Why You're Absolutely Insane If You're Not Building A List

62 replies
Warriors,

I was having a discussion with a friend last week, who is also a marketer, about list building. We're very different in how we approach things. He was bragging that he makes easy money with Cost Per Action offers and doesn't have to bother with any "list building".

"I can't be bothered with writing e-mails," he tells me.

So I told him that I would send a CPA offer to one of my smaller lists (a list of 4,000 people who were interested in learning more about dating); one of the offers that he routinely sends traffic to (as well he should). And within 48 hours I had racked up a little over $400 in commissions. Not bad for about ten minutes of work. Ok, ok, it took me 15 minutes to write and send out the broadcast.

He's now he's wanting to learn the ins and outs of building a list.

There are many different philosophies when it comes to building a list. There's the churn 'em and burn 'em approach (I hate that one), there's the short-term approach (send out a few e-mails and that's it), there's the broadcast only approach (no autoresponder series, just simply broadcasts sent out as needed), and so on and so forth. Each have their pluses and minuses.

My approach is simple: I generally set up an autoresponder series for about a 30 - 90 day period when I'm first testing a market, if it turns out to be profitable, I set up the autoresponders to go out about once a week (sometimes twice a week) for no less than one year. The time period is based on what I'm using as a lead product or loss leader and how spaced out the back end offers are going to be.

I provide a lot of valuable, but incomplete content, and mix it with relevant offers. For example, I might write an article about how coconut water is very good for you, hydrates you well, and has more potassium than a sports drink and then I would provide an affiliate link to a website that sells coconut water. The more relevant something is to your content, the higher the conversions. I've tested this in over 40 different markets and that has proven to be very consistent.

I like comparing building a list to investing in a mutual fund. A mutual fund generally does not pay off until after some time has passed because of compound interest. As your list gets bigger in bigger, so does your income. And you're able to generate that income indefinitely if you build your list the right way.

But here's an even bigger reason to build a list: inn some niches that I participate in, our lists bring in 70 to 90% of our profits. Let me repeat that again, building a list, coupled with a very sound back-end strategy (where you mix offers and valuable content over a period of time) accounts for 70 to 90% of our profits. In some niches we lose money on the first or even the second product and make it up on the back end.

So even if you're making 3k or 5k a month and you're not building a list, you're leaving a TON of money on the table. You could be earning quadruple what you're earning now (or more).

If you're not building a list, what are some of the reasons why not? Or what are some of the obstacles that you're running into? I'm always fascinated by people's reasons.

RoD
#absolutely #building #insane #list
  • Profile picture of the author NateRivers
    I couldn't agree more Rod.

    I mainly do niche sites, and I use autoresponders like crazy. For each site, I have an autoresponder series for people that start the order that don't complete it, a series for opt-ins to the freebie list, and then a long series for buyers that promotes complimentary affiliate offers over the next six months to a year.

    It takes a little work to set it all up- but it's autopilot money after that.
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  • My reason for not building a list? I regard building a list as secondary to learning how to properly research a niche within a market, searching buyer keywords, assessing competition, structuring an optimized site, building effective backlinks, etc. and, from all of this, driving consistent and targeted traffic to whatever site I'm attempting to earn money from.
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    • Profile picture of the author Coby
      Originally Posted by heiliger dankgesang View Post

      My reason for not building a list? I regard building a list as secondary to learning how to properly research a niche within a market, searching buyer keywords, assessing competition, structuring an optimized site, building effective backlinks, etc. and, from all of this, driving consistent and targeted traffic to whatever site I'm attempting to earn money from.
      You should be building a list in the process... It's simple - just put an opt-in form on your site... otherwise how will the traffic ever find you again?

      Don't waste time driving traffic that you will never see again... Build a list and you have traffic on tap - ready to go at a moment's notice...

      Your costing yourself money!
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    I agree 100% Rod!

    My list building is what allowed me to quit my "J.O.B" and go full-time with internet marketing...

    In fact, about 90% of my income (probably more) comes from my list and my list only...

    As you said - if your not building a list you are leaving money on the table plain and simple!

    Cheers,
    Coby
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    • There's a simple solution for people who prefer direct link

      Set the confirmation page of your opt in form, to re-direct to your affiliate link. That way, everybody who opts in will see the product you're trying to sell, plus you still get their email.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        Originally Posted by heiliger dankgesang View Post

        My reason for not building a list? I regard building a list as secondary to learning how to properly research a niche within a market, searching buyer keywords, assessing competition, structuring an optimized site, building effective backlinks, etc. and, from all of this, driving consistent and targeted traffic to whatever site I'm attempting to earn money from.
        Is this also why you turned me down for a date last weekend? You have better things to do?
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Originally Posted by IM Gold View Post

    I really want to get into list building but dont know where to start - can u reccomend a decent guide for newbs!?
    I learned my foundation to list building from Jimmy D. Brown; in my book he's the king of list building. I would just google his name and you will find information about his list building techniques.

    He got me started. However, I also learned by doing and testing. If you were to join most of the big named autoresponder companies like Aweber, Getresponse, iContact, or upstarts like Imnica mail, you'll get basic (to advanced) training on how to use autoresponders to build a profitable list.

    The key is to get started as soon as possible, once you've got your plan of action outline first, of course.

    RoD
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  • Profile picture of the author WebPen
    I really wish I'd have listened to marketers telling me this when I first started.

    Instead I talked to a 7 figure marketer who was doing just fine without a list so I thought "I could do it too", but now I've seen the light!
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  • Profile picture of the author Devon Brown
    I totally agree.

    You know I first learned about list building back in 2004. And I ignored it then like your friend. I try not to imagine (too depressing!) where I would be at now, had I listened to that advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alan Ashwood
    Originally Posted by IM Gold View Post

    I really want to get into list building but dont know where to start - can u reccomend a decent guide for newbs!?

    No argument her guys. Although some people do make a little income without building a list, it can explode when you do.

    You need to turn visitors into prospective customers into buying customers. List building can be relatively easy (with a quality incentive). But developing them into paying customers is not so simple, and needs work developing trust and relationships.

    Both the previous posts are excellent, and worth reading twice, particularly Rod Cortez's detailed steps.

    However, if you're very new to this business, some of it may have gone over your head. Although simple in principle, each part needs to be set up step-by-step.

    Ideally, you need some coaching in plain English, to avoid time consuming mistakes.

    Check the second item in my sig file below for a great source of advice on list building.

    Without the right guidance, list building can be a long slow process for newcomers.

    Alternatively you could sign up for List Building free ebooks, like the one currently on my site, List Building Fast and Furious. They can be a useful introduction to the basics of list building to get you started.

    Cheers

    Alan
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    • Profile picture of the author highrank
      I did seriously consider building a list, but I asked myself three questions that put me off the idea:

      1) I have 7,000 uniques / $20 adsense per day, would I really benifit from a list?

      2) Can I actually find a product that my traffic would be interested in? I searched a lot, but I couldn't find anything relevant.

      3) What incentive could I offer my traffic to get them to part with their email address?

      If building a list can really make your profits 'explode' ,then I probably should give it a try.

      I'll slap pop-up domination on my website and report back.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    Another good post, as usual, Rod.

    Originally Posted by IM Gold View Post

    I really want to get into list building but dont know where to start - can u reccomend a decent guide for newbs!?
    I recommend Jimmy D. Brown's List PROFIT System.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
      Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

      Another good post, as usual, Rod.



      I recommend Jimmy D. Brown's List PROFIT System.

      Dennis, would you recommend this to myself? Or does it cover the basics like setting up etc?

      Im relatively in tune with list building but would definitely like to learn more.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    As usual .. Rod comes through again.

    I have owned off line businesses since I was 17 years old. A happy return customer is a lot cheaper to maintain than having to go out and get fresh ones all the time. Not saying you don't need to pursue fresh leads also.

    A list that trust you is a very important aspect of my online ventures. So important i am restructuring everything I do to build a list first and sell second. That was the way I started making money in IM to begin with .. don't know where I got off track but .. back when I was originally into the list building .. my on site sales copy didn't need to be as good. There has been times all I needed to do was provide a pay pal link in the email and never send them to a website.

    Thanks for the swift kick in the butt to motivate me to fall back on my roots Rod


    Troy
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  • Profile picture of the author Jake Gray
    If you don't have a list, you have no business.

    You need to maintain full contact with your past buyers as repeat
    buyers is what will actually make you money. You're definitely going
    to leave money on the table if you do not take full advantage of a list.
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  • Profile picture of the author gbengaijotan
    i agree completely that the best way to build an online business is building a list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
    Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

    ...You're Absolutely Insane If You're Not Building A List
    I can't be insane AND build a list?
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    • Profile picture of the author bretski
      Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

      I can't be insane AND build a list?
      We're talkin' "big boy list"... no crayons, Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author Why9999
    Great motivating post. I have a big question though and this has what has kept me from implementing a list strategy: I thought Google was frowning on certain emailing practices?

    Since I don't know what those practices are, I kind of shied away from building a list. I like to keep my site very clean and go for "Best Practices." (I know everyone is different on that, but that's just me.)

    Can someone let me know what it is that got Google upset in the first place?
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    • Profile picture of the author Damian Kitchen
      hahahaa

      nice one for pointing out to your friend that they need to build a list

      i'm just a starter in the I-M world and the first thing im concentrating
      on is trying to get a list of subscribers.

      All Hail to 'The List'
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      • Profile picture of the author capitalalchemy
        This is good information, but I also think that there is a lot more to it. The open rates of emails aren't always that great no matter what the testing of headlines is. There are really a lot of problems that come along with email marketing and not every market is perfect for it.

        However, if done right and can be good.
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        • Profile picture of the author Why9999
          For those int'd, here's the Hacker News email debate with Matt Cutts chiming in:

          Hacker News | Email Reputation Causes Penalties in Google Search Results

          and the contrarian view

          Google May Have Been Reading Your Email To Determine Search Ranking As Far Back As 2005 |Friday July 22, 2011 XYHD.TV

          Doesn't sound like you can hurt yourself too bad if you're reasonable in any way...
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        • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
          Read how Rod handles his list in the very beginning. I can almost bet you he could use the heading "Hello Rod Here" and get more opens than some of the extreme big time copy writes could get with their best line.

          It is all about how the list member is treated.

          There is also a fine line between not giving enough and giving away the farm .. pay close attention to his bit on Incomplete content.

          I have no problems with anyone here but there are some people on here that get my attention a lot more than others and all of them seem to count their list as a valuable asset

          Troy



          Originally Posted by capitalalchemy View Post

          This is good information, but I also think that there is a lot more to it. The open rates of emails aren't always that great no matter what the testing of headlines is. There are really a lot of problems that come along with email marketing and not every market is perfect for it.

          However, if done right and can be good.
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          • Profile picture of the author FranMurray
            Thanks Rod!

            Any noob or "toddler warrior" should listen to Rod. Start building a list as soon as you can. There are many great resources here on the forum. There are warriors in this thread that I know who personally "get it" and are great list builders.

            Thanks,
            Francis
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    List = repeat customers. Name a business in the "real" world that doesn't need repeat business to survive and thrive. Nuff said.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

      List = repeat customers. Name a business in the "real" world that doesn't need repeat business to survive and thrive. Nuff said.

      Easy, a funeral director.

      Traffic only visits once (I hope).
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      • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
        He got you there John ... to bad I burned the thanks button hours ago lol.



        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        Easy, a funeral director.

        Traffic only visits once (I hope).
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      • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        Easy, a funeral director.

        Traffic only visits once (I hope).
        Yeah, but families are famously loyal to certain funeral service providers. It's like the car selling business. You may not get Grandma Betty to order again but you'll probably get her kids and their kids and so on.
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        • Profile picture of the author yukon
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

          Yeah, but families are famously loyal to certain funeral service providers. It's like the car selling business. You may not get Grandma Betty to order again but you'll probably get her kids and their kids and so on.
          Agreed, most families tend to stick with the same funeral home, generation after generation as long as they still live in the same area.

          I think it's more of a "they did the family that passed away, right", so they continue to stay with the same place & the cycle repeats for each new generation.

          Bit of a unique niche that profits on emotions.
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    • Profile picture of the author theemperor
      Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

      List = repeat customers. Name a business in the "real" world that doesn't need repeat business to survive and thrive. Nuff said.
      A list may or may not have repeat customers
      Repeat customers may or may not come from a list

      Example 1 - I'm a happy repeat customer of the Warrior Forum and WSO section. But I am not on a "Warrior Forum" list.

      Example 2 - I never buy anything from all these annoying mailing lists I end up on that constantly try to sell me stuff in the most obvious and annoying way. I only joined them probably to get to watch a free video or something.

      The way I'd phrase it is "You are crazy if your business relies soley on search traffic, paid or free".

      Building a list is one way around the problem of this, but there are others.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fazal Mayar
    i agree, a list is crucial to any online business and i havent built a list from the start which is a mistake
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Fulton
    Once i started to build a list i actually started to make money - a coincidence ? i think not.

    Has stated earlier i now have a big list of repeat buyers and if i want to find those repeat buyers again i simply send them an email, not spend money on ppc,ppv they are right in my autoresponder waiting to hear what i have to say.

    Build a list people , it truly can become push button income

    Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    awesome awesome post.

    If you are making 3k - 5k a month online without building a list, you are insane for starters. You could double that VERY EASILY!

    Our whole world changed, and profits skyrocketed when we started builing lists within our business. and also segmenting those lists of buyers and others. When you start to learn how to list build your will double your profits, but when you really get the hang of list building your income can basically be what ever you want it to be. For a good list builder that knows what they are doing and has a good relationship with their list, you can make over 10k per month in any sort of niche!

    I was dared to build a list when I started and when I did, it changed everything for me and I was able to quit my job, Infact if it came to one thing that helped me quit my job, yes it would be building a nice responsive list. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author aw
    I know I have work on list building now, much more seriously.
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  • Profile picture of the author itsjinx2
    Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

    If you're not building a list, what are some of the reasons why not? Or what are some of the obstacles that you're running into? I'm always fascinated by people's reasons.

    RoD
    I have many sites and none of them have a list. They are product sites and a few blogs. I dont see any value to collecting emails on a product site as I think it would scare away buyers from taking action on buying right then.

    thoughts?
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    • Profile picture of the author tmjoe
      You are right Rod, it was a good read as well, thanks.

      Those who know how to monetize their list will stuck being a forever hardcore fan of list building. In another word, the most important aspect of list building is to build the relationship with your subscribers, which is very crucial.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
      Originally Posted by itsjinx2 View Post

      I have many sites and none of them have a list. They are product sites and a few blogs. I dont see any value to collecting emails on a product site as I think it would scare away buyers from taking action on buying right then.

      thoughts?
      I also have a lot of websites and blogs. Every single one of them has an opt-in form so people can subscribe to my newsletter, tips, advice, etc. If you read my original post and the feedback people have given you'll see that the value is simply increasing your profits by having repeat business. As Celente pointed out, you can easily double your profits in a short period of time if you do this correctly.

      There are nearly countless permutations on how you implement a list. I have about 8 basic blueprints that I follow which I devised after millions of visitors, a lot of tracking, and constantly testing conversions.

      While the value is in increasing your profits by a WIDE margin, you're also increasing the life time value (LTV) of your customer base, which is how marketers are able to create near passive income.

      RoD
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      • Profile picture of the author itsjinx2
        Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

        I also have a lot of websites and blogs. Every single one of them has an opt-in form so people can subscribe to my newsletter, tips, advice, etc. If you read my original post and the feedback people have given you'll see that the value is simply increasing your profits by having repeat business. As Celente pointed out, you can easily double your profits in a short period of time if you do this correctly.

        There are nearly countless permutations on how you implement a list. I have about 8 basic blueprints that I follow which I devised after millions of visitors, a lot of tracking, and constantly testing conversions.

        While the value is in increasing your profits by a WIDE margin, you're also increasing the life time value (LTV) of your customer base, which is how marketers are able to create near passive income.

        RoD
        Rod,

        thanks for the response. Like i said, I market for many product related sites, but not as an affiliate, but for the actual owner of a unique product that doesn't have affiliate programs.

        For example, I market this site:
        SpeedMyPC.com

        Notice there is no list anywhere, because I want the main goals to be:
        #1 - Going to the buy now page and purchasing
        or
        #2 - Downloading the Demo which at a later point requires the user to purchase.

        I've always felt, and still feel, that by pushing a visitor to sign up for a list, will therefore decrease the spontaneous purchase and downloading, simply because: by the user "taking action" and signing up to a newsletter, it lessens the chance of them taking another action of buying or downloading a demo.

        My thoughts with this particular setup, a purchase page or a download free trial, that if the visitor isn't interested in buying right then, that the next best thing is that they would atleast download the demo. How on this website(speedmypc.com) would someone implement a signup action without scaring away the customer?
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        • Profile picture of the author bretski
          Actually, if I had a software product I would capture the email address when they activate the trial software... best of both worlds, in my eyes.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
          Originally Posted by itsjinx2 View Post

          Rod,

          thanks for the response. Like i said, I market for many product related sites, but not as an affiliate, but for the actual owner of a unique product that doesn't have affiliate programs.

          For example, I market this site:
          SpeedMyPC.com

          Notice there is no list anywhere, because I want the main goals to be:
          #1 - Going to the buy now page and purchasing
          or
          #2 - Downloading the Demo which at a later point requires the user to purchase.

          I've always felt, and still feel, that by pushing a visitor to sign up for a list, will therefore decrease the spontaneous purchase and downloading, simply because: by the user "taking action" and signing up to a newsletter, it lessens the chance of them taking another action of buying or downloading a demo.

          My thoughts with this particular setup, a purchase page or a download free trial, that if the visitor isn't interested in buying right then, that the next best thing is that they would at least download the demo. How on this website(speedmypc.com) would someone implement a signup action without scaring away the customer?
          I guess I need more clarification. If you're marketing this product for the actual product owner and they don't have an affiliate program, how are you doing the promoting? Are you buying traffic and sending it to a web page?

          This is where a lot of companies get it wrong, even many of the big ones. Sure you want people to sign up for a trial run of the software so they can like it and then buy it. That makes sense to me.

          My second question to you is this the only product / service that they offer?

          Clearly there are exceptions to nearly every rule, but I would still try and obtain the e-mail address somehow. You might "feel" that asking for an opt-in decreases the chances of the purchase, but having sold a variety of software packages myself the actual numbers prove you wrong....unless this is the only product offering and there are no back end offers and you're really pushing for the one-time purchase.

          With those parameters you might be okay. However, I'd advise the owner to come up with something useful and relevant to offer as a back end OR they could market other products as an affiliate (the hybrid model which a lot of marketers do today). Something some product owners don't do because they don't want to "help" the competition. When that's seldom the case.

          There are plenty of marketers who make a ton of money without ever building a list. So it can be done. It's done thousands of times every day. But building a list increases your bottom line, which is why I posed the question wondering why some don't. I have two marketer buddies of mine who do really well with their CPA offers and they admitted to me that "we're just lazy and don't want to bother with it."

          Good luck in your venture,

          RoD
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          • Profile picture of the author itsjinx2
            Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

            I guess I need more clarification. If you're marketing this product for the actual product owner and they don't have an affiliate program, how are you doing the promoting? Are you buying traffic and sending it to a web page?

            This is where a lot of companies get it wrong, even many of the big ones. Sure you want people to sign up for a trial run of the software so they can like it and then buy it. That makes sense to me.

            My second question to you is this the only product / service that they offer?

            Clearly there are exceptions to nearly every rule, but I would still try and obtain the e-mail address somehow. You might "feel" that asking for an opt-in decreases the chances of the purchase, but having sold a variety of software packages myself the actual numbers prove you wrong....unless this is the only product offering and there are no back end offers and you're really pushing for the one-time purchase.

            With those parameters you might be okay. However, I'd advise the owner to come up with something useful and relevant to offer as a back end OR they could market other products as an affiliate (the hybrid model which a lot of marketers do today). Something some product owners don't do because they don't want to "help" the competition. When that's seldom the case.

            There are plenty of marketers who make a ton of money without ever building a list. So it can be done. It's done thousands of times every day. But building a list increases your bottom line, which is why I posed the question wondering why some don't. I have two marketer buddies of mine who do really well with their CPA offers and they admitted to me that "we're just lazy and don't want to bother with it."

            Good luck in your venture,

            RoD
            Hey Rod, this is the only product offered, and no one else promotes the site but me. I promote it mainly through SEO.

            At what point would collecting an email address make sense?

            Should a signup form be presented:
            - before/after the trial is download?
            - on website exit? like a popup kind of thing
            - on website ENTRANCE, like greying out everything else and a signup form 'on top' of everything when they first enter the site
            - on the homepage somewhere, hard coded in

            Also, with no other products to promote, what would you suggest to 'offer' people who signup? Im not sure what visitors would require in order to signup for something?
            There is no backend offer's at all. perhaps I'm missing out there too??
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            • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
              Originally Posted by itsjinx2 View Post

              Hey Rod, this is the only product offered, and no one else promotes the site but me. I promote it mainly through SEO.

              At what point would collecting an email address make sense?

              Should a signup form be presented:
              - before/after the trial is download?
              - on website exit? like a popup kind of thing
              - on website ENTRANCE, like greying out everything else and a signup form 'on top' of everything when they first enter the site
              - on the homepage somewhere, hard coded in

              Also, with no other products to promote, what would you suggest to 'offer' people who signup? Im not sure what visitors would require in order to signup for something?
              There is no backend offer's at all. perhaps I'm missing out there too??
              In this specific scenario I would not recommend asking for an e-mail address. If this process is converting well and making him or her money, then all is well.

              Though if I were the owner, I would definitely find a way to start building a list where I can deliver content with a mix of products. But hey, that's how I roll.

              RoD
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              "Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out."
              - Jim Rohn
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    • Profile picture of the author bretski
      Originally Posted by itsjinx2 View Post

      I have many sites and none of them have a list. They are product sites and a few blogs. I dont see any value to collecting emails on a product site as I think it would scare away buyers from taking action on buying right then.

      thoughts?
      I refrain from having optins on my product sites that have affiliates but the reason is that I don't want to scare away affiliates.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
        Originally Posted by bretski View Post

        I refrain from having optins on my product sites that have affiliates but the reason is that I don't want to scare away affiliates.
        Thank you for making that distinction. And that's a good point. This is why I train my affiliates to create their own websites with their own opt ins so that they are building their own lists.

        On the sales pages that they send their visitors to, I don't have an opt-in form on that page for that very reason.

        I'm glad you brought that up Bretski.

        RoD
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        "Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out."
        - Jim Rohn
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        • Profile picture of the author bretski
          Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

          Thank you for making that distinction. And that's a good point. This is why I train my affiliates to create their own websites with their own opt ins so that they are building their own lists.

          On the sales pages that they send their visitors to, I don't have an opt-in form on that page for that very reason.

          I'm glad you brought that up Bretski.

          RoD
          You're a good vendor then! There are some that will actually even go so far as to create different landing pages suited to different customers and also include swipe files to load into an autoresponder for affiliates who either don't feel comfortable in writing an autoresponder series or are just plain lazy. Either way, it's a plus that a lot of vendors provide that many affiliates don't even know about.
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        • Profile picture of the author myob
          Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

          On the sales pages that they send their visitors to, I don't have an opt-in form
          And that is prime criteria I look at when sourcing vendors for my niche lists.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Thanks to everyone for the Jimmy D. Brown tip, I'm checking that out now.
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  • Profile picture of the author Victoria Gates
    Plus in today's IM world we need to not only build lists but also to build Mobile Phone lists. Of course it should be an optional box on your form but still worth gathering since mobile responses WAY outdo the email ones.
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    Victoria Gates - Digital Marketing Specialist

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  • Profile picture of the author RandySeet
    Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

    I provide a lot of valuable, but incomplete content, and mix it with relevant offers. For example, I might write an article about how coconut water is very good for you, hydrates you well, and has more potassium than a sports drink and then I would provide an affiliate link to a website that sells coconut water. The more relevant something is to your content, the higher the conversions. I've tested this in over 40 different markets and that has proven to be very consistent.
    That's right. A list is just like a prospect of buyers who are looking for property.

    Thanks for the information and will work on it.


    Yours Sincerely,
    Randy Seet
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary J Martin
    Many people, including myself, resisted list buildling for a long time. (DOH!)

    It can feel like a hassle writing and sending emails initially, especially when the income is almost auto pilot. It makes one feel lazy.

    And perhaps it can be overwhelming putting all the pieces together. Or maybe many start but get frustrated with the progress they are seeing and give up. That happened to me the first time I tried it.

    But a list is an incredible asset.

    Some niches don't actually lend themselves to list building. So it pays to think about the niche first and decide is it a good fit for list building before you go into it.

    But when you have the list building going, it's the relationship with the subscribers that's key.

    As you mentioned, there are the churn and burners. Most have built up big lists over a long time and are just too lazy to do anything else. It does take some thought to construct a good email.

    Not much thought to send something like this:

    Recent email from an IM guy with a big list.

    "Hey,

    If you're a newbie, or maybe just a beginning marketer
    who struggles to get, and keep any real traffic coming
    to your websites...

    You're going to absolutely love this:

    "link was here"

    It's just about the fastest source of traffic, and it
    doesn't require any kind of a list, big name partners
    or anything like that...

    And the best part is, you can send the traffic to any
    site you want... easily, and whenever you want it.

    "link was here" "

    I just grabbed that as an example from a marketer with one of the biggest lists in IM. He sends an email every day with basically the same premise.

    I don't know how good his open or click through rate is but I stopped opening his emails years ago.

    But it certainly doesn't take much effort or thought to write an email like that. He's leaving a lot of money on the table, but having such a huge list I guess makes him not want to bother.

    I don't recommend this approach.

    Why would someone send out just a few emails? Perhaps because they figure if the person doesn't buy in the first few emails they likely won't. There's some truth to that.
    And if its a niche where you don't really want to do anything significant and long term, isn't a bad strategy.

    Same with setting up a long term series over many months.

    There will be one or two niches you really have passion for you will want to always be in.

    And for that I would advise being in it for a long long time and establishing a very good relationship with your list over a long long time.

    You build an asset like that? You can depend upon it as an income property for many many years.

    Yep, I agree about the valuable but incomplete. Or another way is telling the "what" but not the "how".

    Yea, good 'ole Jimmy D is good. I would recommend learning from more than one source. List building (and its sister email marketing) is one of the three components of IM that's the most important, along with traffic and conversion. Learn it from as many sources as you can.

    I agree with the title of the thread. It's time for the boys in the white coats if you're not building a list
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  • Profile picture of the author Targeted Traffic
    Absolutely agree!

    Building a list will help you generate that online income faster and without doing too much work. Having a list will give you so many benefits such as creating traffic, create future joint venture partners, generate a passive income and most importantly create lifetime customers who will always purchase your products.There are people who make millions and do not own a list.However by owning a list you can get paid unlimited number of times by having the same number of subscribers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Orange County SEO
    Building a list is a practically sound strategy rather than firing randomly. You can find the people who are willing to follow you lifetime than the 'simple visitors' who are not financially beneficial. But at the same time there are people who still do successful business without any list. I recommend listing, the best way can bring more precise results.
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  • Profile picture of the author Victoria Gates
    The list is important and of course today its best to build in mobile numbers too.
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    Victoria Gates - Digital Marketing Specialist

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  • Profile picture of the author SeasideMarketer
    List of buyers = the best asset you can have
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    ''Don't Be A Plonker All Your Life Rodney!!" Del Boy [Only Fools And Horses]
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    • Profile picture of the author capitalalchemy
      I think list building is great, but I had a lot of problems with it.

      I know that I could do it better and I'm sure there are answers sitting right in front of me, but what I learned about list building didn't exactly help.

      I spent a whole year focusing on nothing but list building in several markets and providing valuable content, and it just really didn't go anywhere.

      I personally think that list building is not the holy grail of a business like many paint it out to be. You have to think about the person on the other end. If you can build a targeted list, awesome! But you have to remember that many people feel very violated by being emailed, even if you aren't selling anything and are giving them the world.

      It's very much a psychological/primordial thing. When I see a subject line for anything from someone that I don't know on a personal level sitting in my inbox I get mad. I know other people do too.

      But the only thing that really bothers me about it is this...

      It uses leverage = great! but, say you send out a quick blurb to 15,000 people, and 50 people purchase a $50 product. That's a quick $2,500 and that's where people get hung up on. In my experience, one email that doesn't click with the other 14,950 people is all it takes to not have them open anything from you ever again.

      I know it's a business and that you can't make everyone happy, but then I start feeling plagued by that other amount of people. Then I feel like I failed, because setting money aside, I displeased the rest of them some how.

      Now, where I have had success with list building is through blog subscriptions without auto responder software. That way the person is in charge. They visit your site if they feel like it, and you aren't bombarding them.

      So even though you can send out a really helpful email without pitching a single thing or affiliate link, many people still feel violated by receiving it in their inbox.

      I'm sure folks will disagree with me, I'm just saying that this is what I think about it
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Andrews
    Banned
    List building is an insurance policy. A policy which pays out cash on tap everytime you turn it on.

    10,000 on your list? 50,000? 100,000 plus? Looking to make some money?

    Find out what the current most frustrating problem is which is currently being experienced by any one group of the individuals on your list, locate their perfect solution and if you've developed a good relationship with your subscribers, now and again you can market to them directly.

    The larger your list and the more they trust your judgement, chances are they'll buy into whatever it might be that you put in front of their eyeballs, if it's good and provides them with their perfect solution.

    They buy en masse and you get to pocket your profit.

    Use this responsibly and you've cash on the table any time you want it.

    Simple.
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  • Profile picture of the author try_hard_samurai
    Lists are golden.

    And I can see how the whole mobile list thing can work as well. I read somewhere that texts have a 90%+ open rate.
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  • Profile picture of the author mahesh2k
    Difficult part with list building is finding niche. I mean if you're not expert or have trouble writing about profitable niches out there then list building is not easy for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author magnates
    A list allows you to be resourceful with your traffic

    make sure you don't blow your wallet trying to getting targeted traffic

    Any business without repeat business isn't really a business

    You can't have repeat business with responsive repeat traffic

    and that is exactly what a list provides

    ~Femi
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    • Profile picture of the author StuW
      I'd love to have a business that builds a list but seeing as my site is going to be promoting brands, many of whom are going to be building lists, it's going to have an effect on the number of people willing to sign up to more than one list in the space of a few minutes.

      Also, I have no product to sell to end-users, any money I make will come from charging the advertisers.
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  • Profile picture of the author dagaul101
    A list is great to have, think of them like customers that you can sell to again and again, ofcourse you have to build some trust with them, or else just a few complaints from anyone of them and you could be in trouble with your ISP or host
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