When I first got started online I was afraid to build an email list. WHY? I can?t really explain the root of that fear other than I was scared of using my website to sell to people. It was almost like I was afraid to ask for the money or didn?t believe people would actually buy products from me.
I know, I know. What is the point of building a business if you are afraid to ask for the money?
But after about 12 months of not seeing the income I wanted you could say I was forced into an attitude adjustment.
When it comes to blogging ? your email list is you number one asset and it IS where the money?s at.
You can be produce great content, awesome videos and know how to drive traffic ? but if you fail to convert those readers, viewers and visitors to subscribers on your email list then you might as well close the door on your online enterprise right now.
Building an email list does not make you some sleezy salesman, schemer or spammer!
Giving people the opportunity to opt-in to your email list or download a free offer in exchange for their contact details does not make you look bad is complete so get that thought out of your head right now! If you are struggling to build your email list let?s go step by step through the whys, whats and hows with these email list building tips.
01. Why Would Anyone To Join Your Email List?
First and foremost you need to ask yourself why anyone would want to join your email list. If you can?t come up with a good answer of you wouldn?t be compelled to join your own list, then you need to work on that immediately. I opt-in to email lists all the time and I also opt-out of email list that don?t serve my needs. But the reason I join an email list is because there was something I liked about the content I read on someone?s site and I wanted more. It?s as simple as that.
I want you to email me and let me know when you publish something new that might help me build my business or make my life easier.
02. Having The Confidence To Know and Understand Your Value?
People who are scared about building an email list lack the confidence in their expertise, products or brand. They don?t believe they are worthy of people listened to or attracting followers that will buy from them. They don?t think they deserve great success. The truth of the matter is that if you have information that can help someone else you are actually doing them a disservice by not giving them the opportunity to opt-in and receive more information from you.
Know and understand the value you bring to the market place. It?s OK to make money online doing something you are passionate about and helping people at the same time. The mindset you have when it comes to building an email list will dictate the SUCCESS of your email list building activities.
03. Know Why Building A List Is Important
When it comes to building an email list the why is just as important as the how! Here are a few reasons why growing an email list is important to your success online:
- You can email your list any time you want. Have a new blog post you can email them. Have something inspirational to say, you can email them.
- Have a product recommendation or launching a product of your own? You can send a surge of traffic to your sales pages with one click of a button.
04. Putting The Pieces Together
1. Creating Your ?Mafia Offer?
What?s a ?mafia offer?? Something your visitors can?t say no to. This is the most important part of the email list building process. You want to provide give something of value away in return for names and email addresses. Creating your mafia offer is easy. All you have to do is produce a product that you could sell but instead give away for FREE.
Don?t be afraid to give way your best material to get more people to sign up. Not only does it increase conversions but it can make you a lot of money in the long run. In fact my first offer was a FREE ebook that I gave away on my blog which went on to make me thousands of dollars in months.
Let?s say you have a weight loss blog, you could created a report called ?7 Ways To Shed More Pounds With Less Exercise?. In this report you teach visitors how to do this while also recommending products or services that will genuinely help them but also make you money as an affiliate. Keep in mind your goal is to help your readers but to also make money. If you are not familiar with how affiliate marketing works, I suggest you read this guide. A step 7 guide can be completed in just a few hours and you can get an attractive, professional ebook cover from fiverr.com for $5.
You can deliver your FREE report in a PDF format, including the link in a follow up email which is automatically sent to new subscribers (I use Aweber for this) immediately after they opt-in. You can also deliver your report in one long email or break it up into a series of emails.
Also, keep in mind that your FREE gift does not have to be a report. It can be a Video, Audio or ZIP file with any combination of the above.
2. Setting Up Your Opt-in Form & Email Funnel
I use Aweber as my email marketing service provider. These companies allow you to collect names and email addresses, send and track emails, and more. I am also learning that as your email list grows for every 10,000 subscribers you should look into using another service. Relying on just one company, may not be good business sense and you would hate for you entire business to crumble overnight because your email service shut you down, went out of business or made a mistake. With that said, make sure you are backing up your contacts on a weekly or daily basis depending on how many leads you are generating just to be safe.
Regardless of the email service provider you choose, you?ll be able to create opt-in boxes or web forms that you can place throughout your blog. Once a lead ?opts in? you can send them to a custom page or you can use the email providers default thank you page. I prefer to create a custom page in WordPress thanking new subscribers for opting in and giving them instructions on how to access their free gift. To take advantage of the fact, that this is the point where your lead is most interested in what you are offering, I also suggest placing several affiliate product links or banners on your thank you page that are related to your free gift.
?3. Have a Page Dedicated To Your Free Offer
Make it easy for your new subscribers to share your offer with their network of friends and customers. Don?t rely on just a sidebar opt-in box, but also create a separate sign up page detailing your offer. People can simple copy and share the page link. Another awesome tool I recommend is using OptimizePress ? this allows you to create high converting squeeze pages in 5 minutes or less. These squeeze pages convert at a rate of more than 50% which means if 1000 visitors see your? page, over 500 will opt-in.
They have a ton of different pages to choose from, you can add your logo or banner, include a video on your squeeze page, show a preview of one, add a free PDF report with an eCover, include testimonials, social sharing buttons and more!
4. Use a Popup Opt-In Form
This is something that took me a while to get comfortable with, but man o man it has increased my opt-ins and profits substantially! When you first visit my site you see my popup which was created using a WordPress plugin called Popup Domination. Instead of using the generic pop up forms Aweber provides, I wanted something that was functional, professional looking and really drove opt-ins. The options Popup Domination provides such as how soon the popup shows up, how often, on what pages, along with their sleek, stylish designs were just what I wanted. Using Popup Domination I was able to double my opt-ins almost immediately, which tripled my profits.
I use the Popup Domination template which allows me to add the eCover of my FREE report. This template converts much higher than the one?s I?ve tried where I did not include the cover, so? I suggest you invest in an eCover design for your free gift.
5. Creating Your Email Follow Up Series
This is a step you really want to take time with. By setting up follow messages, your email service provider will automatically email your subscribes at a pre-scheduled date and time. For example a follow up email with a link to your free offer will be sent out immediately. But you can schedule follow up emails to be sent out the next day, and the next day after that, or 4 days after that, etc. This is an awesome way to automate your business and income. You may broadcast an email to your list recommending a product. If that email makes you money you will want to add the email to your list of follow up messages. This way, when new readers opt-in you can automatically send that email to your new subscribers. To them it will be new content, to you it means another chance to make money on something you did weeks or months ago. That is the true meaning of leverage!!
6. How To Profit From Your Email List
There are a number of ways to monetize your email list. The most common and easiest way is by promoting affiliate products. Just think about being able to shoot an email to your list and in return make hundreds, even thousands of dollars for 5 minutes worth of work. The opportunities to make money online are there, you just have to be willing to take advantage of them. Here are a few ways to promote via email:
- Send an email to your list with a direct link to the product sales page (easiest, fastest solution but doesn?t convert as well)
- Send an email to your list which directs them to a product review on your blog
- Send an email to your list which directs them to a personalized bonus page you?ve created on your site. Introduce them to the product and offer them an exclusive bonus if they purchase through your affiliate link. (this works well for higher priced products)
I?ve personally had the best success sending my subscribers to a post where I?ve done a product review. Not only does this take them back to my blog, but it gives me the opportunity to list the specific benefits as well as give my opinion on the product. It also increases my chance of selling other products. Since they are already on my site they may browse some of the other recommended products I have on my site.
7. How often should I email my list?
Well it depends. I know marketer who email their list every day and some once a month. I personally think that you should email your list whenever you have something of VALUE to give them. That means you are sharing something that will help them get better results in their business. So a rule of thumb is to ask yourself ? does this email provide value. if it doesn?t don?t send it.? It is essential to over deliver and keep your subscribers engaged. This can only be done by putting their needs first and delivering information, products and services that improve their life and business.
Do not simple promote, promote, promote! You should be sharing more free content than promoting products. Not only does this help build rapport, but it shows your subscribers that you really care about them not just about getting their money. People buy from people they know really have their best interest in mind.
8. How To Increase Income and Open Rates
This is a step most people do not utilize or even think is possible. There are always people who will not open up your email the day you send it out. So I suggest sending another email to the people who didn?t open the email the day before. You can keep the email content the same but tweak the title. Maybe this time it will catch their curiosity and they will be more compelled to open and read your email. Before using this option that would not have been possible.
So there you have it. 8 email list building tips for online success! Did I miss anything? Feel free to add your comments and thoughts below. It is always appreciated.
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Source: http://andreabolder.com/2013/8-email-list-building-tips-for-online-success/
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