Reason why your list don't make you money

I am just learning the best way to build a list and as far as I have seen it involves giving your subscribers what they want..... Quality and more quality.....

Rob

If marketers spend as much time providing a list with quality information and enriching their lives as they did sending them promotions they would have an incredibly responsive list.

My list is quite small compared to some of the bigger marketers but mine is a hell of a lot more responsive than theirs because I actually enjoy interacting with them and providing them with new and relevant information, the bit I find boring and time-consuming is finding a quality product to promote to them.

So I actually provide them with a lot more information and help than I do actually send them promotions which seems to work really well, I'd like to say this was my master plan but I kind of stumbled across it by accident.

I contact my list maybe 2 to 3 times a week with new and fresh quality information and I promote a product to them maybe three times a month which doesn't sound a lot but I have a lot better response rates than if I hit them with an offer a couple of times a week.

I'm not saying that everybody should do it this way but this way works well for me!

At the end of the day, list management pretty much comes down to one principle: Are you trying to add value for your subscribers, or are you just trying to help yourself?

The guys that have really mastered their lists seem to be able to offer true value, and thus have a loyal following...but they can still make money because they are looking out for their subscribers, and the subscribers trust him/her for doing so.

Everyone knows the basics,they just fail to apply them.

I have already a huge list of CPA networks. It seems you re trying to help out the newbies for affiliate marketing.keep it up

Thanks everyone. It was good to hear that some people still maintain the essence of list building.

I agree that Pat Flynn is quite good at list building. He provides quality information without trying to sell to you all the time. I subscribed to some IMers that are well respected in the field but all I get from them is one product or the other they are trying to sell. It does get irritating after sometime.

I think everybody knows that we must build a relationship with our subscribers. We must give value and build trust and rapport. We must tell stories so our subscribers can relate. So many people are so hungry to make sales that they throw this out the window and think they can treat another human being like a atm. It actually works in the opposite way. You will lose your subscribers unless you treat them like they are your best friend that you are trying to help, entertain and ultimately go to the ends of the earth to make sure their problem gets solved.

This is all good for some people, But how do you get your list started. I know that you need to give something to them to signup to your list. What is something good to do this. I have tried to give eBooks away to get them to signup and I still don't get any body to my list. Can someone give help to what to try.

The greatest mistake would be to send your list unrelated materials, and next to it is letting your list run cold by not providing enough value.

Sometimes, value can be interpreted as sending really great products that will help your subscribers learn more about what they signed up for in the first place.

where as most people find it difficult to find good free content but easy to find affiliate offers

i am the other way around

i find it easy to send great content and information but when it comes to finding quality products to promote to my list it`s pretty difficult because most of the stuff i come across is pure garbage

i would say i promote a product a couple of times a month to my lists but that is within the email

i do things a little different and often send my subscribers to my blog with a video review of something and make sales that way too

i like sending my subs to my blog to make sales a lot more because it`s giving far more value up front than just a plain old email, the same as what everyone else does

having a personal blog is very powerful and it gives you far more options with how to deliver value

i also send a lot of my subscribers to my blog within my follow up sequences

this works really well because not only are you creating more content for your blog so you get more traffic and more subscribers but it`s also a perfect platform to send your subscribers so you can educate them a lot more

a personal blog also has social proof which is vital in this business

paul

I share the experience of many of the posters on here: finding QUALITY products to recommend to my list seems to be extremely difficult! I'm at the stage of thinking that the time I spend looking for a product I would be happy to recommend would be better spent creating my own (hope this doesn't sound arrogant).
It's very easy to underestimate the danger of promoting poor-quality to your list. Just because someone gets emails from you doesn't mean they will even open them let alone respond.
I now spend my time engaging with my list to:
1) give them things I think will provide value and help them (and yes, I really care about their success), and
2) trying to get feedback to find out how I can help them further.
Like everything else online, email lists are moving to quality over hype. If you're not providing quality (whether in information or products you offer) you're not going to get much response.
My 2cents

I am currently in the process of building my list (early stages) but I also think its a good idea to send every once in a while a survey and with the results of the survey you will get a better understanding of what your list wants then you can target this area and they are going to be more willing to buy if its an area they have interest in.

Do not spam your list with offers. Send at most 2 offers a month and other than that share real value (mostly created by you). Sometimes less is really more. This is the case.

Before you even dare to send some offer, be sure your followers trust you.

Anyone on Terry Kyle's list? He states that he doesn't promote affiliate offers to his list at all. I hate being on internet marketing lists and decided to opt in just to see if he was telling the truth. He was telling the truth! I was blown away.

Every Sunday he sends me useful videos on SEO and traffic. I see his 'name' and flag the email to open it. I don't care if the subject line or copy is intriguing - I know I'm going to learn something useful so I'm always going to open his emails.

Bottom line - that guy has built up so much credibility and trust in me that I am definitely going to buy whatever he sells.

You want to know how to market the right way to cynical guys like me? Look no further than TK!

Anyone on Terry Kyle's list? He states that he doesn't promote affiliate offers to his list at all. I hate being on internet marketing lists and decided to opt in just to see if he was telling the truth. He was telling the truth! I was blown away.

Every Sunday he sends me useful videos on SEO and traffic. I see his 'name' and flag the email to open it. I don't care if the subject line or copy is intriguing - I know I'm going to learn something useful so I'm always going to open his emails.

Bottom line - that guy has built up so much credibility and trust in me that I am definitely going to buy whatever he sells.

You want to know how to market the right way to cynical guys like me? Look no further than TK!

To make your list convert well, you have to do more than just offer "free tips" emails. You have to craft your email in a way that is designed to get them to click on your sales letter link. Yeah delivering good information is important, but if you want people to buy, you have to write up a step by step email that will drive people to click on your link. This takes copywriting practice. A very profitable practice at that.

Yeah quality absolutely is the name of the game, there are countless lists out there people could join if their goal was to receive junk day after day, but if you wow them with quality then it helps build relations. Some of the most successful marketers out there have such a fantastic conversion ration because people trust them and connect with them on some level, no different than everyone flocking to see a denzel washington or robert dinero movie.

I'm sure you can sell them every day... at least, you can try.

How do you know that a sub is valuable? Because he or she opens your emails or because he or she buys your products?

IMO, your list is valuable only if you got sales from them. You don't need email openers, you need buyers.

I Agree with @LuvAbundance that copy writing skills are a must if anyone wants to create a relationship with his list... Remember that you must get the attention of your sub in order to make the sale, and if you are boring your business will be hurt...

That's why the A.I.D.A. model works so well and should be taken into account when writing the copy of your whole sales funnel.

It is very important to treat your list as how yourself wanted to be treated. There are tons of marketers outside trying to sell their list stuffs day in day out. Give them quality stuffs, don't be afraid to give them more freebies. And you may want to treat your list as your buddy rather than as your customers... This can differentiate you from other marketers.