List Building SUCKS Most Of The Time!

I think you need to stop focusing on what to say or what to give, instead focus on where your getting your subscribers from.

That's why product launches rock! You only grow a list of buyers, problem solved

Let me just give you a quick tactic that doesn't SUCK

I call it the "bonus method".... cleaver I know.

What I did was found one of my older products that kind of "ran it's course". By that I mean, we sold like 4,000 of them on Click Bank and the "shelf life" expired. Enough on that though... here's what I did:

I used THAT product as a BONUS to other people's products.

I found vendors on CB who's products complimented mine, and who's products would be improved by mine.

I emailed them and offered them the ability to offer my product as a FREE bonus to their product.

Of course, to get my bonus, their buyers had to "opt-in" from their member area, thank you page... whatever.

There's a few arguments that can arise from this method...

1. People hate to opt-in after a purchase
2. The vendors don't want to 'dilute" their buyer's lists.

But... my results win those arguments.

Win - Win. YOU get to build a buyer list and THEY (vendor) get to add value to their offer.

The "bonus" method is one of the best out there for building buyer lists for free.

Do it.

If you haven't a product to use... create a 20 page report or video.

Another option to what Ben writes above is to barter for services - one of those barters could be a bonus product for them. But you can also barter customer service on an upcoming launch, copywriting, creating social media buzz or creating a product for the marketer - depending upon where your particular talents are.

Wel for me list building is my main strategie to make money online.
And i mainly use youtube to get my subscribers! and it works perfect!
i only give them a free amazing offer! lol
it's all about getting a endless stream of new subscribers to your list! and give them good info!

List building doesn't suck... especially on the backend marketing. Some people will have some success with generating a free lead, and others will have success with leading people directly to their sales letter page.

You're right List Building does suck... when you're doing it wrong!

You mention about giving away a generic book or incentive. That's your first mistake. Generic doesn't fly... you have to segment and target the people you want by offering an incentive that's specific to a niche not a market.

OK, here is the truth, it took me a while in life to get it, but you have multiple lists and create the relationship through your autoresponder email marketing giving great niche information and every few sending an ad.

and if it's a personal list you may never send ads, or only ads to your own products.

and I know other people will disagree, but if you build lists big enough and/or fast enough, you don't need to create a relationship. you will after they opt in, you sell from your autoresponders to them, you will sell by future broadcasts and you will have built a list, congrats, move on to a new niche and let that one keep growing and building and keep collecting the cash.... move on, try to find a better niche.

how can you say it sucks

that is sad. lists are the best thing in the world, create a relationship and sell a lot more over a longer period. but really, this isn't about that, you obviously have never built a list that makes money because it doesn't suck, it's automated, you set it up, you add some autoresponder messages, then you add more messages in the future, and you make money, that's it, what sucks about that? writing 1 autoresponder message a week so people keep hearing from you? I just don't get it.

Again, there are also 2 types of list building, the one that is you, or your company and very personal to you that you treat different than your niche, let's make some money niches that you build, which you don't need to worry if they are a freebie seeker or not... at this point... once you are getting 25-50+ leads a day and aren't making 'as much' as you should be, then worry about cutting down the the freebie seekers, for now, just give away something of digital format that is actually valuable and has some good content, and build a list. Set a goal, build a list of 1,000 people in the next 14 days. don't worry how, first make the goal and the commitment to do it. then think about it and your mind will figure it out.

One thing I see people not understand these days about list building is the whole relationship thing. Mike has touched on it a few times here.

The thing you really need to remember is that every time you interact with your visitors, prospects, subscribers, and customers you are behaviorally training them to react to you in a certain way whether you realize it or not.

by that I mean, when you use crazy misleading subject lines to increase your open rates, you are training your list to respond to those types of headlines. The people who don't respond to those types of headlines will unsubscribe and leave your list. Leaving you with a list of people who only respond to crazy misleading headlines.

anytime you build an email list of freebie seekers you really need to have a very solid marketing funnel setup to behaviorally train them to respond to you in a way that is beneficial to both you and them.

one simple tip is to put yourself in their shoes. Follow your marketing funnel as if you were a prospect and see how it feels. If your funnel is just good for you (earning commissions), and it doesn't feel good for your prospects, its probably not going to work well.

listing building sucks when you don`t get your niche persons in the list. But getting our niche persons in the list will help us at-least after some days.

There's no such thing as a "freebie seeker", trust me.

There really are as many strategies to email marketing as there are traffic sources. "List Building" actually means nothing really, and it's what you do with that list that really matters. There is the "churn & burn" system which is basically volume based where you get anybody and everybody on your list and cram one offer after another down their throat and hope they buy something. Some people will argue this method "doesn't work" and it's simply not true.... at least not entirely true... In fact, it's the BEST method in some situations... It works great, but its called "churn and burn" for a reason because you will burn out your list QUICK and you will rely heavily on your ability to replace/expand your list with fresh new subscribers. Some people specialize however in rapidly adding new people to their list to replace those that unsubscribe. It works perfectly for those who can keep up with the replacement process and have good sources of cheap targeted traffic, but it's really best left to the pros who know what they are doing, and why they are doing it.

Then there is the "Nurturing the List" method (which is what most people talk about these days), and my preferred method as well, at least in the areas that I am actually interested or passionate about in some way and can actually put my heart and soul into it and provide real value to the subscribers. But, I will say, I've had success both ways and still do some churning and burning on a few lists in niches that I'm really not very p[assionate about. Take weight loss for example... this is not the kind of list (IMHO) that you want to sit around nurturing... This is something that people get extremely passionate about WHILE THEY ARE ON A DIET and then 2 weeks later they are choking down chili dogs and fries and could care less about your annoying diet tips. So, when this is your market, you have a very short window of opportunity to reach these people before they completely lose interest in anything you have to offer in this niche. I'm not going to say that someone who was really passionate about health couldn't nurture a list and find a passionate audience who are interested in long-term health. In fact I know a few people who have done just that and are doing quite well at it (because they are passionate about it). But the reality is that "long term health" is a different audience than the typical person who just wants to lose a few pounds QUICK just so they can try to look good for their high school reunion, their wedding, or their Hawaii vacation coming up in a few months. That is a HOT buyers market, but its a churn and burn system that gets the job done there.

Not meaning to make waves, but just saying there are many different perspectives with marketing, and many different markets, and what may work well in one market, or for one marketer, may not necessarily be right for another market, or another marketer.

In my opinion, if you HAVE a passion for something, and there is a market for that passion, you are best to enter that market and use the "nurturing the list" strategy. It is the best for your own happiness, as well as your long-term prosperity as long as you stay dedicated and passionate and are willing to put in the effort to nurture that list over the long haul. If you are not passionate about it, well, you will likely be chasing 1 method after another while you soul search in order to find your passion.

My advise to any newb who is unsure of what he or she should do is to QUIT! Not quit entirely, but get off the computer, turn off the TV, put on some soft instrumental music on a low volume and do some soul searching about what YOU are really interested in and take as much time as you need to in order to formulate a plan of how you can position yourself into a market that you will enjoy being involved in for a long long time. For me, this took doing almost every day for a few hours a day for about 2 weeks before I really started formulating a plan in my head. Then I got my laptop out and started making up a "mind map" that became a gigantic "master plan". I spent the next 2 weeks away from the internet, away from marketing, away from any outside influence whatsoever other than my family, and that is where I was finally able to calm my mind down and get away from the constant barrage of "information overload" and found my true passion, and a real plan to create true happiness for myself and my family in an area that I have a real interest in, but never really took the time to explore how I could make money from, or really even how much I was even interested in the subject really.

Anyway, that is my advice. Money can only buy so much, and happiness is really not one of those things, but it CAN help you get there. The secret tho, is not losing sight of the true goal (happiness) while going after the money. The reality is... at least in my own experience, there is ALOT more money in the churn and burn, but it's a soul crushing drain on your overall happiness and well being.

Cheers!

Keith Allen

I've had lists that are thousands in size that wouldn't click if I really gave them $100 cash.

I have tiny lists that made me a fortune.

There are so many variables that determine a profitable list.

Among the most "requisite" is good copywriting.

Also, not coming on too strong.

Remember, if people detect for one second that you're trying to sell them, they'll think "man what is this guy broke? - He just needs money".

So, make your pitches under the radar, and act as though you're merely communicating with friends.

Over the last 5 years of marketing online i have seen many people build lists differently. Some are very bad at it and some are very good and put there own spin on things

You know you don`t always have to build a list the exact same way as everyone else

You can try a few different things out such as:

1. creating a longer squeeze page which is a few separate pages long which you get to (pre qualify) the person much much more before they join your list. So instead of having a list 100 people that are semi intersted you have a list of 30 that are absolutely lazer targeted and super interested and keen on your information. (this is a kind of a mini story approach)

2. Another way is to put part of your free offer on your squeeze page. Say if you have a 5 day free video course, put the first video or the first 2 on the squeeze page and say something like (if you liked these then you will like the other 3 videos)

This is another great way to build a much more targeted email list

Your opt in rates will be lower but way way more targeted

3. Create a high quality product and approach other marketers and give them 100% commission, this way you build a buyers list for free

4. Give your product to another marketer to put on there download page as a (free bonus) for there customers. I know some people that this is all they do to build there lists and there full of buyers too

Yes it does have a lot to do with the relationship you have with your list which but at the same time don`t be scared of trying new techiniques to build your list if what your using at the moment is not working very well for you

Paul

Let's get real - whatever doesn't work for YOU is going to "suck" lol.

List building is not the only way to make money but it is a proven way by which many have made money. Instead of saying that it sucks, ask better questions... how can I make it work better for me? What things can I change today that will give me an advantage?

If things would be easy then everyone would be making money. Things are not easy. Break away from that "things suck" mentality and experiment with different tactics until you find just what works for you. Good luck.

I've turned freebie seekers into buyers, many times.

In fact I've turned blackhat forum members into buyers, the least likely people to buy.

If you have solid content that genuinely kicks ass, you'll never have a problem.

I know that all of the gurus of internet marketing say that you should build your list and the relationship with them. They are right but you guys and ladies need to know one thing:

You can, in a matter of 3 days, get 300 people on your list and none of them will buy. You can follow up with them over and over again with great articles and content and still not buy.

These are the same people who just don't want to do anything.

You can get 300 subscribers in those 3 days and then day 4, your 301 buys after they subscribed. Those 300, with months of giving them a lot of value still don't buy and many of them don't even open their emails up.

That is why it is so important to consistently bring new subscribers all the time.

The old saying is true:

New blood is the life blood of a successful internet business.