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List Building for Newbs

by Mike Murphy
25 replies
So after flapping around in IM world for a few months, I have heard REPEATEDLY "the money is in the list", " I wish I'd built a list sooner", list, list list......

So I ask my list having warrior friends...if you were a newish marketer who had no list, how would you go about starting to build one?

I've got a blog that I could put an opt-in box on, but I need something f.ree to give away so people will fill in the name and email and click send.

That brings me to the next question. If you were new and had no great product or list....or nice IM income, when does it become a necessity to start paying for an autoresponder?

The order of the day seems to be "spend money when you are making money" with the other side arguing "you've got to spend money to make money".

Is it an wonder newbs get confused??

Thanks
Mike
#building #list #newbs
  • Profile picture of the author JMartin
    I got Aweber first and then started building my list.

    Time is more valuable than money. And honestly, if $30 (or whatever they're billing me) is a hurdle, put the keyboard away and get a 2nd job for 1-2 months. Then you can afford to buy all sorts of stuff.

    As for a give away. That's easy enough. Open up a text editor (Word, Pages, whatever) and start writing about the niche. Convert to PDF and there you go.

    Or look for some PLR/free stuff to throw in.

    - Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author TimS
    Mike,

    I personally would always start out with the autoresponder system that you intend on using for the long term, even if you need to spend a little money per month ahead of making money. The reason is that it can be very costly to move an existing list. I tried to do it quite some time ago with several very large lists I had (free stuff, greeting cards and jokes related). Each list had in excess of 100k subscribers and was hosted on my own server with a combination of ARP3 and another script, I don't remember the name of it offhand. I lost the vast majority of my subscribers because they were asked to confirm their subscription in the new system (aweber).

    It seems that most of these people were not willing to unsubscribe from my old newsletter but would not take action to resubscribe to my new newsletter. My numbers slid at this point.

    Just my 2 cents
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  • Profile picture of the author louiefrias
    IMHO, learn the business of marketing first. Get on every list of everyone. Stay on the ones you like, get off the ones you don't.

    Start compiling material on each aspect of your business...website building, hosting, A/R's, merchant accounts, product and most of all...learn how to drive traffic.

    Oh yeah. Whenever possible, get on free teleseminars like the one at: www.8WeeksAway.com

    Therre are some great topics coming...list building is only one of them...but mastering it is the only way to survive.
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    • Profile picture of the author chrisgarrett
      Funnily enough at my blog you will find my current series is all about getting started in email marketing I didn't join here just to spam that, though I know it will look fishy
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      Discover how to build an audience of people who know, like and trust you so that you profit from your knowledge, experience, passions and expertise. Get these FREE videos, webinar classes, articles and downloads.
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      • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
        Have a scout around for eWriterPro - It's like a BUM's acrobat..

        And open your soul into a 10 page mini report on your chosen niche.. get AWeber/GetResponse.. and then let it fly...

        You'll be surprised how much fun you'll have creating PDF's once you get started..

        Peace

        Jay
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        Bare Murkage.........

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      • Profile picture of the author Chris Cavalli
        Ah, the wonderful topic of list building.

        The best place I would recommend you to get started is here on the Warrior Forum.

        Take some time and use the power of the "Search" feature on here.

        That is where you will get the answer to many of your questions.

        If you want a direct answer from me...

        As for "Getting Started" with list building...

        Here are some thoughts...

        Thought 1:
        Provide a free gift, such as an e-course, a special report, an e-book, or a tip sheet. Nowadays people aren't going to hand over their email without getting something else valuable in return. You can set up your autoresponder or shopping cart program to deliver this gift once a visitor has submitted their name and email.

        Thought 2:
        Make sure you have a sign-up box on each page of your website; you never know which page people will land on. Also, make sure the sign-up box is "above the fold" so that visitors don't have to scroll all around to find it. This is usually the first 300 pixels of your web page.

        Thought 3:
        Create a separate landing page on your website that's dedicated to your newsletter, blog or simply a free gift. Include a description, testimonials, a sample issue or archives, and of course your sign-up box.

        Thought 4:
        Promote your free gift and newsletter on your blog, in your email signature, and on the business cards and fliers that you hand to people in person. Yes, you heard that right... actually get away from your monitors and get out and about in your city or town.

        Thought 5:
        Have a sign-up sheet or basket to collect cards when you're speaking or when you attend a booth at a trade show or fair. A nice touch is to send an email with a personal invitation to join your mailing list, adding a link to your sign-up page. This may get a better response rate than someone receiving an "opt-in confirmation e-mail" a few days or a week after the event took place.

        Thought 6:
        Submit your newsletter to sites such as BestEzines.com. Use the URL of your newsletter page (see Thought #3) versus your home page.

        Thought 7:
        Submit your individual newsletter articles to free article directories such as Ezine Articles, Idea Marketers, and Article Dashboard. You can also try an automated online service like Submit Your Article. This is a great task to offload to your virtual assistant. When you submit articles to these sites, you'll not only increase traffic to your website but will also attract new subscribers for your mailing list and improve your website's ranking with the search engines.

        Thought 8:
        Join a joint-venture opportunity. I joined two joint venture promotions in the last two weeks and even though June is only half over, my list has already grown like wildfire! To set up your own joint venture campaign or promotion, you can partner with others who offer complementary products and/or services, put together a web page of free offerings, and then promote it like crazy.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rob Canyon
          Hey Mike,

          Listen to Chris Cavalli.

          But just as you would have to get a credit card machine before processing any customers in a regular retail store, you really need an autoresponder to capture prospects first name and email online.

          Or you'll have no way of building a relationship with them, giving them free stuff and inviting them back another day to make a purchase.

          Cheers,

          Rob
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          • Profile picture of the author TheVCF
            Yes, you will need the infrastructure to "capture" the email address(es) and manage your lists, e.g. some Autoresponder/List Management System(s), as your Fellow Warriors have recommended and are helping you out with ...

            Then once you have your infrastructure in place and ready to "capture" the email address(es), then ...

            Obviously put some kind of Subscribe, Register, "email address squeeze box" Everywhere you can!, you know? ....

            But another thing we would recommend as probably one of the quickest and easiest way to Build Your Lists is by ...

            Giving "stuff" away!

            Just require your visitor to give you their name and email address to get whatever FREE Stuff you are giving away, which should be worth it for them to give you their name and email address / get on your list(s), you know?

            The Big Giveaways used to work (at least somewhat) for this kind of List Building ...

            But ...

            I don't know if people are "Overloaded / Saturated" with The Big Giveaways now? ...

            What do you all think?

            Well, I hope this all helps and Have a Great Day!

            - Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author imb
    I know it's tough to be paying for an autoresponder when you're not even sure many people will subscribe to you.

    Do you guys know an autoresponder service that allows you to use their opt-in for free but until you send your very first message? Kindly like, build list first then pay later when you already have some people to send to?
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  • Profile picture of the author pjs
    Throw your opt-in on your blog NOW!

    If you go with Aweber for your service, they also have something called "blog broadcast" which can email your new postings to your list how ever often you like. Very Useful.
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    Mom and Pop Money WSO *** - How ONE Lead Capture Page Made $9K in 2 Weeks in the "Offline" niche!

    PeterSanchez.com >>> FollowPeter.com (Twitter)
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  • Profile picture of the author jhongren
    Originally Posted by Mike Murphy View Post

    So I ask my list having warrior friends...if you were a newish marketer who had no list, how would you go about starting to build one?

    I've got a blog that I could put an opt-in box on, but I need something f.ree to give away so people will fill in the name and email and click send.

    That brings me to the next question. If you were new and had no great product or list....or nice IM income, when does it become a necessity to start paying for an autoresponder?
    Hi Mike,

    1. If you got nothing free to give away, go and do one. You can even buy PLR articles to give away for free. If you dont want to write, engage a ghostwriter to do one for you.

    2. Any form of business come with the form of investment. It is like eating. If we dont spend money on buying the food, do we have anything to eat at all?

    I spend more than USD10K learning from ebooks, physical books, learning materials, courses and mentors before getting consistent passive income stream through IM.

    Hope this helps.

    Cheers,
    John
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Murphy
      AWESOME information everyone. Man I love this place. :-) Need to learn how to search the OLD forum though....there are some gems in there.

      Bev, you said "You can find free products with giveaway rights at the moment on a giveaway." On a giveaway? You lost me here.....where am I to find these products?

      I do have some PLR products that I could edit and give away. I just do not want to give away crap.

      Rich Peck....you are giving away pretty cool stuff. Thumbs up!

      I have more question sbut alas, lunch is over and the man says back to it.

      Thanks all.

      Mike
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      Guitar PLR - New MONSTER Guitar Video PLR Pack![LIMITED]
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    I'm no list "guru," but I think the old saying "The money is in the list" is wrong. Actually, I think it's only half right. There are plenty of list owners making nothing or next to nothing from their lists. That's because the money is actually in the relationship, not just having a list. I was one of those making almost nothing from lists until I stopped slamming new list members with sales pitches right out of the chute. The key, I learned the hard way, is to first develop a relationship with your list members. Send them a free report or teach them how to use some useful software. Whatever. Just give them something good without asking for some of their money. After a bit, you can then start slipping in some stuff they need to pay for. I found that the list was much more responsive. Oh, and I think it's very important that you give list members a way to contact you (email is fine), and that you take the time to send personal responses. This has a huge positive effect on how your members perceive you.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author Dean Martin
      Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

      I'm no list "guru," but I think the old saying "The money is in the list" is wrong. Actually, I think it's only half right. There are plenty of list owners making nothing or next to nothing from their lists. That's because the money is actually in the relationship, not just having a list. I was one of those making almost nothing from lists until I stopped slamming new list members with sales pitches right out of the chute. The key, I learned the hard way, is to first develop a relationship with your list members. Send them a free report or teach them how to use some useful software. Whatever. Just give them something good without asking for some of their money. After a bit, you can then start slipping in some stuff they need to pay for. I found that the list was much more responsive. Oh, and I think it's very important that you give list members a way to contact you (email is fine), and that you take the time to send personal responses. This has a huge positive effect on how your members perceive you.

      John
      ^^^ Pay attention to this guy - he knows what he's talking about!

      The money is not in the list - it's in the community, relationships and re pour you've created with your list.

      Look at the differences between the 'insert gurus here' and Seth Godin or Leo Leporte. I receive 20-30 'guru emails' a day that go straight to junk mail and I'll never buy from them. There are 3 or 4 true community builders that I actually read their daily emails and if they recommend something I'll probably buy from their link.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Without being too promotional I am developing the World's Best Email Marketing & List Building Course. No other course has ever had this much detail, explanation and videos that are all designed to take anyone that isn't making a consistent monthly income online by the hand and get them going.

    I have been doing it since 2004 and it has made me job-free.

    Sorry for the promo but there are so many so called experts (even experts themselves) who leave so much information out it's not even funny.

    Others try to sell a list building course but then give you audio interviews. How the heck can you see exactly how to set everything up in an interview?

    Mike, the site will be up and running in about 2 weeks. I'll send you a PM with Free access

    Were abouts in Ontario do you live? I live in Kitchener.

    Mike Hill

    PS. Forgot to mention, I also show you a traffic strategy no one else has ever talked about.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve Sanchez
      You definately need to set up opt scripts on every page you own. You need to try and get them in every step of your process. Make sure you give away something that people in that niche would normally pay money for.

      Patience is the key. You have to build your process over time. Contrary to what you're "Sold" this is not an overnight success business.

      Good Luck
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
        Originally Posted by Steve Sanchez View Post

        You definately need to set up opt scripts on every page you own. You need to try and get them in every step of your process. Make sure you give away something that people in that niche would normally pay money for.

        Patience is the key. You have to build your process over time. Contrary to what you're "Sold" this is not an overnight success business.

        Good Luck
        Steve is absolutely right about it not being an overnight success business. It does take time, like everything else but the amount of time it takes is pretty much up to the action you decide to take and the system you decide to follow.

        The hardest part is:

        1. Getting everything setup
        2. Knowing how to get targeted subscribers


        Mike Hill

        PS. Steve, your review link at your blog is not working
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  • Profile picture of the author Travis72802
    I love teaching.

    If you like to teach even a weeeee bit...you'll have no problem!

    You don't HAVE TO TEACH BIG STUFF EITHER.

    Ya know?

    Little tips and tricks that 'I' think my subscribers already know...but when
    I do a little video...they go plumb loco over it.

    Best feeling in the world...for them...AND ME:-)

    Do you know how many of my affiliates ask?

    How do I get a Clickbank link?

    How do I make a link in Squidoo without knowing
    coding?

    How do I do a blogger blog?

    What makes a good authors bio?

    What's really crazy...

    Is what they really need to learn is basic
    SE research skills...and how to search youtube.

    Heck.

    I fella or gal could show them that and develop
    a loyal following.

    I think...anyway?

    You don't HAVE to teach how to make a bizzillion dollars
    an hour with twitter or ppc...to have a 'classroom' that is
    all ears on you.

    And this just isn't for the IM niche.

    Wonder how many Grandmas would like to lose
    weight...and don't know how to download the latest
    calorie counter?

    You could teach 'em.

    They could love ya!

    Peace,
    Travis
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    http://www.BumMarketingMethod.com

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