5 Secrets You Need to Know About List Building
5 Secrets You Need to Know About List Building
Most Internet marketers walk a fine line when it comes to their e-mail marketing campaigns. While we can all vouch for the effectiveness of e-mail marketing, the tactics used in the list building process are sometimes questionable, if not downright unethical. Never fear – you can work around this and build a profitable list in less time than you think!
It took a lot of trial and error, but I found that there are a handful of things a marketer can do to build a successful e-mail list a little faster than most. Today I’ll share my five favourite tips – and they just so happen to be amongst the easiest I’ve used!
1. Design a squeeze page. A squeeze page is a marketing page that gives a little bit of teaser information about your product, services, newsletters, and giveaways. You’ll use this page to blatantly and shamelessly ask your visitors to leave their names and e-mail addresses in exchange for the information they’ve been looking for. Follow up with your promises and e-mail the information you guaranteed right away. Otherwise, your new prospects won’t trust you and will quickly remove themselves from your list.
2. Create an effective signature and always use it. At this point in your career you should be including a descriptive signature and a link to your website or signup page at the bottom of every e-mail you send. You’ll also want to set up descriptive signatures for use on message boards and forums. The more you tell people about yourself, the more interested they’ll be.
3. Start a viral marketing campaign. Simply put, viral marketing means your information is being spread via word of mouth. If, for example, you send an e-mail offering a free gift or product, you might include a link at the bottom which makes it easy for your current subscribers to tell a friend or family member about the products you have available. That friend will join your list while at the same time sending the original message to her friends, and so on. Viral marketing is free and takes little more than a creative pitch.
4. Implement an article marketing campaign. Write a few informational articles and publish them in online article directories and ezines. At the end of each article you’re going to include a 2-3 line biography about yourself with a link to your web page. If your reader wants more information, he’ll have to go to your page and join your e-mail list.
5. Use strong keywords on your website. Most people find the things they are looking for after performing a simple Google search. Make sure that they find your website by using appropriate niche keywords within your website or blog content. Doing so will cause your web page to appear closer to the top of the search engine result pages!
These list building methods are tried and tested. Better yet, they’re free. Implement one at a time until you are able to determine which one is working best.
Are you willing to share your successful list building secrets? Leave a comment and tell us about what works best for you.
Happy Marketing!
Sean
Sean McPheat
Marketing Consultant - Internet Marketing Consultant - Sales Expert
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An important aspect of list building is the building of a community, or a tribe, as Seth Godin has well described. I see you doing that wherever you go, and it’s something I definitely have to take into consideration for my ongoing endeavors.