Direct Linking or List-Building???

16 replies
Hello fellow warriors,

I've been struggling with online marketing for nearly 5 years now. I have good days but mostly bad days.... I tried many different models and read through tons of WSOs and courses.

The one that seems to be working for me is promoting affiliate offers via direct linking with paid traffic. However, it's been a roller coaster ride. I have good weeks and bad weeks but nothing is sustainable. And it seems whenever I try to scale it falls apart.

Then I heard the "money is in the list" and I'm leaving money on the table by not building a list and then promoting offers to my list. So I tried that. However, whilst I got a decent opt-in rate the open rate, click rate and most of all the sales rate was very low that it actually made me lose money.

So my question is what is better: to direct link affiliate offers to high converting video sales pages or to build a list with the traffic instead?

I look forward to your feedback.

Thanks,
Mark
#direct #linking #listbuilding
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Hi Mark,

    Originally Posted by marktheonlinesurfer View Post

    So my question is what is better: to direct link affiliate offers to high converting video sales pages or to build a list with the traffic instead?
    Answered in this post (you can more or less substitute the words "affiliate sales" where it says "ClickBank sales"): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5210243

    And more detailed information, discussion and "reasons" in a few posts in this little thread from yesterday (don't let the thread's apparently completely different title put you off): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6629117

    Originally Posted by marktheonlinesurfer View Post

    I tried that. However, whilst I got a decent opt-in rate the open rate, click rate and most of all the sales rate was very low that it actually made me lose money.
    I hear you.

    The solution to that is to change the way you handle list-building and list-communications, not to try to do it without list-building and list-communications (you'd probably be aiming at only 5% - 10% of the potential income, as a ceiling, that way): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6123982
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  • Profile picture of the author mlord10
    Hi Mark,

    I think one of the main reasons many people don't see great results with list building is because they do not work on cultivating a real relationship with their subscribers.

    This can happen for a variety of reasons, but often stems from the false logic that the "biggest list makes the most money."

    That simply isn't true...when I first started marketing online in 2008 I built a big list in a very popular market, but made little money because all I did was push products (I'm ashamed of it looking back).

    If you want to make list building work for you, you need a solid sales funnel that partially focuses on giving your subscribers quality information free of charge.
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  • Profile picture of the author Wade32
    Why not do both? MailChimp offers a free list building program until you can get on your feet. This way you are not paying to have one subscriber. build your list with the free version and then when you have enough subscribers, go to the paid version with the autoresponder.
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    • Profile picture of the author dsworks
      I would also recommend doing both. If you can create a small profitable campaign by direct linking offers, that will provide you with a small income stream which can be used to fuel more ad costs for your list building. If you can just break even while building and cultivating your list, you are moving in the right direction.

      Adding additional profitable campaigns as you discover them will allow you a more modest income stream which you can either keep as profit or reinvest into your list building traffic. It's somewhat of a balance between short term and long term strategies.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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      Originally Posted by Wade32 View Post

      Why not do both? MailChimp offers a free list building program until you can get on your feet.
      They don't allow affiliate marketing.

      That's why so many Warriors have lost their lists there.

      They have extremely restrictive terms of service, policies and procedures. They "exclude" so many things that it isn't easy to know who can use them safely. And it isn't just that you can't use their service for those things: you can't do any of those things (i.e. even without using their service for them) and be a Mailchimp customer, and they say that openly: Mailchimp not to be used for internet marketing?

      Reading Warriors' comments about them, in general, strongly suggests that they attract a lot of "the kind of marketers who don't bother to read the terms of service" before entrusting their business's primary asset to them for safekeeping.

      This is what can happen, with free autoresponders, though.

      Next recommended stop: GetResponse/Aweber.

      More comments here ...
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  • Profile picture of the author spriyada
    Build a list but like mlord10 said, build a relationship first. Always put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Would you follow someone’s advise if all they ever wanted to do is sell you stuff? Probably not…provide your readers value and they will be with you forever.
    You can also sign up for autoresponder service like aweber. I personally use aweber and love it. It is easy and the first month is only $1.
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  • Profile picture of the author larry1113
    Build a list for sure.

    If they're not buying it's because you're email marketing ineffectively that's all. Learn more about writing effective emails.

    You want to be building a following for yourself. If all you're doing is direct linking that's not a stable income. At anytime you're income could be pulled out from underneath you.
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    i hear you mark and know what you mean how ever building a list is def the way to go what ever you do

    But...

    you do need to focus on certain things in order for your list building efforts to be a success

    i will be honest with you right now

    some people that join your list will be wasting your time

    some will be fairly interested (these are the ones that you nurture over time)

    and some will become raving fans pretty quickly (as long as you provide good info)

    the key to a good list is to try and build as many raving fans as you can as appose to just building subscribers

    raving fans is where the money is not just buyers

    if your not getting a very good response from your list and your open rates are very poor then you need to look at what info your giving away and how and how often you communicate with your list

    its a learning curve which we all have to go through to find out what works and what doesnt :-)

    paul
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  • Profile picture of the author retsced
    Build a list:

    How many email lists are you on Mark?
    Why did you join those lists?
    Do you open all those emails?
    Why not?
    Which ones do you open most?
    Why do you open them?
    Are your needs been met by those marketers?
    How are they being met?
    Do you buy from them?
    Why?

    My point: All the answers you need are right under your nose. It takes a bit of work, but you must ask yourself...

    why people joined your list?
    What are they looking for?
    Why do they need it?
    What need/want are they fulfilling?

    and...

    How old are they?
    How much cash do they have?
    Where are they in life?
    Are they working?
    What are their goals?
    What are their fears?
    and so on...

    You should think about creating an avatar of the person you're marketing to. Find out what your market wants, then go create/promote that product/service/end result for them.

    You must spend time where your customers hang out. In forums, social media and anywhere else you find them lurking Observe your prey (only half joking) and list off the commonalities that stand out. Create an image of the ideal person who would have the same universal characteristics of the whole group.

    If you commit to disciplining yourself to doing this task effectively, you will have the perfect prospect to market to. You will already have a very good idea how to help this person achieve his/her goals, and ease their worries and fears.

    Just a suggestion.
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  • Profile picture of the author ProScribe
    I would recommend building a list. With a list you can break even on your initial sale, because you will make money with your list when you remarket to them months and even years into the future. Which gives your more money to play with. Dan Kennedy said something like the most successful marketers are the ones who can afford to spend the most to acquire a customer and if you are direct linking that is not going to be you.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnben1444
    If you have an autoresponder for building list and don't have traffic your money in the list is lost.

    Focus on creating a highly converting and easy to navigate site for your product.

    Have an autoreponder in place.

    Focus on getting lots of targeted traffic to your site, SEO, PPC, social networking, anywhere the visitors are.
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  • Profile picture of the author michaelcorvin
    The money is in the list...Get the opt-in first...that way you can monetize your list afterwards...the returns are much higher.

    Michael Corvin
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  • Profile picture of the author DylanC
    If you are losing money because your subscribers are not giving you enough sales, maybe you should try an email marketing course. AutoResponder Madness (ARM) by Andre Chaperon is pretty good.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Mark you actually asked a good question. Depending on price, sometimes you can lead people straight to your sales letter page, and sometimes you should lead them to your squeeze page. For all the customers you get, make sure you put them into your backend marketing funnel so that you can sell to them some more.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Ayling
    I think the statistics are that people on average need to see a product or service 7 times before they buy. So a combination of lead generation, either paid or free, and a lead retention strategy such as a lead to sales funnel via a list is essential to get any decent return in the long run.
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