Building my own list the way to go still?

by mbaldwin

Posted: 11 years ago 12 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I have been dabbling in IM for about 10 years now, and still getting no where. But that is kind of my own fault for not sticking with stuff and such. I took a break, and am getting back to it. I am using something that is making me a few dollars without promoting it. I can promote it and earn more. But is it better to work on building up my own list to promote it to, or just promote it directly?

Here is what I am kind of thinking. Am I on the right track, or way off?

1. Write up an eBook on what I am doing, and give it away in exchange for people signing up for my list. the eBook would of course have my affiliate link to the program, and to other programs that could help them promote it.

or

2. Do a site to promote what I am doing, and those that signup can get the eBook for free, or if they pay for the eBook, they can use their own affiliate links in it.

or

3. Promote the site as is, and hope to get a few referrals.

Number 3 would be the easiest, but probably the least profitable. Number 2 would cost the most and be the most involved, but that seems it would provide the best return. Number 1 would fall in the middle.

I think I will wait for some feedback before going any further. Not sure which is the best these days.

Thanks,
Michael

#building #list

Thohir Wijaya 11 years ago

Create a wso to to add your buyer list. All from wso is a good quality list and of course it's buyer list.
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Jeff Lenney 11 years ago

Wow man, I didn't start building MY own list until I was about 1-2 years into IM - I wish I would have started on day 1 to be honest with you. I made SO much more money once I started building lists in various niches (MMO, Picking up Girls, Relationship advice for women, how to get pregnant, how to lose weight etc - you can build good lists in just about ANY niche, not just limited to MMO stuff)

What I'D do is give you e-book away, you can post it in the signature here, you can do solo ads etc. Make sure you DON'T just promote to your list 7 times a week. I usually send 3-4 emails to my list per week (when i'm not promoting a launch), and maybe half promote something - the others are just link free quality content or recommendations.

Good luck
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David Burnett 11 years ago

You definitely need to collect leads while promoting your offer. So you get the best of both worlds. Building your list and making sale.

Now this is a debatable subject but I hate giving out free ebooks and then sending them to my affiliate link. Why?

I think it just collects emails that wont convert. And the few that do aren't even worth it. Some people say its a numbers game... I would rather have a list of 100 people that open my email and respond and but over a list of 20000 freebies that makes a few sales here and there. Just my thoughts on that subject.

I like to keep my squeeze pages straight up. Tell them some benefits they will get with the product but don't offer them something free. Make it so they know what they are signing up for and aren't surprised when they hit that affiliate page. Get them pumped for it with a video or something.

P.S. make sure you know who you are marketing towards. Research your audience so you can connect with them and make sure that the affiliate offer works. This will get you the best results.
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- planetlubs 11 years ago
  
  There is no doubt that building your own list is the best decision you can make with regards to growing your online business. That is a good decision and I hope you can stick to it and not get distracted before you can build a sizable and profitable list.
  
  Personally, I think option one would be the most cost effective.
  
  The only question is how do you plan on giving it away (i.e what platforms do you want to leverage to give away your ebook?)
  
  This would definitely depend on the Niche (as you have not mentioned it). But what ever the niche, forums represent a good pool of people who can warmly accept your book and signup on your list. There are forums for basically any niche you can think of.
  
  If it is the IM niche, The warrior forum and other notable IM forums will be a good place. You can advertise your free ebook in the signature or create stand alone threads such as WSO or classified giving away your free ebook.
  
  Another great option is to write your ebook as in Option 1 and distribute/upload it to as many free ebook sites (PDF and Doc sites ) where people can download it. If your affiliate links and signup pages are well positioned or pre-sold in the eBook, you will get some conversions.
  
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mbaldwin 11 years ago

Thanks for the suggestions. So at the very least, I will start on writing my ideas down to turn in to an ebook, and make further decisions after that.

Michael
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- Declan O Flaherty 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by mbaldwin
  
  Thanks for the suggestions. So at the very least, I will start on writing my ideas down to turn in to an ebook, and make further decisions after that.
  
  Michael
  
  10 years and you're still procrastinating. Will you ever learn :confused: If you're going to do something, just bloody do it mate. Don't half ass it by saying "oh, I'll just start putting my book together - and then I'll make a decision on where to go next"
  
  Get the book done tomorrow. Even if it takes you all day. Get it done. A "5 - 10" page report that solves one specific problem will do the trick. Then, immediately set up a page to collect contact details and start building your email list ASAP.
  
  Option "1" is the best road to take, Michael. If you had put just 1 hour a day into building your email list over 10 years, you'd be doing quite well I'd imagine.
  
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  simonpiemon 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Declan O Flaherty
  
  10 years and you're still procrastinating. Will you ever learn :confused: If you're going to do something, just bloody do it mate.
  
  Awesome advice Declan!
  
  The number one reason people aren't succeeding with online marketing is because they aren't really getting on and doing it.
  
  Stop 'dabbling' and make the decision to start doing it as a real business.
  
  You've already listed the business model that's been tried and tested a million times: give something away, build a list, sell other stuff to that list.
  
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alfredturner 11 years ago

What I have noticed is everyone has an Ebook to give away, and most are full of useless info. Most Gurus are not gurus at all, they are self proclaimed gurus, trying to mislead people into buying a program that they will not get results from.So I suggest that you find someone that is having real results and they can be verified and get them to mentor you. Because building a list then what do you do with that list,if you dont keep them coming back or looking for your next email they will unsubscribe. Here is a fact the same people that is on your list is on several other list also, and I am willing to bet the one that can hold their interest will make the sale. Just my 2 cents.
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DubDubDubDot 11 years ago

Originally Posted by mbaldwin

Not sure which is the best these days.

Need more info.

The knee jerk reaction in support of email marketing on this forum is from so many people selling get rich quick courses that teach mailing. I don't see how anyone could provide valid responses based on what little info you have provided.
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zimzalabim

11 years ago

Originally Posted by mbaldwin

1. Write up an eBook on what I am doing, and give it away in exchange for people signing up for my list. the eBook would of course have my affiliate link to the program, and to other programs that could help them promote it.

or

2. Do a site to promote what I am doing, and those that signup can get the eBook for free, or if they pay for the eBook, they can use their own affiliate links in it.

or

3. Promote the site as is, and hope to get a few referrals.

Michael

Michael,

Various ways/options you could go with though building that list is peerhaps the smartest thing you'll do. Treat your subscribers well and you will have a very valuable (and profitable) assett.

A suggestion from me for you to would be a mixture of your 1 and 2. You might give away say a sample chapter/excerpt from your ebook for free as a "teaser" and build one list that way then for people who go on to purchase, get them on a separate (buyers) list.

You mention in ypour option 2 about allowing readers to insert their own affiliate links. That's most certainly possible using (for example) Viral PDF eBooks - turn your PDF documents into a viral sales force then granting your readers/purchasers form form of distribution/resale rights as an incentive for them to pass on/resell with the potential of commission for themselves if anyone subsequently purchases via their link inside.

Make sure of course that you include links back to your own site so you can generate additional traffic via those links.

Good luck with whichever way you go.

Thanks

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Stuart Walker 11 years ago

Definitely start building a list. You're 10 years too late but better late than never.

If you're offering a freebie make it the best you possibly can. Solve a REAL problem your target audience has and solve it well. Make that freebie epic.

They'll think "wow if his freebie is THIS good imagine what his paid content must be like" and buy anything you offer them.
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kevin timothy 11 years ago

Building your own list is still the way to go.

Even in the offline world major corporations
rely on repeat and follow up business.
In order to do this they need to have developed
a way to re-contact them.

Lists to them are valuable and they should
be extremely valuable to you to.
While direct traffic directly to your sales
page is very tempting, you eliminate any
chances of you being able to re-contact
the potential customer.
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Building my own list the way to go still?

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