Nearly hitting 3,000 subscribers, what am I missing?!

Hey guys!

Retsced: Yes indeed I need a strategy. I'm looking into it.You make a lot of sense there.

Well I built my list through guest posting on relevant sites of the same niche (personal development). I've started learning engaging my list by emailing them good content (I held back at first as I was afraid many would unsubscribe). I've always surveyed them asking about their pains and troubles and a handful have replied.

Currently learning and working on headlines and copy too to get better results.

I'm curious though, how effective would a great relationship with my readers be? What kind of results can I get it? Does a great relationship mean them buying stuff eventually? Or could it be they just become my friend?

Thanks!

Hey Alden,

I think you see a lot of PD bloggers recommend something new every month and they make decent sales but nothing amazing.

I think most people that have success have a specific sales funnel in mind.

You should already have this built and focused towards your perfect customer. Maybe a few offers tucked away inside your follow-ups.

I think PD bloggers who just offer random products aren't as successful as the people who focus on a certain person and have a sales funnel built for the person in mind.

Like you could offer a productivity product and it might only interest 5% of a scattered list. Then next month offer a confidence product and it will interest 10%.

If you build a list focused towards X problem, then if you find people who are interested in X it means 100% of your list will be interested in every product.

I've told you this before but I think you just need to become focused on one specific aspect of personal development. I'm sure all your readers like you, and I like reading your stuff, but when a blog isn't focused on a certain topic it's hard to buy something you don't really know if you need.

As an example, if I wanted to buy a confidence product I'd rather buy it from someone who had a blog focused on confidence and proved they were an expert.

When people come up with a new product every month it seems a little silly just to buy something to massage their ego, because it's not like they have any real insights to give and they just make money from it.

So focus, focus and focus more. I know from your writing that if you focused on something you would be seen as an expert pretty quick and in the long run you'd have a great business.

I was reading something from Henri at Wake Up Cloud the other day and he said his blog was totally random to start. Then he focused to move forward.

Maybe have a look for the newest article and leave him a comment to ask.

Here is the article http://www.wakeupcloud.com/lifestyle...-cornerstones/

I have a problem with this mentality that freebie seekers are bad...

Everyone has problems and everyone (well mostly everyone) has money. Product buyers are great, but don't ignore freebie seekers because you think they don't buy. Everyone buys something. You just have to know how to get them to open their wallets. If they see true value in what you are offering they will spend money just like anybody else.

List building works like any other selling mechanism.

The first thing you need to determine is what you can offer people. The products that you will later on market to your list, must match the hat of your list. You cannot really build a list around SEO and market list building products to those leads. That doesn´t work.

After you determined your targeted market, it´s time to come up with a very strong offer, something that works right now. The more unique and current your offer is, the more money you can make. All of your offers should demonstrate your abilities and skills in this particular niche.

Optimizing landing pages and email campaigns is an ongoing process. The only thing that you can trust when it comes to landing pages and email campaigns is data. Don´t rely on intuition, because it doesn´t work well that way. Only by testing certain elements you will ever be able to really judge what works best.

If your choice is to build a freebie seekers list, that´s great. Just know that this is your choice. Then your goal is to convert as many freebie seekers as possible into true economic buyers. Continue to market to those buyers by expanding your promotions to coaching programs and consulting services.

The most money is made from repeat customers and referral business. Trying to milk broke prospects, is the same as trying to make money with a broken mindset. You have to fix the latter to realize the former.

Thanks! Hmmm would that not be repeating whatever I already gave them?

Nice! Will try that!

That´s a good comment. What better action can you take than asking people what they want. Obviously, you will hear different needs from different people and you can create a solid product around those needs.

While this strategy might work very well to figure out what the responsive people on your list want, it may or may not appeal to the entire market.

The truth of the matter is that you might need to create several products to have a clear winner, a product that is appealing to the mass. Having a product that is appealing to more people will generate more sales, so the question is whether your goal is to generate more sales to add more subscribers to your list or to simple go for more revenue.

If you go for more revenue, you don´t really need to be appealing to more people. Why don´t you target individuals or companies that have more money?

Pleasing 5 already super successful individuals banks more money than trying to please 5000 broke individuals. The repeat and referral business of people who are already doing good and need your products and coaching programs is the key. Of course, this example works best if you sell mid to high end consulting programs or coaching programs.

There we go. That´s the same problem as the questioner is facing. It takes a lot more effort to make a freebie seekers list profitable, a lot more!

Here is what you can do to eventually monetize your list:

1) Run different tests to see which subject lines and CTAs work best. You should do that regardless of whether you build a freebie seekers or buyers list.

2) Change the products that you promoted to your list in the past. Maybe it´s not what they are seeking, or maybe your products don´t fit the hat of your list.

3) Work your ass off. Come up with new ideas on how to further monetize your potential customers by giving them what they need.

You are most welcome. Content experimentation and analyses are two essential factors to success in list building.

Be creative. Try new things and change certain elements of your marketing method to see which performs best.