Question about list building

12 replies
Hello Warriors,

I have a question about lists. It may be obvious to a lot of people, but I can't seem to wrap my head around this concept...

I see a lot of people here talking about money being in the list and not necessarily the free traffic. Does this apply to all aspects of IM? I mean I am primarily focused on affiliate marketing, maybe someday creating my own products, but that would be way off in the future, so far I can't even anticipate it.

It seems this is more for people in the creation part of IM not the affiliate marketing side. Am I wrong about this? Is list building something I should still be trying to do even if I am not planning on creating any of my own products?
#building #list #question
  • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
    It's not just IM. In any business, your current customers
    are the easiest sales. They know you, they trust you, and
    they'll buy from you quicker than someone else.

    I got started in a non IM market, promoting affiliate products.

    When I first switched to promoting an autoresponder series
    my income increased 400% per month. So it's not just an
    IM thing, it's a business model that converts.

    Even if you're offering services, putting your clients on an
    email list and promoting to them long term will get you
    more repeat clients.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7859953].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author craig crawford
    Hey TA!

    The money can be in the list.. but it also has to be the right type of list!

    A list of buyers is worth far more to you then a list of freebie seekers and subscribers! Obviously you can monetize your freebie list... just to to the scale you can an actual buyers list.

    Freebie lists are easy to build, just offer a good free report.. do give aways, adswaps... even buy solo ads if need be.

    Buyers lists.. the name speaks for itself... It is harder to build one without selling products.. There are buyers everywhere... but if you have a list of people who have already bought one of your products then it will be much easier to monetize them then people you have gained by other means.

    Hope this helps,

    Craig
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7859985].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by TAJorgensen View Post

    I am primarily focused on affiliate marketing, maybe someday creating my own products, but that would be way off in the future, so far I can't even anticipate it.
    I'm in exactly the same position.

    I've been in affiliate marketing for over 4 years and now promote 30 different ClickBank products across a range of 8 different, unrelated niches.

    My sales come from communications with my list subscribers, establishing credibility with them, and the fact that they trust my recommendations.

    Even the people who click on an affiliate link on one of my websites and buy a product that way have almost always got to that link, on that page, by being sent to it by a link in an email I've sent them, not just from visiting the site. (Of course, they've been to the site at least once before, when they originally opted in and subscribed to my list).

    I'd have very, very few sales without my lists. Those are the primary assets of my affiliate marketing business. The main purpose of all my main websites is to build my list.

    Without your list, you can't keep people returning to your site (and very, very few people buy anything at their first visit to a site - with the possible exception of things like a book or CD from Amazon - and even then, sometimes not).

    Without your list, you can't make repeat sales of other items to people with whom you've built a trust-based relationship, and that's where most of the long-term money is, in affiliate marketing.

    There are a few hundred threads in this forum with titles like "What's The One Thing You'd Do Differently If You Were Starting Again Tomorrow?". Take a look through a small sample of them, and you'll find that one of the things they all have in common is that they're full of replies from long-established, successful Warriors almost all of whom give the same answer: the thing they'd do differently, with what they know now but didn't know when they started, is "start to build a list on day 1". There are reasons for that.

    This thread will help you: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...marketing.html

    Originally Posted by TAJorgensen View Post

    It seems this is more for people in the creation part of IM not the affiliate marketing side. Am I wrong about this?
    Yes - entirely wrong.

    Originally Posted by TAJorgensen View Post

    Is list building something I should still be trying to do even if I am not planning on creating any of my own products?
    Yes.

    This post was written specifically about "ClickBank products" but its principles apply to "other affiliate sales" as well, and it may also help you: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post7110523
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7860052].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    list building is the backbone of any profitable online business and this applies to any niche

    even if you were just doing affiliate marketing and not selling your own products then you still need to be building a list because if you have a list you can sell multiple products many times over to your list

    you don't have to be some super guru to build a list and sell your own products, just sell affiliate products and you will still be doing far better than 98% of other marketers out there that just send all their traffic direct to sales pages
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7860747].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author fated82
    I concurs. I ran a copywritng firm and one thing I did when I got started is to build a list. It is a slow process because unlike affiliated marketing, I only add people I met into the list. It helped me stay in touch with them and get them to purchase my services.

    List building is the backbone of your business. The better you segment the list, the more money you can make.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7862029].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MartinPlatt
    Originally Posted by TAJorgensen View Post

    Hello Warriors,

    I have a question about lists. It may be obvious to a lot of people, but I can't seem to wrap my head around this concept...

    I see a lot of people here talking about money being in the list and not necessarily the free traffic. Does this apply to all aspects of IM? I mean I am primarily focused on affiliate marketing, maybe someday creating my own products, but that would be way off in the future, so far I can't even anticipate it.

    It seems this is more for people in the creation part of IM not the affiliate marketing side. Am I wrong about this? Is list building something I should still be trying to do even if I am not planning on creating any of my own products?
    Absolutely you should do list building even if you don't have your own product. Even if you're not in the IM niche too.

    A list is essentially a customer contact list - well a prospective customer contact list, and when it works right you will also have a list of customers (those that have bought) This list is gold - very worthwhile, because you know that they will buy from you.
    Signature

    Martin Platt
    martin-platt.com

    Stuck with earning commissions online? Get this get this uncensored affiliate marketing guide for free (sold as coaching for $4,997)

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7862041].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    I agree with Alexa and to summarize her post in my own words...

    "List building is important for all internet marketers. But if you are an affiliate marketer it's even MORE important since you don't have affiliates building your lists for you (by selling a product)."

    There is literally only a few times when building a list doesn't make sense. But if you are an affiliate marketer your biggest asset (and need) is TRAFFIC. When building a list you will have a source of traffic that you can send anywhere at any time.

    The cool thing is if you start building your list while you are affiliate marketing you will already have an audience in place when you finally decide to create that first product.

    Good luck

    Cheers,
    Coby
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7862307].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author madhushan
      List building is the core of any online business. You can see even big guys like amazon, ebay sending you emails after emails promoting their products right?

      But, instead of talking how you can profit from having a list, first see how a subscriber can profit by being in someone else's list. It is simple. When someone is searching for info-products on any niche, it is easier for him to buy from a person who has already sold him something.

      Even in our day-to-day life, we have an affinity to purchase from a regular shop, purchase a regular brand, regular product, etc. It is because, we come to trust someone who has already sold us something, and to add to that, if their products and customer care are good, we become a loyal buyer. Isn't it? The same can be the case with someone who subscribes to your list.

      Just like Alexa said, you can make a lot of money with affiliate products alone, if you make the right recommendations everytime. But, you should first talk to your list, and make them trust you.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7862313].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author EliteAffiliate
      I assume though you could only create a 'buyers list' with your own products. When you send traffic to affiliate products, they're the ones that get their emails.

      So for affiliate only marketing, you're stuck with building freebie lists. They'll be buyers on the list that buy the affiliate products of course, you just won't know which ones they are.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7862317].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author harneet1990
    List building is really important if you want to be a successful affiliate marketer. They are just like the money you have in your bank account. You can cash them anytime irrespective of SEO Changes, Social Media Changes, Out of Budget for paid ads and any other external factor you can think of.
    Signature

    Check out some awesome blogging tips on Postfever.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7868166].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Malcolm Thomas
    List building is vital if you want to achieve long term success online. If you build a list, you won't have to rely on SEO to get traffic, etc. you can just send an email and send traffic wherever you decide. Start building a list, you will thank yourself in the long run.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7868361].message }}

Trending Topics