The Super Supreme Way Of List Building

Having a "limited to a select few" is nothing new.

I saw something fantastic a couple of months on some site as a tactic to create urgency to join a list...

The website had the opt in form and incentive etc and next to the optin form it said.. "Limited To 500 People Only" but at the same time it had a little countdown from 500 script in the top right hand corner that pinged every few seconds to notify that someone had just signed up.

The visitor to the site then thinks... "fk, they're going quick, I better opt-in and get it..."

So that's a good strategy to build a list that I have only seen once.

Will

One thing I've wanted Aweber (and Getresponse) to do for some time is:

You import e-mail addresses that are "approved" to be on your list. When anyone tries to subscribe they are checked against this "approved" list and those not on the "approved" list don't get in (on). (Sort of a members only list.)

And with your idea of only a limited number of people is good/bad.

See when you get a "prospect" on your list they are not completely sold on you, unless you already have public "guru" notoriety status, so you will continue to warm them up to you. Some people will leave, so now your "500 only" is 450 people, now you have space for 50, what do you do then? If you put the subscription box back up, do the other 450 think, "what the heck?"

Building a list of "prospects" is a numbers game, don't limit your list, but within the list you should segment it for targeted results.

Sales copy should target your market. There must be a niche for stupid people, but I don't want them on any of my lists.

That is so true Mike... however, I tend to see the freebie seeker as a disciple who flies my flag, spreads the good word about the quality of my free products and is also a good candidate for case studies or testimonials.

Taking the time to see how even freebie seekers can be best utilized in the bigger scheme of things will be profitable.

You could even offer your freebie seeker an affiliate site that promotes your product and show them how to best get traffic to it.

In my opinion it's the freebie seeker's input that is important too you just as much as the customers. Find out what those freebie seekers are looking for, what their problems are and if you do a good enough job creating desire and interest those freebie seekers will buy.

Just food for thought

Mike Hill

These people who generally still fall for this stuff (which, by the way, is MUCH more common outside the IM niche) are less likely stupid/idiots/whatever and more likely just new to the net/niche. Don't sell them short - or down the river. Educate them and they will BECOME your best customers.

Same with freebie seekers and tire kickers...they may start that way, but eventually you CAN turn a good handful into buyers. Just be sure to separate them when you do.

At the end of the day, a list of buyers is much better, but there was a point in time I was a freebie seeker. And when I turned into a buyer, I bought a LOT - and I bought from the ones who "taught" me good stuff and didn't treat me like an idiot.

True, but Mike Rasmussen now has name recognition and can bypass much of the freebie-seeking general optins.

But if you look at his last couple of product launches, do yoou know what they were? Free products. Why do you suppose that is?

And by providing that good content and value, you will eventually turn many of that OTHER 90% into buyers. Trust me - I do it all the time.

And if you don't want those people, let me know. I will give you a few of my free lead sites you can send them to

Mike

Very true winebuddy! You always have to entice them with something good to begin with and preferably FREE to get them to opt in to your source list! Some great ideas so far, and this is just the beginning, I need my opt in list to reach well over 10,000 - my goal! Great thread!

You are exactly right. I just watched franks video. Now anyone who has ever been to the mass control site has probably seen the big SOLD OUT sign. How can an info product sell out, guess what? It cant!

Yes if he was doing one on one coaching but, what hes really doing is hyping it all up and filling the reservoirs for next launch. Its simple. So yeh i agree.

If the dudes who where responding quite negatively to my thread actually went and read my stuff they would know i too hate over board marketers. But at the end of the day if you do actually have the good stuff then why not blow your own horn?

And in my original post when i refferred to a 'sold out' sign next to the opt in. I wasnt talking about a silly sign that says 7 people to go which is there 100% of all the time. I was actually meaning a real close up for say a day, or week or whatever.