Don't Believe in Building An Email List? Here, I'll Bet I Change Your Mind!

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I wrote this in another thread but I thought everyone could benefit from what I am saying here so I started this new thread about why you need to build your own email list A.S.A.P It was in response to a thread titled "why i dont have faith in building a list.."


Okay without writing a novel here I am going to attempt to prove to you that building a list is the way to go and everyone should do it immediately...

1. 99.9999% of successful online marketers have their own list...
2. Some PPC marketers are finding out that you need a list... (Hint: Google Slap last week)
3. Wal-Mart is now the second largest company in ad spend offline - do you think they are building a list and getting those prospects to their website? (Hint: Register to create a WishList)
4. 66% of those surveyed bought from a marketing message received through email (Exact Target)
5. 63% of respondents clicked a link in the email to learn more (Epsilon)
6. Email marketing doubles buying intention and increases recall by a further 14% (Unilever, eCircle and GFK)
7. 60% of women and 49% of men regularly save email in their inbox to refer to later when making a purchase (Epsilon - 2009)
8. 57% of the people surveyed said they had a more favorable opinion of the companies that send them email (Epsilon - 2009)

I could go on but I won't bore you anymore...

The end result... I only listen to statistical and factual data. I leave my own personal feelings and guess work out of it.

You cannot refute the data coming from many, many sources so building an email asset is something no one can take away from you if something online decides to make changes.

I have been in business for many years and my success really started the day I started building a list!

Mike Hill
#main internet marketing discussion forum #bet #building #change #email #list #mind
  • Mike that is some serious shit and if people don't understand that they need
    a list in this industry or what ever industry they are working in they might as
    well sell it quick...

    The life blood of any successful business is it's customer base...

    --David
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • Hi Mike,

    Thank you for sharing the interesting facts.

    You have just proven again that building an email list is still an asset to a long term profitable business.

    Zack
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks for the interesting info...When I was in
      mail order , the main thing was you need a list
      of customers to mail your offers to....

      Well with the same thing true in the internet, it just show that
      some things never change..
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  • Hi Mike,

    Very cool stuff! If you've got more data that backs it up,
    I'd love to find out more

    Of course, I believe in it totally but when I am meeting with
    some of the offline peeps, stuff like this in a presentation
    really helps.

    Asher
    • [2] replies
    • Thanks Mike, Great piece of information to...

      Asher said it right, and people love statistics.

      Fernando
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
    • If you look at the post and you'll see company names in brackets, those are the sources I collected this data from. Search those sources in Google and you will find more up to date data than you could possibly ever use!

      I'm sitting here right now with over 150 data cards about email marketing and list building. This is my business and I always keep on top of the latest data the industry provides.

      Mike Hill
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  • I have a list, a big list .... getting a list isn't hard ... it's managing to USE the list that's the hard bit.

    I'm here tonight as I have been struggling to email my list, so I posted in the programming part of the forum and am now on a general wander about and found this thread.

    Before you start building your list, check that you really CAN email your list properly.... or you'll end up like me, with a huge list that you just can't find any sensible way to reach.

    • [1] reply

    • When some of my clients ask me this same type of question I always ask them these questions so I know exactly were they are right now, how they built their list and what they should do to improve their situation.

      Questions I would ask you:

      1. How often do you contact your list?
      2. What kind of information do you send them?
      3. What is your open rate?
      4. What is your click-through rate?
      5. What are the top 3 sources you use to gather your leads from?

      These are the top questions I always ask. There are more questions to ask after these have been answered but these questions are what I must know in order to help an existing list owner pin-point what is going wrong.

      From these answers you'll be able to see if your leads are in fact targeted to your niche, if your subject lines are interesting enough to be opened, if your call to action inside the email is solid and if your subscribers are in fact being engaged through the content you write.

      Mike Hill
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Awesome post!

    Get the list building efforts started ASAP. It doesn't have to be perfect - it can't be.

    You can learn a lot as you go. One thing you'll notice is that each list seems to have its own personality.

    There are so many other reasons, but I like how Mike backed up his with actual data.

    Now, for all of those still waiting....don't wait. Get going!

    All the best,
    Michael
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  • Thanks Mike,

    I thought I'd add my own penny or two...

    A lot of marketers reckon they can just go about selling stuff. Well, if you have no one to sell to it is simply a waste of traffic and we all know traffic costs money especially the Google kind. I am not dissing Google by the way but let's be smart.

    BUILD A LIST that's your customer base!

    Cheerio

    Khs
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  • Mike,

    This doesn't have anything to do with your product in your signature does it?

    What niches do you build lists in?

    The reason I ask is because most people in the IM market push list building all day long, but very few of them actually have lists outside of the IM niche.
    • [1] reply
    • What product? I'm not even done it yet... This is just for good quality free information and you can't even get that just yet because I'm still working on it! That page even says I'm still working on it...

      I am heavily involved in a lot of different niches outside the IM space... I firmly believe in

      Learn it ---> Do it ---> Teach it...

      For instance, last week I went into an entirely new niche and within 3 days I was #3 in Google for a highly competitive search phrase. I just took a look at my stats and I have just under 200 subscribers already for that particular niche, without PPC or any other form of paid advertising at this point in time.

      I'm not against paid advertising I'm just smart about it

      Without revealing exactly how many niches I'm in outside of IM because that's not what this post is about... let's just say it's safe to say a heck of a lot more than people recommend... But I have a secret for that too which I'm not about to share at this point in time!


      Mike Hill

      PS. I reveal the exact niche, the website and how I did it step-by-step along with other great stuff you won't find anywhere else

      PPS. A lot of happy faces flyin' around LOL
  • "PS. I reveal the exact niche, the website and how I did it step-by-step along with other great stuff you won't find anywhere else"

    Reveal it in what? Your new product?
    • [2] replies
    • Now I didn't mention anything about that until you brought this whole thing up, so what's your malfunction dude?

      If you need help or want advice then just ask... I freely help out a lot of folks here with my time and attention to the details. I respond to people's PM's that need help and I give them some very sound and solid advice that could have easily been payed for.

      I contribute to this forum for the greater good of everyone so I don't need someone like you to come here and jack me up.

      [bites lip]

      Mike Hill

      PS. There's a time for asking questions, nothing wrong with that, ask as many as you want but from what I've noticed maverick80 there comes a time when you have to take advice people give you from this forum and put it into action! The other threads you've posted in are asking a ton of quesitons... you have gotten some great feedback but have you acted upon it is the question?
      • [1] reply
    • He gives some hardcore, checkable facts in the OP, not the kind of "secret" fluff a lot of other people post, and you come out with that?

      Post much appreciated, Mike.

      I was actually thinking it also answers the standard offline gold question "What shall I talk to the business owner about?"

      Martin
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  • Great post I totally agree with you mike! The list is the number one priority for your business.
    Simon
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  • I find it funny how two people look things.

    I liked the thread so well I copied it so I can use it in an email Mike.

    Aparently Maverick sees your thread as a ploy to sell us something.

    Thanks Mike

    Jim
  • Dang man! this was some serious stats about this topic! You should mention this "Your profits is in direct proportion to the size of your list size increase"

    That's also something that's true. When you get that 30+ people who know, like and trust you and buy whatever you got, an email is a sure-fire way to make money!

    - Chris
    • [1] reply
    • Took me a while to get it that the money was in the list. I used to figure setting up an auto responder was way out of my league. It is actually easy. I used to direct link and waste lots of money doing so. Now I build my own lists and it has been paying off.

      Mike

  • Is it just me Folks or does that Mike Hill look like one Mother-Fing ,Bad Arse, GI Joe in that Profile picture
    Rock on with List Building
  • One of the most sensible posts i have read on this forum.

    A list is so important and
    deserves the number ONE priority in your
    online business:
    It's probably the ONLY real, sellable asset
    in your business.

    Think about it...

    You only own 3 things in your business
    - Your intellectual property (product)
    - Your websites (media)
    - Your list (customers)

    Unless you have a best-selling product...
    a website with lots of traffic coming
    to it... a domain name that other people
    want and are willing to pay a high price
    for (like Yahoo.com)... it's unlikely for
    the first 2 things above to be valuable.

    But with a list, you can sell your products,
    sell other people's products, or push traffic
    to any website,

    In fact, your list is the only asset that can
    make you money before you own a product or
    website.With a list, your money making activities
    can be placed on autopilot.
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  • Thank you Mike for those stats.
    The money IS in the list.
  • GASP!!! Someone trying to sell us something on a marketing forum?? You must be kidding. :-)

    ANYWAY...the most important thing I've learned from the Warrior forum (which is the true secret to getting value out of visiting it) is to find the people that specialize in a particular topic, know what they're talking about and share good information and pay attention to them to learn all you can from them.

    Mike Hill = List building. If you want to learn to build a list properly, Mike is the guy to learn from. If he tries to sell you something....BUY IT. If he tries to GIVE you something TAKE TWO :-)

    Can we get back to the lesson now?
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • This is why I have been telling people for a while now that if you don't have anything from Mike yet, go get it.

    His stuff is top notch, hardcore marketing. I have been on a few of Mike's lists as a subscriber and a few to see how he markets.

    He always delivers more than expected and more importantly to me, it works.
    A couple of years ago I signed up for a free report from him, and got two free unexpected bonuses that knocked my socks off.

    Every time I learned something new from Mike and went out and applied it the results are great.

    He has 8 - 10 email opt-in templates (are you still giving those away Mike?) that he was giving away that people are paying for and if you just did a little fill-in-the-blanks would get pretty good conversions.

    Well, as you can tell, I'm a fan of his stuff and I'm not getting paid to say this.
    I had to jump in when I saw that other guy (maverick80) knockin' Mike.

    Matt
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  • Lists are probably the easiest way to make money online.
  • It's not a part of my business model. I suppose it could be in some areas, such as the few products I sell. Like 'The Expert' above, I don't build a lot of sites conducive to email list building.

    Perhaps the biggest problem I have with using email marketing myself is that I personally consider most of it spam or, perhaps 'bacn' because I asked for most of it originally. Stopping it, unless the sender uses Aweber or other strict 'can spam' service, has proven difficult. So, I end up with 1000 unwanted emails in my junk mail box a day. There could be some good stuff in there, maybe, but it gets thrown out with the trash. There are maybe only 4 senders I ever open. Maybe I'm putting too personal a spin on it but I don't see annoying someone with "Wow! Check out this latest reshashed INFO!!!" on a daily basis as 'building a solid customer relationship'.
    • [3] replies
    • You really need to just put your own feelings aside and trust the data. There are far better ways to conduct email marketing than what you describe. Just because a lot of other people send emails that way doesn't mean you have to be like that.

      Of the 4 senders you open why don't you model them (if they are successful at it, I wouldn't know) and put your own spin on it. Personality is everything!

      If Wal-Mart can build a list of people who visit their website to create a wish list I'm sure you could create a list in your area as well, it just takes some thinking outside the box.

      For instance the product in your sig file, you could easily create a list from that niche. I know a guy who has an online list of people who buy safety products. He thought the same thing as you at one point in time but now he makes 50% more profits every month just by sending monthly special emails.

      Mike Hill
      • [1] reply
    • To each their own, right?

      Although I agree you're entitled to your own opinion, I find it a poor long-term decision to build your entire online business around it... especially when the numbers (shown above) prove otherwise.

      Sounds to me like cutting off your nose to spite your face...



      Jason
    • Hey, bgmacaw I had your point of view for a long time. I also love Adsense and have a Passion building Sites around it. But to limit yourself to that is just plain foolhardy. Cases after cases pop up everyday where Google pulls the plug on people who have NOT done anything against the Adsense TOS with intent. I could go on and on about this.

      The Key to a solution for the Google Police ?? DIVERSIFY !!

      It is as plain and simple as that. I made the transition myself with Success and know you can too. I will be straight up honest here. And I dont mean to sound over-dramatic but it perplexes and somewhat shocks me that you hold this view about email Marketing.

      I have always appreciated your extremely valuable contributions to Warriors but i thought for some reason that you took a different view about IM as far as Diversifying.

      I learned a long time ago about Cliches and how sometimes people will beat their drum over and over and over about something. Alot of times those around will just roll their eyes and say 'yeah I heard this cliche some many times before but its all just hype ' .

      Well, I can say that the people who go and on and no about Email Marketing arent hyping it. They dont need to. The proof is in the pudding and the Stats speak for themselves.

      You can either jump on the Train and go along for the ride or stay contented with yourself by doing what YOU THINK is the correct way to do things.

      Like Mike said, take your emotions and preconceived feelings out of it and JUST DO IT !!
      • [1] reply
  • I have to agree with you on this one. Building an email list is trully essential not just for a client base standpoint but has its own profitability margin. We all know that information databases have huge profit potential and is used by several industries. Many companies lease or sell information databases to marketing and telecommunications firms and this can be explored as part of the profit generating pool for your business.
  • Hi Mike,

    I'm curious about the source of this info:

    This means 9,999,999 out of 10 MILLION, or 1 out of 10 million doesn't have a list.

    Is this just figure of speech to make a point (which is OK) or am I missing something?

    However, if it's just a figure of speech, it would seem to contradict the following comment you made in the OP:

    • [1] reply


    • I guess I made a typo and put in one too many point .999's but hey let's just call it room for improvement. Nice little jib jab on the old ribblets their spanky ...ROFLMFAO

      How some people spend their time, but hey we are all entitled to our own opinion. I think Dr. Phil refers to them as "Right Fighters"...

      Whatever!

      Mike Hill
  • Definitely one of the most powerful strategies. Actually added a list to my blog today!
    • [1] reply
    • Mike,
      thanks for taking the time to post that statistical data. LOL your timing was perfect as i was researching some of that exact data to use as ammunition for my offline client base. The wish list is awesome, in fact i have been using that for about 8 months with killer results. I take my offline clients, and send them a Business Wish list email after they have been with me for a month. At that point, when i have enough data collected, i either make the product to fill the need, or go find one if its not in my background. Either way, it counts for a Major statistical advantage for me profit wise. I would much rather sell to someones wish list than any other way. The conversion rate is through the roof.

      Thanks again for the excellent post.

      Regards,
      Robert Nelson
      "The Maverick Motivator"
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  • Having a list makes all the sense in the world because the alternative, giving yourself only one bite at the apple, is not good business. Not every purchase decision is impulsive. Some people actually need to warmed into making a purchase.

    That being said, I think email has become inefficient. Since its essentially free, it is absolutely the way to go, but there are other ways to engage your prospects in addition to email and those ways should be explored.

    Mike's statistics are great and stats don't lie, but there is no stat on his list for the percentage of emails that get opened. I have read on average anywjere from 5 to 15 percent.
  • Most people use aweber and get response.

    What do you recommend Mike?

    Jim
    • [1] reply
    • Jim,

      I have always used aWeber myself (other than when I first got started and used Email Aces for a while) and find no requirement to go anywhere else. Once a person gets used to a system and it's working out then why bother changing. I've seen other services that are cheaper and recommend those to beginners who can't really spend the $20 per month and there are also more expensive solutions with different features.

      aWeber works for me though...

      Mike Hill

      PS. The only other service I recommend is Email Aces owned by Gary Ambrose. Great service, great price (under $10 a month)...
      • [1] reply
  • Good post. Pay attention to what he said. Very important!
  • Helluva post, K-Dub!

    Would you mind sharing some of your results (numbers -> not niches) from the smaller lists you have (maybe even one you just started to build) so we can all put this into a bite-sized-chunk perspective that may seem more attainable for the newbie list starter?

    The source statistical data you provided is great and all but they're not relative to the audience who doesn't have experience with building/preselling/managing a list from what I was able to ascertain from the responses of the detractors.

    Cheers brah!
    • [1] reply
    • Hey sorry Clark I was going back through the posts and forgot to answer your question.

      I have a lot of different lists, more than most would recommend, covering a wide spectrum of niches. An interesting one I just looked at tonight was just under 200 subscribers, a 100% confirmation rate and 4 unsubscribes...

      Not bad for the first 6 days on a brand new domain with no promotion, just type in traffic of the keyword phrases I am targeting, one article and a few blog posts. I'm also #4 on Google's first page for one of the main keywords with a search volume of 1,300+ searches a month.

      Once I put my traffic plan into place it should get more subscribers but one thing I have to work on is my copy-writing skills... I suck at it

      Mike Hill
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
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  • One more question Mike.

    Aweber new or old version?

    Jim
    • [1] reply
    • I've only ever used the old version... Got used to things that way and haven't had the need to mess with it... I don't know if you can still get the old version at least not at the price point I'm locked into

      Mike Hill
  • This is the old versin AWeber

    The problem I hear is that the old version has no tracking software, but is much cheaper.

    up to 10,000 I think for $20

    Jim
    • [1] reply
    • Jim,

      Well the only tracking I need is deliverability rate, open rate and clickthrough rate... I have all that in the old system.

      When I test different squeeze pages I create separate Optin forms for the same list and that shows me the numbers.

      I like to keep things as simple as possible. I also use Google Analytics to show me how people found my site and setup different goals through the process to see all those details.

      Mike Hill
  • Nice reading Mike thanks, and a very good point to make. Not enough people realise how important a list is, hell I didn't until several months ago and now I have a list in several different niches and I just keep on building.

    However I do have a question for you or two maybe,

    Firstly, its OK saying build a list and if you know how to build one like myself how do you actually keep the subscribers loving you? Say you hand out a free eBook for subscribing, how do you keep them respecting you for weeks/months later without putting too much effort or time in to it?

    Now this is not because I am lazy, merely because I don't have the time to focus on several different lists everyday as I am still building them.

    Thanks Mike

    Regards,
    Will.
    • [1] reply
    • The absolute best advice I can give you to make your subscribers love you without much work involved is:

      Just be human!

      I mean, not everyone will love it and they can leave at any time, but the way you connect with your subscribers is important. I highly suggest using video and not the fancy corporate type of video with the implanted green screen office in the background either.

      What I mean is just turn the thing (camera) on and start talking...

      Being human and being real in front of your audience goes a long way and a whole bunch of other psychological stuff going-on too..

      Ah crap... just watch the video...
      YouTube - Wills Question Answered
      Mike Hill
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Hey David,

    I just checked out email aces and Gary is giving away one free autoresponder for a list up to 500 people trying to create a buzz about his ar.

    For the newbie, that may be OK, but while you were learning how to operate ea, you could spend the time learning aw and be that much further ahead of the learning curve.

    I have been like Mccaw and resisted building a list for so long it isn't even funny.

    I signed up for aw and then just let it sit there for months before canceling it.

    Did it twice.

    Maybe 3 times is a charm.

    Mike
    Good to know the difference between the two.

    That helps me decide which way to go.

    Jim
  • Great advice.. I remember another warrior saying that even if every online resource goes down, he has an email list to make money from...!
  • Thanks for the great stats Mike! I've been doing a lot of research on list building as of late and it really is good advice. You can't succeed without a list!
  • Thank you very much for the reply Mike, I was'nt expecting a video, very nice touch and it really made the message clear and made it hit home.

    I have always wanted to be human so to speak, when writing to my subscribers and communicating with them but there has always been a little man inside my head saying "stay professional, keep professional" and I have always (well most of the time) listened to what they said however now I am going to forget the little man and instead be human, not a robot I am not going to tidy everything up in to a neatly compiled article of jargon but instead leave in my rambles, my personal opinions and thoughts.

    I can't thank you enough, anyways I hope your supper was nice

  • So there is a extremely small minority of Successful Internet marketer that don't have a mailing list??? If so, what are the methods that are working for them?

    Just Curious
    • [1] reply
    • The thing that is working for that small percentage of marketers
      that are successful despite having a list of subscribers is...

  • Thanks Mike for sharing this.

    I've never been a big believer in building a list because I thought that most people were like me. I always unsubscribe the moment I get an email that is trying to sell me something that I'm not looking for. Apparently I'm wrong...most people must love to fill their inboxes with opt-in emails. Not me.
    Thanks again for posting this.

    Regards, Mike -runfast-
    • [1] reply

    • You really have to leave your own feelings and emotions out of it and follow the stats. The reason a lot of people never get anywhere is because they jump to conclusions and assumptions based on their own taste and feelings of what they think people want instead of listening to what people want.

      Don't jump to conclusions!

      Mike Hill
  • Mike,

    Can you share your approximate stats on your emails- more specifically bounce rates and open rates? And how do the stats change as time goes by? Do they get better because you have won over their trust or do they get worse because the message gets a little stale?

    Thanks

    Bob
    • [1] reply
    • Bob,

      I certainly can but they won't mean much to you because, well you aren't me... What I mean by that is you will connect with your list differently than I do because you have your own personality so I'm not quite sure what my stats are going to do for you but I'll show you a small sample.

      Currently I have over 50 different lists in a variety of different niches that all produce a profit anywhere from $250 - $500 a month each. (you do the math)

      This is a sample from just one list...

      I get a bounce rate of 1.2% on average from this one list; an 18.4% open rate; and an 8.9% clickthrough.

      Now I don't know what you would do with that... kinda useless when you don't have list size etc... which I will never reveal publicly to anyone and for good reason.

      Mike Hill
      • [1] reply
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