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The 2 Most Potent List Building Strategies

by Broyde
29 replies
I did a small amount of research this weekend and so far when the two more effective means of building a list are considered, two of them seem to lead the pack.

They are using solo ads and forum marketing. Forum marketing causes things to happen immediately and often consistently for a long time. I have gotten new subscribers to my lists from posts that were made months, and sometimes years ago.

Solo ads cause your list to grow in huge spurts depending on how big the audience is that your ad is going out to, and it also depends on the effectiveness of your ad. With solo ads, if you can find a big list to advertise to, and be able to negotiate a mailing where your ad is the only information in the message, you would have hit the jackpot.
#building #list #potent #strategies
  • Profile picture of the author Auzan
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I did a small amount of research this weekend and so far when the two more effective means of building a list are considered, two of them seem to lead the pack.

    They are using solo ads and forum marketing. Forum marketing causes things to happen immediately and often consistently for a long time. I have gotten new subscribers to my lists from posts that were made months, and sometimes years ago.

    Solo ads cause your list to grow in huge spurts depending on how big the audience is that your ad is going out to, and it also depends on the effectiveness of your ad. With solo ads, if you can find a big list to advertise to, and be able to negotiate a mailing where your ad is the only information in the message, you would have hit the jackpot.
    Research more Broyde.

    Forum marketing does work great if you work it. Solo ads are good for numbers but it is almost a matter of luck to find a good buyer oriented solo ad anymore.

    The very best list building resource for my niche is easily 100% affiliate commission products. I produce a great product or usually a hot report and in return my affiliates get a profitable product and I get a buyers only list. I can promise you, this buyers list will never hit the solo circuit.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gerald Arno
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      Very well said. As long as you don't have a clear strategy in place to make forum marketing profitable for you you'll always end up doing tasks that don't build your brand, don't generate traffic, and don't make you money.

      You shouldn't buy a solo ad from someone you don't know. That's why you want to see screenshots from the provider before you make any buying decision. Don't trust people blind, unless you've already bought solo ads in the past and know about the quality.


      Originally Posted by Troy_Phillips View Post

      Research more Broyde.

      Forum marketing does work great if you work it. Solo ads are good for numbers but it is almost a matter of luck to find a good buyer oriented solo ad anymore.

      The very best list building resource for my niche is easily 100% affiliate commission products. I produce a great product or usually a hot report and in return my affiliates get a profitable product and I get a buyers only list. I can promise you, this buyers list will never hit the solo circuit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Google Adwords is awesome, but they like to ban folks with squeeze pages. I like solo ads and my favorite free marketing method is article marketing. I get high quality leads and buyers from that.
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    • Profile picture of the author CoachManny
      My weakest part of marketing is growing a list in the way of people looking to start a business in home based business or other.

      Need to conquer that one and offer value.

      Manny
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  • Profile picture of the author techbul
    100% Affiliate commissions is the way to go! This way you end up with only buyers on your list, which is pretty cool.
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    • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
      Originally Posted by techbul View Post

      100% Affiliate commissions is the way to go! This way you end up with only buyers on your list, which is pretty cool.

      Yeah but it is getting to the point where a lot of affiliates want 100% of your OTO too

      That is why it is a good idea to always have several traffic streams feeding the list.

      . I have started making a lot of my entry products only 50% but making the product a subscription base so the affiliate gets paid every month.
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      • Profile picture of the author shane_k
        Originally Posted by Troy_Phillips View Post

        Yeah but it is getting to the point where a lot of affiliates want 100% of your OTO too

        lol, exactly.

        It doesn't make sense to be all excited saying, "yay, I have all buyer's on my list." when you have just give 100% commmissions for your front end product AND your OTO.

        Kind of leaves you with no money for yourself, lol

        Unless like you said you have some sort of continuity built in.

        Attacting affiliates is great, but there needs to be some balance between how much commissions you are willing to give them, and what you need to make to make sure your business is still profitable.

        Just because someone wants affiliates doesn't mean they should give away the store, lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Sue McDonald
    Yes unfortunately some of the of the solos are not worth what people are charging. Solo ad selling are continuously have to get more people on their lists so you might not always get the best from some sellers.

    Forums are great. I like ad swaps but only if I approve the product that the other person has because you want to know that you are letting your subscribers see something of value.
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  • Profile picture of the author thetrafficguy2
    I like forum marketing to build my lists.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joey Starkey
    Forum marketing is great in the forums that allow it. I have mixed emotions on Solo Ads and Ad swaps. At least in the IM and MMO niche we are just floating around all of the same opt-ins. If ou write quality content and interact with your subscribers you will rise to the top.

    @GlenH....wow bookmarked your page. I am impressed. I only glanced through your sales page, but I bookmarked it for a closer examination tonight. I have never run across a ebook that used this system. Sure changes the option of giving away free ebooks.

    Let me ask one question, once your program is used with one of my ebooks can it be loaded to various sharing programs and such and it will still require the opt-in?
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    • Profile picture of the author RobertoM
      Solo ads?
      Maybe.
      But only if you are in the MMO or Biz Opps niches.
      I never found a single reliable solo seller for niches out of MMO. If you know one...
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  • Profile picture of the author threezerozero
    solo ads...are ok. it will build your list, but the conversions when you start promoting might not be there. the quality of the list is what you're looking for. you might get a ton of subscribers but low quality with low conversions. you have to test the responsiveness of the list you're promoting to. not all lists are equal.

    targeted subscribers are the best. forum marketing is ok but the best is 100% commission products or free WSO's. those bring in in the best, high quality, targeted traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    The smart way to use solo ads is to send those people through a sales funnel on the front end. Monetize the sign-up process with a free offer (required for most solo ads), then a closely related upsell and maybe a related downsell. The key is to make it all closely related stuff. Now you've hopefully paid for the cost of the solo ad and put some buyers on your list instead of 100% freebie seekers.

    This is what the pros do. And you don't see them talking down solo ads. They know how to make it work.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author Broyde
      Troy said to research again Broyde...Ok, I will...However the situation is that the people I have talked to work within a situation where solo ads rule the day for them.
      It may be that they work in a sort of "group"???
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      • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
        Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

        Troy said to research again Broyde...Ok, I will...However the situation is that the people I have talked to work within a situation where solo ads rule the day for them.
        It may be that they work in a sort of "group"???
        Yeah Broyde, Solo ads and ad swaps do work .... Just don't think they are anywhere near the most potent .. especially when you look past number and start looking at the actual sales those members bring.

        They do work in a group. That group squeezes most, if not all, of the money out of those list and then sell them on open market to people that are tickled pink to just make their initial investment back.

        Would you rather have a list of 100 .. built in a day but barely break even or a list of 50, took a week to build but are buying only from you because .. you have no one to compete for inbox space with?
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  • Profile picture of the author rmolina88
    Solo Ads have been the most reliable for me.

    Also, another great tip to convert your list into buyers is to have a blog with suggestions on the best products using your affiliate link.

    Even with emails where you're not selling, insert the link to your blog in your signature.
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  • Profile picture of the author MKCookins
    Forums marketing is defiantly a great way Just provide very useful post on 3-4 forums daily, and watch the traffic come in
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  • Profile picture of the author eniggma
    Check my sig I can help you with solo ads in the IM niche. Either way just remember to be patient and focus on building a relationship with the list before selling. I have seen what was otherwise thought to be crap traffic turn into sales for people from places like adfly even. All from preselling them and focusing on the relationship above all else.
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinDahlberg
    Just started with solo ads. I've been hearing a lot about them, and I figure it's definitely worth trying out.
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  • Profile picture of the author garyl2k
    Continued investment from your earnings is key building a successful list, monetizing your list, splitting your list into category's (Not just IM List, Weight lost list etc...) split them up so your lists are more targeted to your offers.

    I have a list dedicated solely on list building, one for newbies to start out in affiliate marketing, one for wordpress plugins.

    Solo ads can work really well, though you have to be original when sending out your free gift as how many times do you think these people have been emailed with free stuff?

    I'd say a lot!
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  • Profile picture of the author shane_k
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I did a small amount of research this weekend and so far when the two more effective means of building a list are considered, two of them seem to lead the pack.

    They are using solo ads and forum marketing. Forum marketing causes things to happen immediately and often consistently for a long time. I have gotten new subscribers to my lists from posts that were made months, and sometimes years ago.

    Solo ads cause your list to grow in huge spurts depending on how big the audience is that your ad is going out to, and it also depends on the effectiveness of your ad. With solo ads, if you can find a big list to advertise to, and be able to negotiate a mailing where your ad is the only information in the message, you would have hit the jackpot.

    I definately wouldn't say that these two are the most potent.

    Where did you do your research?

    If you did your search here on the forum and determined your answers by the amount of posts on solo ads and using forums then you were wrong.

    Just because a strategy is in popularity doesn't mean that it is one of the most potent.

    Solo ads is going through that cycle of popularity right now. But it won't last long because there are too many people who are already abusing the strategy especially in the IM niche.

    About solo ads you say if your message is the only message being sent out in a mailing to a list then you have hit the jackpot. But what you are missing is that a lot of list owners while they might only promote your ad in one mailing ARE promoting others in other mailings, so their subscribers are being churned and burned, definately not the kind of customers you really want.

    And sure maybe forum marketing has worked for you but have you tried PPC or Banner Advertising or other paid methods?

    For me in my niche I have been getting the best ROI with Banner Advertising.

    And extremely low results with forum marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    I have used over 50 solo ads over the last 14 months and they do work well for building your list but you need to focus heavily on your conversions because that is what will make or break your profit margins

    I also use my IM blog to build my list, it's an excellent traffic source which works on auto-pilot but it's something which you can work on over time, not something that you should rely on for some quick traffic

    Forums are good for generating traffic but you do have to hit things in volume and be active on a regular basis. I never rely on forum traffic but it's a nice extra amount of traffic none the less
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    Solo ads are good for getting numbers on your list but I find that solo ad clickers are trained almost to seek out freebies and no more. They often aren't buyers (it's not to say some won't be turned into buyers) and will just take your freebie and forget about you, either unsubscribing or not opening your emails because they have no interest in you or what you have to say. Your OTOs / upsells need to be strong to make back your initial advertising costs or you can burn a lot of money quickly paying for solo ads for no return.
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  • Profile picture of the author mlkottam
    Beside Solo Ads. Any one of you have experience using Viral mail to drive traffic.? How effective is this method?
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonBennet
    I feel we cannot compare different traffic generation methods just like that because what works for one person does not work for another person. I personally feel it is important to try out different traffic generation methods and keep those those works.
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