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How fast could one make a full-time living with list building?

by Edwin Torres
34 replies
Hey I was wondering how fast one could make a full-time living with list building?

For those who are already making a lot of money with your email list, do you have any BIG tips or advice that could help me (and or others).

My list is currently in the thousands at the moment, and I do make some money off of my list, but it is sporadic and not consistent.

An issue I have is my list doesn't buy a lot when I email affiliate promotions, but buy (almost always) when I promote something that I've made personally.

I've been trying to focus a lot into product creation lately.

Anyways, what is your advice on making a full-time living with list building?

Thanks!
#building #email marketing #fast #fulltime #list #listbuilding #living #make
  • Profile picture of the author Warrior Ben
    The time it takes to make a full time income from a list really depends on how quickly you build up your list. One important thing to remember is that your list needs to be filled with qualified BUYERS, not just people looking for a freebie that you give away.

    One way to go about getting a big list pretty quick is to create your own WSO, but rather than looking at the WSO as a way to make money from selling the product, use it to build a list of buyers. Look for JV partners and affiliates to promote your product and pay them a 100% commission. This may seem high, but it will encourage people to promote your product. Then offer a freebie after purchase so that buyers of the product have to opt-in to your list to get the freebie. This way you are able to build a list of people who actually purchase products. You could have a list of 200 people that is much more profitable than a list of 2,000 people.

    I hope this helps!

    -Ben
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by Edwin Torres View Post

    what is your advice on making a full-time living with list building?
    Mine's almost all in this post, I think: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6123982

    It's all relationship-building, really?

    (I'd also strongly suggest avoiding building IM-related and MMO-related lists altogether, and lists even in other niches which are built mostly from SEO traffic, because I believe their responsiveness and open-rates tend, overall, to be significantly lower than most others).

    But the single, key concept, in so far as there is a "single, key concept", must surely be that the biggest lists and the biggest incomes are almost always two very different things, and there are real, reliable and reproducible reasons for that. Truly, trying to build "as big a list as possible" is setting off in the wrong direction.
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  • Profile picture of the author napoleonfirst
    Having a huge list is like printing money. It is like the stock market or the FED. There are guys making anything from $1 to $5 or more per subscriber. Getsubscribers.com will help you get even more subscribers at an affordable price. You also need to understand your market deeply.
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  • Profile picture of the author rmolina88
    I was able to make a living off it relatively fast after 6 months of doing it with only affiliate promotions. You gotta have a strong autoresponder sequence along with a traffic flood of buyers.

    Since you're a product creator, you should be able to make money quite fast by having affiliates build your list for you with offering 100% commissions just as long as the buyers are put on your list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    An issue I have is my list doesn't buy a lot when I email affiliate promotions, but buy (almost always) when I promote something that I've made personally.
    If you're in the IM / make money online niche the reason they probably don't buy affiliate products from you is because they are on a dozen other lists and everyone is sending them the same offers, usually with bonuses and other incentives and they may trust these people more so choose to buy through them...or these people are just quicker at mailing out the offers.

    If you can keep creating your own products as this is what will make you stand out. If no one is buying affiliate products from you then stop promoting them and concentrate on just delivering good content until you've got enough of your own products to promote them regularly.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    This is my own view.

    I used to send my list affiliate programs that paid me once.

    What I learned is that you need to offer them products that can pay you residual income. A lot of people are willing to pay for something that they like each month.

    If you are on Clickbank and as an affiliate, my advice would be to find these programs and offer them to your list.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarketingJessie
    Promoting affiliate products is not a bad thing. You just have to make sure the affiliate products that you are promoting are relative to your list that you built. If you built a list of CPV marketers than make sure you are pushing out other products that are about CPV or very very similar.

    Also you have to make sure every email that you send out is QUALITY and not just a sale. Hype your list up before you give them the link. If you are promoting a PPC product than make sure your copy is great to where you are hyping your list up and they are reading and than at the end BOOM you hit them with your link.

    Also some people like to baby there list and they only promote 1 time a week but there is 2 emails going out with just quality content in there.

    If you are making money off your list already than see what made money and what hasnt and stick with what has.

    Also you can always do a survey on your list and see what they are interested in learning.
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  • Profile picture of the author Edwin Torres
    Thanks for all of the replies guys! Thats probably one of the issues I have is, I am afraid of over-promoting to my list, or coming across as a scammer even if the product is legitimate.
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    • Profile picture of the author rmolina88
      Originally Posted by Edwin Torres View Post

      Thanks for all of the replies guys! Thats probably one of the issues I have is, I am afraid of over-promoting to my list, or coming across as a scammer even if the product is legitimate.
      Don't be afraid to promote to your list. One of the reasons why people have trouble list building is they're afraid to promote and your list should have several hungry buyers on it already.
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      • Profile picture of the author Edwin Torres
        Originally Posted by rmolina88 View Post

        Don't be afraid to promote to your list. One of the reasons why people have trouble list building is they're afraid to promote and your list should have several hungry buyers on it already.
        True. Thanks man!
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        • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
          If you focus on building email lists for regular brick and mortar
          businesses (you can build your own too) then you could
          conceivably be making a full time living in your first month,
          perhaps in your first week.

          Email marketing is quite valuable to brick and mortar businesses
          because the costs are so low and they can follow up with
          prospects and customers already walking into their physical
          premises.

          You can charge $500 to $2,000+ for setup and $100 to $1,000+
          per month per client.

          If you have enough confidence to charge more and you make sure
          you deliver more profits than you're charging in fees then you'll
          be up making a living much faster.

          Kindest regards,
          Andrew Cavanagh
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    • Profile picture of the author spock0149
      Originally Posted by Edwin Torres View Post

      Thanks for all of the replies guys! Thats probably one of the issues I have is, I am afraid of over-promoting to my list, or coming across as a scammer even if the product is legitimate.
      Once your list is big enough I highly recommend using some AB testing tools. Mailchimp lets you do it. My email service provider Sendgrid lets you do it. I'm sure others do to.

      Here's why you MUST AB test your emails:

      AB testing for websites that don't have much traffic takes time. You need thousands of data points, and tens/hundreds of conversions to create any meaningful conclusions.

      AB testing emails is typically much quicker. A list of just a few thousand can give you a dataset large enough to draw results immediately.

      Test your subject line.

      Test your copy.

      Observe open rates.

      Observe click though rates.

      Observe unsubscribe values.

      You don't have to double guess yourself over 'over-promoting'. Test and let the data speak for your list.
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    The key edwin is to have lots of follow up emails going out over a period of time

    This goes for your buyers lists as well

    There is no fast way of doing this it does take time

    When you have lots of follow up messages set up and as long as you have a constant supply of new leads into your list everyday you should make regular sales on auto-pilot most days

    Doing affiliate promotions are ok now and again but you can't use that only model to make most of your income

    The key is to try and learn how to squeeze out the most profits you can from the smallest amount of people you can rather than adopt the "just get more traffic every time"

    Getting traffic is the easy part, converting the traffic into paying customers is much harder especially from a freebie list but it can be done you just have to keep testing until you find something that works for you :-)
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    • Profile picture of the author Edwin Torres
      Originally Posted by paul nicholls View Post

      The key edwin is to have lots of follow up emails going out over a period of time

      This goes for your buyers lists as well

      There is no fast way of doing this it does take time

      When you have lots of follow up messages set up and as long as you have a constant supply of new leads into your list everyday you should make regular sales on auto-pilot most days

      Doing affiliate promotions are ok now and again but you can't use that only model to make most of your income

      The key is to try and learn how to squeeze out the most profits you can from the smallest amount of people you can rather than adopt the "just get more traffic every time"

      Getting traffic is the easy part, converting the traffic into paying customers is much harder especially from a freebie list but it can be done you just have to keep testing until you find something that works for you :-)
      Isnt it bad to constantly add to your followup funnel? What if you have a time sensitive broadcast to send out?
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      • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
        Originally Posted by Edwin Torres View Post

        Isnt it bad to constantly add to your followup funnel? What if you have a time sensitive broadcast to send out?
        where did you hear that it's bad to add lots of follow ups?

        if i need to send out a broadcast then i send out a broadcast it's no big deal

        but i rarely send out broadcasts except for new blog posts to relevant lists and also
        for the odd promotion
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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        Originally Posted by Edwin Torres View Post

        Isnt it bad to constantly add to your followup funnel?
        No; it's good.

        Originally Posted by Edwin Torres View Post

        What if you have a time sensitive broadcast to send out?
        Then you have a potential difficulty, and might want to look at's what caused it: personally, I go to some lengths to avoid broadcasts, for all the reasons explained in this thread: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post7301227
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        • Profile picture of the author 4DayWeekend
          There is no answer to this question because it relies on so many factors such as the speed you build your list, the quality of the list, and your correspondence skills, just to name a few.

          If you want to accelerate the process, focus on list building and list building only. Focus on building high quality, low cost products with list building in mind. Think long term rather than about making money right now. Learn how to follow up with your list effectively from the offset so they don't forget who you are. Drive paid traffic to your offers if you have money to invest.

          Best of luck,
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    • Profile picture of the author talfighel
      Originally Posted by paul nicholls View Post

      The key edwin is to have lots of follow up emails going out over a period of time
      Edwin,

      You don't have to add them all now.

      What I do is add one or two and then I can send them a broadcast anytime I want. When I post a new article on my website, I send my email the article.

      You can add 50-100 messages to your auto-responder and have that sent out in the course of a year or two. This makes thing easier and many do this without touching their list's emails but I won't do that.

      I like to get involved almost every single day.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    if you continue to survey your list often, and create products and content based around what they want you can make some good money pretty quick.

    It's all about helping people out and giving them what they want.
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  • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
    Try to sell them side product like you already sold them a web hosting , they might need extra domain , some ssl, some email marketing and so on . This is what amazon did which for those purchase this will also like to purchase this and that .
    This is the way to upsell them , so you can take the list of product and upsell them to get repeat sales.
    Don't stop building your list because sometime over spam your list might get opposite effect.
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  • Profile picture of the author ckarling
    Hey!

    I see you have a lot of replies all ready, but I wanted to give you my 2 cents worth.

    Some of the best lists I've seen have been made using no paid traffic at all. I know of one marketer who has a 45-55% open rate on his emails. This is due to the fact that he only gathers leads from his forum signature, and article writing.

    It has taken him around 6 months to gather over 700 subscribers, and that list is allowing him to focus solely on internet marketing, and quitting his other job. Granted he is doing several other things in marketing, but the list is his main asset.
    On the other hand, there are the marketers with lists of 10.000 who can barely scratch a living off of it.

    It all comes down to converting. Proven buyers are the best leads. Fans are next. (give away value for time, and people will trust the products you promote).

    I reckon 4-6 months of HARD work should do the trick. Sure, you need a bit of know how, but it's certainly possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author kayfrank
    You hit the nail on the head. People always buy your own products because they have a relationship with you not someone else! Product creation is the way to go.
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    • Profile picture of the author curly sue
      there is a saying among internet marketers; 'every person on your list worth $1'
      so a list of 1000 people = $1000, 100,000=$100,000...
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      • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
        Originally Posted by sexy sue View Post

        there is a saying among internet marketers; 'every person on your list worth $1'
        so a list of 1000 people = $1000, 100,000=$100,000...
        The problem is the $1 is just a made up figure that people repeat over and over. There's no factual basis behind it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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        Originally Posted by sexy sue View Post

        there is a saying among internet marketers; 'every person on your list worth $1'
        There is. And like so many of those "sayings among internet marketers" it's purely an urban myth, with absolutely no valid underlying basis whatsoever.
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    How long it takes will depend on a few things...

    1) How aggressive you are with building your list
    2) How much income you need to go "full time"

    For me it took 6 months to go "full time" after committing myself to list building.

    However, no matter how big your list gets your income will still be "sporadic" at times depending on your promotions... I suggest trying to get some recurring income by creating membership sites and/or by promoting affiliate products that pay recurring commissions.

    This will help you build your income while building your audience '

    Good luck bro!

    Cheers,
    Coby
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Carlin
    I've managed to make $2.5k with one email to a list of 900 before. I got the list by getting WSO of the Day, and I did no promos for 3-4 months. The list was for updates and help, and I unintentionally built a loyal list BEFORE doing any promos.

    So, my 2 big tips are:

    1. Give your list value first, and then do promos every other email. Even if they don't like affiliate emails they'll forgive you if it's a give and take email list, rather than a "buy buy BUY!" email list.

    2. The best funnel you can send customers to is your own (you've discovered this already). Some of my customers have spent $1k+ with me and you get to know people on a first name basis. Why send someone away for a $17 sale if you can build rapport and serve a lifetime customer?

    The long game is in value, don't treat your list with disrespect.
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    • Profile picture of the author Edwin Torres
      Originally Posted by Michael Carlin View Post

      I've managed to make $2.5k with one email to a list of 900 before. I got the list by getting WSO of the Day, and I did no promos for 3-4 months. The list was for updates and help, and I unintentionally built a loyal list BEFORE doing any promos.

      So, my 2 big tips are:

      1. Give your list value first, and then do promos every other email. Even if they don't like affiliate emails they'll forgive you if it's a give and take email list, rather than a "buy buy BUY!" email list.

      2. The best funnel you can send customers to is your own (you've discovered this already). Some of my customers have spent $1k+ with me and you get to know people on a first name basis. Why send someone away for a $17 sale if you can build rapport and serve a lifetime customer?

      The long game is in value, don't treat your list with disrespect.
      Great tips! Do you think Frank Kerns model of content, content, promotion, content and repeat for broadcasts is good?
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  • Profile picture of the author Oliver Williams
    It depends on how good you are at email marketing. If you want great results then learn from someone who already has the results that you want.
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    • Profile picture of the author lerxtjr
      1. List size whether large or small is meaningless. It's all about how good a copywriter you are. Give me the guy with a 100,000 person list who can't write copy to save his life, and I'll out sell him with 5,000 on my list.

      2. What you "think" is good copy probably sucks. You never know what works until you test and document your results. It's a painstaking process, but that's just business. I can't even count how many times I've spent days assembling the perfect logical offer/promotion only to get goose eggs for sales and then spend 5 minutes just cranking out an email in my disgust and getting a 20% conversion. Makes absolutely no sense sometimes what actually moves people to buy.

      3. Other peoples' formulas are meaningless too. Content > Content > Promo > Content > Promo....that kind of stuff is crap. It has absolutely no meaning for what you should put together for an autoresponder sequence because your product is different, your offer is different, your copywriting skill is different, your list seasoning is different. You have to create your own formula and test.
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  • Profile picture of the author Broderick Boyd
    My question: Get Response or Aweber?
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  • Profile picture of the author anwar001
    The thing to do with your list is not to promote too much nor to always give FREE informative stuff. Because if you do the latter, they will get used to only free information and if you do the former, these people will unsubscribe fast from your list.
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