture of the author drnet
          This certainly seems to be the case in the IM market. It gets freakin old after a while that is for sure. That being said, there are some really good products that come out that i am happy to promote, and I have made some mistakes and sent some crap out to people as well.

          I think there is a blend that needs to be maintained. Also I think it is important to identify with your list and let them see that you are a person, a real person with the same issues we all deal with. There is something to be said about authenticity that most people can see or not see.

          When you are slamming your list with product after product, what do you do when that happens to you? Me? I typically unsubscribe or DELETE without reading...

          So find the balance....be courteous...be real...care about who is on your list and offer value to them.

          It is fine to send out good offers as that was said above early in this post...by try and purchase the product FIRST and use it. I think this is one of my biggest beefs of 2010 is that there has been so many product launches sometime 2 or 3 a week and I am sure 99% of the ones promoting probably have never used the product and never will...that tends to rub me the wrong way...but then, sometimes they build in some KILLER value that makes it interesting and worth a look too

          DR NET
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          • Profile picture of the author dremora
            I highly recommend surveying your list using surveymonkey (free) and find out what they are interested in, IM lists can be surprisingly targeted. See if they want to see more videos from you, or more text? What topics do they want you to cover? What topic do they want you to post your next WSO on?

            Find out what they want and give it to them.
            If they like what you give them, they will buy your products too.

            Also offer free review copies of your upcoming products (couple chapters or the whole thing) to the first 10 subscribers who respond, get their feedback, etc this can be very helpful for your business.

            You should give 80% content (useful tips, videos, info) and 20% promotion (preferably your own products) and don't email everyday. I set my email frequency to 5-7 days and got no complaints or unsubscribes.

            I hope this helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Worner
    This strategy is profitable if the amount of new subscribers to your list is the same or more than your unsubscribes as a result of this strategy.


    Chris
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