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Is It Worth It Building A List?

by Danny Woolard
45 replies
I imagine list building mostly for sites that sell there own products or at least have an ebook such as moneymaking sites.

What about small niche (non-authority) affiliate sites? Maybe you only get 300 uniques a month, and you only have one site per niche.

Is it worth it? What do you email them? Product links to amazon for example?
#building #list #worth
  • Profile picture of the author Miguelito203
    Originally Posted by denutza View Post

    I imagine list building mostly for sites that sell there own products or at least have an ebook such as moneymaking sites.

    What about small niche (non-authority) affiliate sites? Maybe you only get 300 uniques a month, and you only have one site per niche.

    Is it worth it? What do you email them? Product links to amazon for example?
    I'm wondering if you're confused about the difference between a niche and a keyword. A niche is a group of people who are looking to solve a problem and willing to pay for it. Some examples of profitable niches are dating, weight loss, make money, video games, learn Spanish....and so on. Finding a keyword that gets a few hundred hits a month doesn't mean you've found a profitable niche. Profitable niches have a good amount of competition and lots of products to promote.

    Joey
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  • Profile picture of the author mtihani
    Yep, you're confusing niche and keyword.

    Lists are everything.
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  • Profile picture of the author webmoney12
    Now I see the real definition of niche... It's already clear to me
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  • Profile picture of the author seanocoso
    Really good definition. Lists are very important, list build for everything!
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    well to put it quite simply

    if your not building a list, you are leaving a lot of money on the table and wasting a lot of time

    even if you are only selling a $5 ebook or report that is fine but as long as you are building a list

    if you don`t have a product then create one

    find out some of the problems in your niche and then create a little report, ebook or course of some kind and sell it for $5, $7 or maybe even more

    then build a list of buyers

    yes you could promote amazon products, you can do video reviews on products and then send your list the new review, you just have to be a little creative

    paul
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  • Profile picture of the author Heath Allison
    I agree the list is where the money is in internet marketing
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by denutza View Post

    What about small niche (non-authority) affiliate sites?
    That's one type of site from which it's extremely difficult to derive any long-term income worth talking about without list-building.

    This post explains (and you can read "affiliate sales" where it says "ClickBank sales" - I know you're not talking specifically about ClickBank, but that was just the context of that thread): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5210243

    Originally Posted by denutza View Post

    Is it worth it?
    It's a little bit more than just "worth it". It's essential.

    Originally Posted by denutza View Post

    What do you email them? Product links to amazon for example?
    Product links to Amazon are one of the things you definitely don't email them, because that would be contrary to Amazon's terms of service.

    The purpose of sending emails to subscribers, when you're an affiliate, isn't to sell to them (failure to appreciate this is one of the commonest mistakes affiliates make). It's to pre-sell. And the people who do that best are the ones who earn most. See if this helps? http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6123982

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5300985
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    • Profile picture of the author svsets10
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      That's one type of site from which it's extremely difficult to derive any long-term income worth talking about without list-building.

      This post explains (and you can read "affiliate sales" where it says "ClickBank sales" - I know you're not talking specifically about ClickBank, but that was just the context of that thread): http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5210243



      It's a little bit more than just "worth it". It's essential.




      Product links to Amazon are one of the things you definitely don't email them, because that would be contrary to Amazon's terms of service.

      The purpose of sending emails to subscribers, when you're an affiliate, isn't to sell to them (failure to appreciate this is one of the commonest mistakes affiliates make). It's to pre-sell. And the people who do that best are the ones who earn most. See if this helps? http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6123982

      http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5300985
      I continually look forward to your posts Alexa, they are like hidden gems of knowledge that I try to absorb. This is another good one
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  • Profile picture of the author ResultsDriven
    Building a list is NEVER a bad idea, just keep this in mind. If someone's given you money before, they're likely interested in giving you money again!
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  • Profile picture of the author Danny Woolard
    Yes I was confusing niche with sub-niche I suppose..In my case, the niche I was referring to was a subset of Home & Garden, so it seems very small to me.

    Perhaps if my list is derived from selling outdoor shades, I could also sell something like indoor rugs? hmmm....that would seem like it was taking it too far....Patio furniture, ahhh!

    P.S. Nice links Alexa...I bookmarked this page to check it out later.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marc Sa
    Definetly. Even if you are getting a few visitors each month, you should build your list. I know people who made thousands and thousands of dollars each month only from small lists.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hopeless Bromantic
      A list has got to be one of the best ways for you to put yourself in the "front" of a prospective buyer's mind, rather than in the back of it.

      If you have something of value to offer, a good list will pretty much build itself.
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      • Profile picture of the author capitalalchemy
        I personally disagree with all the answers here, because...well that's usually me

        I have built lists in odd niches. There are so many niches, but commonly marketers boil it down to or try to stick within health, wealth, relationships, IM, etc..

        There are a lot of profitable niches out there with amazingly, passionate people behind them.

        But just because they are crazy about something does not mean that they want to spend money on something.

        The same is true of keywords. There is a difference between a buyer keyword and a "tire-kicker" keyword.

        Further more, how you communicate with that niche is crucial. Even if you go into a hot niche such as make money online, you can botch it by...

        A: Nabbing traffic that is not targeted nor profitable minded (meaning he folks behind that traffic have already justified the concept of paying for a service/solution.

        B: Not understanding your niche, communicating to them effectively. And it can be complex. You can understand a niche, and still not communicate to them effectively, or you can easily rub them the wrong way.

        There are so many things that need to line up with IM, but you don't hear about this enough.

        Technically speaking, you could throw up a page, get it ranked for a keyword that only gets 300 visitors a month, and if it's the right crowd, the right offer, the right communication and your understanding of them, you could turn almost all of them into buyers and have a sustainable business...but then again..

        C: Is is also a crowd that is qualified to be sold multiple products to over the course of 1+ years?

        Some may even be eager to buy, but after that you have supplied them with everything they need, and there is no justification nor need for them to purchase additional products.

        It's quite possible to "scratch an itch" with that first promotion, which renders the concept of list building useless.

        You've really got to determine some things about a niche first and get the right kind of traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author domji
    Lists are great, especially for really good niches!
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  • Profile picture of the author tumichael
    I just wonder we should build each list for each niche? If I have a blog of which content is various, is it still ok to build the list?
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  • Profile picture of the author eugenedm
    I'd say build a list and keep a good relationship with your list. Don't you know that money is on the list? Now, when I say keep a good relationship with your list this means don't send them to many promotions or emails in a short-time frame. Also, send them some tidbits or info of value for free so your list will appreciate you.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialsite
    Like I mentioned in a previous post talking about how I made my first dollar online. If I would have been working at that time on building my list when I had a down line of around 4,000 people then I could have brought them into other programs that I work on. So yes building a list is a priority big time.
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  • Profile picture of the author VHSEOMike
    List building is always important when it comes to internet marketing. 300 unique visitors is not a bad not a bad number at least initially. You should focus on building list. You cannot imagine how instrumental it could be in the future. Good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author CurtisSWN
      A sale is a sale, but a list is a business
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  • Profile picture of the author Arief Ramadhan
    It's not just really worth it. It's really important! Because if you're not building your list, it just like lost your visitors right away without leaving any benefit for you. By building your list, your visitors will leave their email and you can follow up them and then make sales. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author gcbmark20
    Having a list that responds to you and looks forward to the next email is far more valuable than working hard until you one affiliate commission and then losing that customer forever.

    Any system that can make you money requires a lot of time and effort anyway, so why not set up a one page opt-in form and allow people to see what you are all about before making a decision on whether they will buy from you or not.

    All the best my friend!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author TomYevsikov
    Well, if you are not building a list you are decreasing your chances of making money online.

    it is possible to hit it big without a list but I don't see a reason why you should not build a list

    about the question, no matter what keyword you are focusing it, you should build a list
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  • Profile picture of the author BizOpGuru
    I would still build a list for a small niche site even if it's a single product you are promoting, but if you don't really update the site often because it revolves around one small niche product don't focus on it *too* heavily as there's not exactly much you could send your subscribers.

    I can think of discount codes and offers, which could be useful and end up in some healthy conversions. Aside from that you can hit the list every time you write a new (useful) post. It would mean you retain the majority of subscribers as you are not spamming them too often which could work out to be very advantageous if you can promote a really good offer or discount.

    For any type of bigger/authority site focus a lot more on building a list? Absolutely.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dann Vicker
    Building a list is the most cost effective method of generating traffic I've come across. So if you want to continue spending hours to generate repeat traffic, forget listbuilding.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill Hugall
    An email list is always important. This is how you will make most of your affiliate sales. If you just send people to the vendors page and don't find a way to get the leads yourself.... You may as well consider yourself an employee for that vendor. You need to have all of your doors open. Letting people to see your offer without at least getting there email first is wasting your time and quite possibly your money. No matter what niche it is.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayParker
    List building would give you the leverage to create income on demand. You build a relationship with thousands of subscribers, write an email offering a product for sale and click send and make money. It's a great way to make money online and one of the most stable ones. It's true the money is in the list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Cole
    The simple fact is: You should ALWAYS be building your list. Many do not 'Get' this and therefore do not place any importance on this. These people should re-think their strategies IMO
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    • Profile picture of the author Joey Evans
      List building is the life blood of every on-line business!
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      • Profile picture of the author Eelco de Boer
        Still to this date Email Marketing beats EVERYTHING. Twitter, Facebook etc etc is good, but big and responsive lists are GOLD!

        Eelco
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonParker
    I think the real question is...

    Is it worth being in a little niche with almost no volume or profit potential?
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  • Profile picture of the author jficarro
    I used to think like that - "what would I send them, what use is it"... but the possibilities are near endless when you have a list.

    I even try to get my local businesses to start building lists. I just think anytime you can reach people, you have an opportunity. If you can't think of how to make money, then just focus on fostering the relationship. The money will come if you don't ignore or abuse the list.
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  • Profile picture of the author mosthost
    I get so many emails that I never even glance at. Plus almost every newsletter I get ends up in a spam filter.

    Still, almost every business persists in sending emails and I'm not an average user. So even though I don't believe in lists, I've forced myself to maintain them
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    • Profile picture of the author jficarro
      Originally Posted by mosthost View Post

      I get so many emails that I never even glance at. Plus almost every newsletter I get ends up in a spam filter.

      Still, almost every business persists in sending emails and I'm not an average user. So even though I don't believe in lists, I've forced myself to maintain them
      No we are NOT average users. Some niches have very high open rates. And I wouldn't use our thoughts and habits as a gauge of normal end users (unless your niche is the jaded IMers.

      No offense, but it kills me when someone signs up to be on my mailing list and then sends it to spam (it literally is a black mark on the sender). Nothing I can do about it, but I hope you would unsubscribe or reserve the spam box for "unsolicited" newsletters.
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      • Profile picture of the author mosthost
        Originally Posted by jficarro View Post

        No we are NOT average users. Some niches have very high open rates. And I wouldn't use our thoughts and habits as a gauge of normal end users (unless your niche is the jaded IMers.

        No offense, but it kills me when someone signs up to be on my mailing list and then sends it to spam (it literally is a black mark on the sender). Nothing I can do about it, but I hope you would unsubscribe or reserve the spam box for "unsolicited" newsletters.
        Even worse are the people who don't click unsubscribe. Instead they reply with "TAKE ME OFF YOUR MAILING LIST. I DON'T WANT IT."

        Then you have to click unsubscribe for them Some people just love to pretend they're helpless moppets.
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        • Profile picture of the author jficarro
          Originally Posted by mosthost View Post

          Even worse are the people who don't click unsubscribe. Instead they reply with "TAKE ME OFF YOUR MAILING LIST. I DON'T WANT IT."

          Then you have to click unsubscribe for them Some people just love to pretend they're helpless moppets.
          No... I'm convinced that some of these ARE helpless moppets.


          wait... what the hell is a moppet? Are you in Great Britain or something?
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          • Profile picture of the author mosthost
            Originally Posted by jficarro View Post

            No... I'm convinced that some of these ARE helpless moppets.


            wait... what the hell is a moppet? Are you in Great Britain or something?
            It just popped into my head I'm using it in the archaic sense according to Dictionary.com. (It means baby).
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  • Profile picture of the author AndhikaWijaya
    Money still on the list, btw
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    It's worth building a list for backend sales. It's worth building a list if you sell a high priced frontend product.
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  • Profile picture of the author Resale Rights Ninja
    no - why would you want a list? why don't you just promote affiliate programs, sending all your traffic to someone else who is building a list instead. If they have a list I don't see why you need to have one too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zayne
    Originally Posted by denutza View Post

    I imagine list building mostly for sites that sell there own products or at least have an ebook such as moneymaking sites.

    What about small niche (non-authority) affiliate sites? Maybe you only get 300 uniques a month, and you only have one site per niche.

    Is it worth it? What do you email them? Product links to amazon for example?
    Hey there,

    No matter what product you are building a list for, someone has done it before and is more likely better at it than you, and so this presents a huge opportunity for you!

    Even if you have a site with 300 uniques, thats around 3600 per year, times say ten different sites, if you build a mailing list this will give you traffic on command whenever you need it.

    I am not saying this is the best way to do it, I would prefer to have one or 2 money sites and concentrate all of my effort on those, but your way is good too!

    Plus you can monetize in many more ways than just sending the list offers, remember that.

    Zayne
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  • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
    It is always worth building a list. In fact most of my bread and butter revenue comes from my list and the subscribers who love to get discounts through the links I provide. Of course you just can't go out and build a crap list and expect to quit your job.

    If your not list building in 2012, then your either brand spanking new or simply missed the signs directing you to a cheap and easy autoresponder.

    BP
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  • Profile picture of the author kieranlavelle
    The way I look at it is, you're always better off building a list as their is no real downside to it unless you are spamming you're subscribers. Keeping a list will also allow you to contact them if you ever need to for example if you release a new site.
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    • Profile picture of the author Stephen Crooks
      To a large extent building a list in a non-IM niche can potentially be more profitable depending on the niche of course. People in IM tend to have list blindness due to the amount of lists we all get signed up to.

      The old rules still apply..
      • Treat your list well with good information
      • Make sure your promotional offers are valuable
      If you wish, check out my list building case study using safe lists in my sig.
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  • Profile picture of the author SFquality
    If you have a small audience it's still worth building list as you can promote more products through the list and people will trust you more than general website visitors.
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