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Please critique my list building strategy (updated with results)

by dtang4
12 replies
Hi,
I just started my efforts late Sunday evening in building an IM mailing list. Here is my strategy and would love to hear your feedback on how I can improve/modify it.

SETUP
  • I created 2 products/guides, let's call them P1 and P2. I plan to give both them for free. Both are great, solid guides, but P2 showcases a really amazing, clever technique.
  • I am giving P1 through an opt-in mailing list. I.e. to download it, you need to enter in your email address and the guide will be emailed to you.
  • To download P2, you need to refer X people to download P1. The way this works is... on the P2 landing page, you enter your email address and I will generate an affiliate link. Once my script tracks X legitimate referrals through your link, it will email P2 to the email address you created your affiliate link with.
  • At the end of the P1 ebook, I have a page advertising P2.
EXECUTION
  • On a high level, my plan is to market P1 and hope the plug within P1 for P2 will drive people to check out P2. P2 has a viral component that will in turn generate X-fold people to P1. In theory, this effect will snowball once I gain the initial momentum.
  • I have published P1 to the War Room (as an embedded attachment). The thread went live on Sunday and so far, I've received a little over 30 sign ups to my list. I was really hoping for more, but that's based on no prior experience w/ publishing anything to the War Room.
  • I bought a solo ad list blast for P1 from the JV forum. This won't be sent out till tomorrow, but I expect 1.2k clicks globally. I'm hoping this will give me the jump start I need.

What do you think?

Thanks.

Dave
#building #efforts #evening #improve #list #started #strategy #sunday
  • Profile picture of the author jamesrich1
    I say stick with the solo ads and paid traffic. Facebook is the new wave everybody is using to explode list building. Autoresponder code should be above the fold. What is your converting percentage?
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    • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
      Personally I don't like solo ads ...

      People make the mistake of thinking you need a big list you don't, you need a responsive targeted list.

      The problem with viral list building and getting people to enter their friends details is most IM'ers have hundreds of emails at their disposal so most of the addresses you get will be useless.

      Why not just target your market and give them P1.. then a few days later give them p2 or break down P2 into a 5 day series.

      After that promote your own products to the list.

      Or you can just do what most other people do and spam the crap out of the list.. guaranteed to burn a new list in 2 weeks.
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      • Profile picture of the author dtang4
        Originally Posted by M Thompson View Post

        Personally I don't like solo ads ...

        People make the mistake of thinking you need a big list you don't, you need a responsive targeted list.

        The problem with viral list building and getting people to enter their friends details is most IM'ers have hundreds of emails at their disposal so most of the addresses you get will be useless.

        Why not just target your market and give them P1.. then a few days later give them p2 or break down P2 into a 5 day series.

        After that promote your own products to the list.

        Or you can just do what most other people do and spam the crap out of the list.. guaranteed to burn a new list in 2 weeks.
        Great insight. Some follow up questions...
        • How do you recommend I build my list w/ just P1?
        • What do you mean by spam my own list? Are you referring to the list I am currently trying to build?
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        • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
          Originally Posted by dtang4 View Post

          Great insight. Some follow up questions...
          • How do you recommend I build my list w/ just P1?
          • What do you mean by spam my own list? Are you referring to the list I am currently trying to build?

          Drive traffic to an offer page and give them P1, then over the following few weeks give them lots of value.

          What i mean by spam you list is... I am on one marketers list, I signed up because he had a great product about list building (ironic!) It was something like $27 and got me into his sales funnel.


          In the past 10 days I've had him promote all kinds of crap to me all on different topics. he is using a shotgun effect to try and make sales assuming that if he sends enough offers some of them will stick. I unsubscribed.
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    • Profile picture of the author dtang4
      Originally Posted by jamesrich1 View Post

      I say stick with the solo ads and paid traffic. Facebook is the new wave everybody is using to explode list building. Autoresponder code should be above the fold. What is your converting percentage?
      You know, I'm not sure what my converting percentage is. What % range is expected?
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    Hi Dave,

    You have great products: That's great!

    Now build a sales page for each one, slab a price on it and use DigiResults — Work Less, Sell More to make a 100% commission affiliate program.

    Make sure that the products are clean meaning no affiliate links inside.

    Then do some testing and tweak product and sales page until your conversion rate is excellent.

    Then contact JV partners (You find them all over WF).

    If your product is really excellent and converts like crazy, you have the recipe for long lasting success.

    HP


    PS:
    The JV forums purpose is not to sell ad blasts. If someone breaks the rules of WF I would not expect much from that person's list.




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  • Profile picture of the author jamesrich1
    I agree with hpgoodboy on his advice. Affiliates are how product owners make most of their money. You need to know what your sales page percentage is from targeted traffic and then you will know your epc. PPC is still where most of the big dogs get most of their traffic.

    Alot of gurus do low initial pricing and then hit you with 2,3 upsellls and usually a recurring membership. I've also noticed the trend is for you to get their email when they are going to order page so you have a buyers list or almost buyers worst case. On your sales page put a exit script which will offer your free gift so you don't interrupt the sales process for affiliates.

    To get good affiliates you will have to have at least a 1% converting if not 2-5% and have resources and incentives. It is about getting the responsive list and the only way that I am responsive to any marketers list is if they are giving me great content whether I am buying or not, which eventually makes me want to buy.
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    • Profile picture of the author dtang4
      Originally Posted by jamesrich1 View Post

      I agree with hpgoodboy on his advice. Affiliates are how product owners make most of their money. You need to know what your sales page percentage is from targeted traffic and then you will know your epc. PPC is still where most of the big dogs get most of their traffic.

      Alot of gurus do low initial pricing and then hit you with 2,3 upsellls and usually a recurring membership. I've also noticed the trend is for you to get their email when they are going to order page so you have a buyers list or almost buyers worst case. On your sales page put a exit script which will offer your free gift so you don't interrupt the sales process for affiliates.

      To get good affiliates you will have to have at least a 1% converting if not 2-5% and have resources and incentives. It is about getting the responsive list and the only way that I am responsive to any marketers list is if they are giving me great content whether I am buying or not, which eventually makes me want to buy.

      Hmm. I feel what you're suggesting is more in line w/ how I would go about maximizing sales thru selling stuff vs. purely how I can build an initial list. Even tho at the end of the day, both may result in building a list, don't need to first create an initial list before I can successfully push products?

      The process I am following is... create initial list -> sell products -> scale via affliates.
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  • Profile picture of the author dtang4
    Just wanted to provide a quick update.

    My mail blast has been postponed till tmo morning/noon (PST) due to technical difficulties of the list owner.

    I have done minimal promotion since my last update here. At this point, my list size is now 98 (up from ~50 as of this morning).
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  • Profile picture of the author dtang4
    Friday 1PM update.

    My list is now at 245. I just started to reach out to adswappers.
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