List Buildling Tips – Part 1

Building your list of optin subscribers is one of the most important aspects of a precise internet marketing strategy. In this post I’ll examine the basics of building a list. I am intending to turn this into a series of lessons that will show you step by step how to build a list of prospects or optin subscribers. I use the word ‘optin’ simply to mean that visitors to your website have ‘opted in’ or chosen to receive further information from you.

In a previous post I mentioned that if you learned nothing else about SEO (search engine optimisation) you should at least learn that in order to rank well, you must build backlinks or get backlinks naturally. This is critical information that you must etch into your brain. By the same token, please understand that if you are marketing on the internet you must actively build your list of optin subscribers. I cannot overemphasise the importance of this.

If you want to make money online then you must commit to actively building a list of optin subscribers!

List building is a fundamental tenet to the whole spectrum of internet marketing. Your ability to earn money online is directly related to the size of your list of optin list. Now of course there are ways of making money online without a list. However I am fairly sure that if you ask some of the world’s best internet marketers what the number one priority is in running a business online, they would tell you, building a list!

Just like any other business you need to build a relationship with your customers. A list of permission based optin subscribers is fundamental to your online business. It’s a fantastic way to interact with your customers, build value and make you money. I am sure that you have heard it many times before but it is worth repeating,

‘The Money Is In the List’

Every visitor to your website is a potential lead or prospect; you must do everything you can to get the email addresses of as many visitors to your site as possible. Once you have their details you have permission to carry on a conversation with them and develop a relationship. Developing a relationship with your prospects is critical to your success online. All serious internet marketers know this. As you develop the relationship, prospects will start to trust and value your opinions which all helps to build up your credibility. Credibility is more important in the online world than anywhere else. If you can interact with your prospects and really build trust, value and credibility then you are putting yourself in a strong position to make serious money.

I’m sure that you have experienced this. I know I certainly have. I subscribe to a number of newsletters from great internet marketers. I really like the information they give me and when they talk about new products I listen and yes occasionally I buy their products or the products they recommend.

The process is very simple.

1. Capture email of website visitor.
2. Interact, build value, create trust and establish credibility.
3. Monetize – either direct subscribers to your own products or other people’s products.
4. Carry on working on building the size of your list. Rinse and repeat.
5. Site back and count the money!

There really isn’t much more to it. Often in the internet marketing world there is a tendency to overcomplicate things. Stick to the basics, keep it simple and you’ll find that you success flows to your naturally. Internet marketers have been using this formula to line their pockets with cash for years. All you need to do is copy what they’re doing.

Why You Need To Build A List

We have had a quick look at the formula that internet marketers have been using for years to make money. We have established that building a list is fundamental to your online success. Let’s look into more detail about why you need to build a list.

Just like the real world, in the online world not every visitor buys the first time they visit a website. Imagine that you have 100 people visiting your website; taking a conversion rate of 1% you will make 1 sale off 1 person. If you make no effort to capture the email address of the visitors to your site, then you will only end up with 1 email address. Conversely if you have a system in place to capture the email addresses then you could end up with anything from 1 – 70 email addresses (conversion rate on optin can range from 1% – 70% which some internet marketers getting 80%- 90%).

That means you have a far higher number of people to market to and you will make more money. Furthermore once you have their email addresses you can keep on marketing to them for the rest of your life. You can send them info on new products or new offers, or when you start another blog or website then you can let them know about that.

Imagine, for a second, if you didn’t capture the email addresses of your website visitors, you would only get an email address when you made a sale. Would you not prefer to market to a pool of potential customers that is maybe70 x larger.

Let’s take an example looking at 2 different websites, website A and website B. Website A has no lead capture mechanism in place and only captures the email address of a visitor when a sale is made. Website B, has a lead capture system in place and captures 20% of the email addresses of all web visitors.

Let’s assume that each website is selling a $47 ebook and gets a 1% conversion rate. Let us also assume that each website follows up the prospects after the sale and makes a further 2 sales of $20 each for each prospect. Let’s see what happens when we send 100 targeted visitors to each of the websites.

Website A – No Lead Capture in Place

1 Sale @ $47 = $47
2 follow up sales @ $20= 40
Total money earned $87.

Website B – Lead Capture in Place

3 sales @ $47 = $141
6 follow up sales @ 20 = $120
Total money earned $261

Now these figures are going to vary in the real world they are just examples to show you the value of collecting peoples email addresses.

Collecting email addresses is going to earn you more money!

Remember that people do not necessarily by first the first time they visit a website. You must capture their email addresses so that you can carry on building a relationship with them and keep on marketing to them. Maybe after the 5th email they’ll buy. Furthermore you are going to want to carry on marketing to these prospects in the future. How many people would you rather market to? 1 or 20? Which number is going to earn you more money? The larger number of course!

So again, as if I haven’t told you this already, you must start collecting the email addresses of visitors to your website or even collecting email addresses period. As long as you are collecting the email addresses of people who have an interest in the niche your are promoting, you’re starting the right way.

I hope I have demonstrated the value of building a list. You absolutely must do it if you really want to succeed in internet marketing. You list is what is going to make you a lot of money.
In the second lesson I will introduce the tools you need to start building a list.