List Building - An Overview
One of the most powerful tools in online marketing is an optin mailing list. An optin mailing list is simply a database of people’s names and email addresses. Usually this information collected from them via a web form which gives the list owner permission to send them periodic emails on the topic they are interested in.
The best part of this powerful tool is it gives the list owner the ability to communicate and build a rapport with people who are particularly interested in their business, product's, or services. When it comes to effective list building there are a few do’s and don'ts that you should know before you start your own optin mailing list.
Let's quickly go over a few of them.
The "do's" and "don'ts"First the do's:
- Always inform people that they can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time. Be sure the let them know that their information is safe and that you will never rent, sell or share their email address with anyone.
- Make sure that let your subscribers know what you will be sending them. It is important that you ask people permission to send them promotional email when they subscribe to your mailing list so that you can reduce your risk of being suspected of sending SPAM.
-Be clear about how people can benefit from subscribing and how often will you contact them. Let them know exactly what they will be receiving. Always remember to point out what's in it for them (ie, the benefits)
-If you can, contact new subscriber as soon as you can. Welcome them and tell them what to expect. A good autoresponder service will help you do this automatically (such as Aweber).
- Make it easy to subscribe by having a highly visible subscription form or link on the main page's of your website. Signing up should take as little time as possible and don’t ask for too much information right away. A first name and email address is usually all you need to get started.
- After someone subscribes then you can collect more data later. For instance, you may want to know their company name, industry, or location. You can do this by including a survey in your emails to gauge interests. It's important to understand where people are coming from so you can make adjustments in your communications or promotions.
- When you write an email, put yourself in the reader's shoes and ask "Why shouldn't I hit the delete key right now?" Your readers didn't subscribe because they want to hear a sales pitch. They have a reason for wanting information from you. It could be to save time, money, or effort, or improve productivity and success. Your emails must be compelling enough to convince people to sign up, valuable enough to keep them wanting more, and useful enough to pass along.
Next are the don'ts:
- Don't add everyone who has ever emailed you to your list. Always ask permission first.
- Don't purchase bulk email lists that you are not 100% sure that are optin. Always have an evidence to prove the legitimacy of the email addresses.
- Don't abuse the trust of your subscribers. This is a sure way to ruin your reputation, business and your chance of success. When you abuse your subscribers and bombard them with unwanted email they will ignore your messages, unsubscribe or even worse report you as a spammer.
- Don't go overboard offering incentives for subscribing. Although this may seem like a great idea, you will end up getting subscribers that only want the reward, not to learn valuable information about what your business, products and services can do for them. Instead use incentives that are useful such as a free report ,seminar, or more information about your products & services.
- Don't bombard your subscribers with too many emails. How many are too many? This will depend on your message ... 1-2 per week is plenty. During the subscription process let people know what they are getting before they join.
- Don't be reluctant to address the needs of your subscribers. Keep your information focused. It is important to give them what they want to keep them on your list and wanting more. If you're information drifts off topic or is too generic you will lose subscribers as fast as you get them.
- Don't spend too much money acquiring email addresses. An optin list is a valuable asset and that means there is an investment on your part to build and maintain it. But, budget reasonably and in advance, find the most cost effective ways for reaching your target audience and know exactly how much it will cost to acquire each new subscriber. Keep in mind potential revenue, and lifetime value of each customer, and chose accordingly.
- Don't try to sell them. When you do send out offers to your list, don't make the email a big salesletter. Remember, the job of the email subject line is to get your reader to open that email. The message body of the email should be designed to get them to click on the linkr to your salespage. Then your salespage can .... sell them on your product.
Here's a few tips that you can use to effectively build your mailing list:
- Offer a free, but valuable newsletter. One of the most effective ways to build an optin list is to offer your online visitors free value in the form of a newsletter that contains information that they can use such as tips, tools, and techniques that will help them.
- Again, make it easy to subscribe. Provide easy subscription steps and don't ask for too much information right away. Make sure you tell new subscribers all of the benefits that they can get out of their subscription.
- Quality content is very important. Be sure that the information that you send to your readers is written and provides value.
- Discussion boards and forums are all over the net. Try to actively participate in these boards especially those related to your business. This will help you build your credibility and attract more subscribers.
- Write articles. This makes you an instant expert in your chosen field of interest and helps gain the trust of your subscribers.
- Co-registration can be a very effective way to build a big list in a very short time. Just make sure you know where the email addresses are coming from, so you don't waste your money.
When it comes to building an optin mailing list always keep in mind to offer something of value to your subscribers. Remember a good optin list is the foundations of most profitable internet business, so be sure to build yours the right way.
Building Your ListBuilding and managing an optin list provides the list owner direct access to potential customers. As we discussed earlier, building and managing an optin list makes use of a system that makes it possible for website visitors to fill in an online form in order to sign up for the latest products and services offered by an online site.
As we well know, building and managing an optin list is commonly practiced by numerous sites on the internet to maximize their visibility. It is a proven marketing technique that many business websites use again and again to keep loyal visitors updated on the latest products and services available.
Gathering email addresses for your optin list can be done in many different ways, using many different types of services, scripts and software. For today we are going to talk mainly about using an autoresponder scrip or service.
Basically an autoresponder scripts allows a subscriber to fill in a form and send it in to a specific address. The information is then processed and included in a database file. After that, the list owner can send a personalized reply to the subscriber to thank them for joining their list.
There are several autoresponder available. They are divided into three main types: remotely hosted, locally hosted, and desktop hosted. Although remote hosted autoresponders are a good option in some cases, locally and desktop hosted autoresponder's will allow you complete control because you are running the program on your own site.
If you have a domain name, you can use as many autoresponder's as you like, all of which will match your domain name. When you use a remotely hosted program, you won't be able to use your domain name with the autoresponder, unless you pay for a premium service. Instead, you'll receive an address from the provider that resembles their link. This can be great for some, although many prefer to have their own domain names listed in the autoresponder.
If you use your own domain name with your autoresponder, you can normally keep it secret that you are using an autoresponder. When you send out emails using your autoresponder, it will display your website email, making it very hard to detect an autoresponder. This can be a great way to use your autoresponder, especially if you don’t want your customers to know that you are using one.
If you use a remotely hosted autoresponder, those you send messages to with notice that you are using an autoresponder. You should think of this from their prospective – if you were their customer, you probably wouldn't want to receive messages from an autoresponder. Instead, you would want to receive your emails and messages from someone real, giving you complete individual attention.
If you are just starting out and happen to be on a tight budget and have the technical skills required a remotely hosted autoresponder may very well be the best solution. You can use it until you get more money and get back on track, although you shouldn't use it long term. Remotely hosted programs can get expensive very quickly; as the monthly charges will add it quick each month you use the program.
You can find remotely hosted autoresponder's all over the Internet; all you have to do is run a search through a search engine like Google or Yahoo.
Locally hosted autoresponders do have disadvantages. Some types will limit how many domains you can install them on. If the vendor doesn't provide free installation, you could have a problem installing the script, as most require some degree of technical experience. Although you have complete control over the program, locally hosted programs don’t have as many features as remotely hosted programs.
Desktop hosted autoresponders also have disadvantages. Some types will limit how many copies you can install on different computers. To get the most from them, you'll need a computer that is always connected to the Internet. You'll also need some experience to set them up, and they aren't recommended for those who have large mailing lists.
Although there are 3 main types of autoresponder's, the type you choose should depend on your website and your needs. What’s the best idea for you may be completely useless to someone else. When you make your final decision, you should always decide on what you need for you – then pick an autoresponder that works best for you.
Unless you are an expert in this area, I personally believe you will be better off using a professional autoresponder server such as Aweber or GetResponse. Here's why ...
Having a big optin list is nice - but what good is it if your emails aren't making it past the spam filters?
Remember, building and managing an optin list is one of the best and most effective ways to increase profits for your business, so make sure you do it the right way.
Building Your List The Right WayAn optin list is one the most effective ways that you can build your business and increase your profits. It can mean the difference between just staying in business and having a successful and profitable business.
As you well know an optin list basically is just a list or a database of names and email addresses of people who have visited or made a purchase through your website. This "golden" list will allow you to send updates, emails or promotions to those who are subscribed.
Building a list can definitely work for your benefit. It will ensure that you can maintain close contact and a good relationship with your clients, especially the frequent visitors.
It will also save you money, time and effort because when you come out with a new product or new information, you know exactly who you will send updates to because you have a definite market. This is one aspect that you will have to maintain to have a steady source of income at the least. Then the rest of your efforts will be to make the number of your regular clients grow.
Here are some quick pointers you can use to building your optin list:
- You should put a ‘subscribe link’ or ‘subscribe box’ in your web site. It is advisable to put it on all the pages. Then make sure that it is strategically positioned, meaning it has to be easily located by the visitors. The upper right hand corner of the page would be a good position.
- Promote your website and promote it even more to make give it more exposure and to get more subscribers.
- Come up with contests or give away freebies and goodies that will require visitors to give out their email ads to be able to join.
- Give out information, articles and updates to your clients with your links in it. Make sure that the information will be relevant to the client.
- Offer free courses to your visitors. This will also help maintain a good relationship with your subscribers.
- Use your signature also to make your optin list expand. Every time you send out messages the link information should be included.
- Do some networking too. Join some forums or discussions and build relationships with the people there. This way will also be a good way for you to get more contacts and clients.
At the same time you should also know what you should avoid when building an optin list. Here are a few important don’ts that you should always keep in mind:
- Don't ever spam your subscribers. It is best that you get permission from your subscribers, or else you might end up with a bad reputation.
- Avoid the multiple exit pop-ups ... seriously, one is enough!
- You should also refrain from flooding your subscribers with information. You might end up as an annoyance that you might not get a favorable result. There may be times that you'll give relevant information, but your clients may just dismiss it.
The benefits of having many regular subscribers are undeniable. They will definitely keep your business going and you will definitely enjoy the profits that will come in. Just remember that things don’t end there.
Once you've build up on a substantial optin list, make sure that you maintain it well. Keep in contact with your subscribers. Send them updates. Give out special offers and helpful tips. Freebies will be helpful too.
Keep Your Subscribers Coming Back For MoreFact: when your business provides great service and generates satisfaction among their customer it increases the chance that they will become a return customer and buy again. Better yet, they will recommend you to other people that could generate more business for you and your site.
As more traffic is driven to your site, you can entice many of them to subscribe to your mailing list or optin list. This is a list where in website visitors agree to be sent promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and such that could keep them updated about your site or the niche of your site. These promotional materials are sent via e-mail to the members of the list in different time intervals.
When using email as your marketing medium you can eliminate the high costs of other advertising methods. After all, email is free and if you can manage to make your own promotional advertisements you can also save a bundle there.
With an optin list of interested subscribers, you can be pretty sure that what you are sending out is received, viewed and read by the subscribers and not simply being deleted. Because they have signed up for service and consented to receive it.
This means that there are constant reminders to your subscribers about all your products, new products and services as well as any promotions and special deals you are having. There is also the chance that they can be forwarded to other potential customers as they tell their friends and families about you and your site.
Of course you should be also aware that a subscriber may unsubscribe when they feel that they are not getting what they want or expected. Make sure that they are satisfied with your optin marketing strategies and keep them excited in receiving your newsletters and catalogs. Here are some tips that can help you build a list of eager subscribers.
Make your promotional materials interesting and fun. Try to use a little creativity but not too over artsy. Build around what your product or service is about. For example; if you are selling car parts, put some pictures of what is new in the auto parts world, a new wing door possibly that can fit any car and make it look like a Lamborghini.
Try to research what people are looking for, these way, you stay one step ahead of them all the time and you will be their bearer of new tidings. They will be eager to receive what you are sending them because they know you always have fresh and new things to share with them.
Write good articles that can be very informational but light at the same time. If your subscribers enjoy your articles, they will go to your site by clicking the links that you will be putting on your newsletter to read some more. You can provide articles that can connect to many people. Be diverse in your articles. Put something humorous, then put something informational, then put something that has both.
Are you wary about this because you don’t like writing? No problem, there are many professional and experienced article writers that can do the job for you for minimal fees. They know what they are doing and can provide the need that you have for your newsletters, the money that you pay for your articles are going to be met by the many sign-ups and the potential profit from the sales that you will get.
Create and send an ebook to your customers about anything that is related to your business or site. Use your knowledge and expertise in the field you have chosen to help other people who are similarly interested. Offer this ebook for free. You can write about anything informational and helpful to your subscribers. For example; you can do manuals and guides in so many things. This ebook could be used as a reference for many people.
Share this ebook with everyone, even other sites; just make sure that they don’t change the links in the ebook that will lead people to your site. If you want, you can always get some people to write it for you just like your articles. Your investment once again will be covered by the great marketing this will generate.
Add coupons in your newsletters that will help them avail to special discounts. Put a control number in your ecoupon so that they can only be used once. When people get discounts that can be found in your newsletters, they will be eager to receive your newsletter in anticipation of what you are promoting next.
Using Articles To Build Your ListGetting customers in your site should always be ranked as high as the importance of the quality and the excellence of the product and the services you provide. They should go hand in hand in providing your customers the satisfaction they get in exchange for the money they have paid for them. Customer service should as well be as fantastic so that the customers are provided with the same satisfaction.
One of the ways you can combine marketing and customer service is through optin marketing. With an optin list you get the opportunity to introduce your site and products on a regular basis.
Optin marketing is a strategy that is very low cost and not very time consuming. You just have to get the consent of your website visitors when they subscribe to your list and you can send them information and other promotional materials such as offers and promotions.
Optin marketing uses your list of subscribers. It is essential when using this method that you present your promotional items in a manner that will catch the interest and the eye of your subscribers and keep them wanting for more. The best way to do this is to provide fun, entertaining and informational articles.
Well written articles full of content and useful information will help in building your list as more subscribers will be enticed your list. When they have read the samples of your contents in your sites, they will be intrigued as to what will come next. Subscribing to your newsletter will offer them a glimpse of what you have to offer next.
Many sites and companies have captured the importance of articles and this also aids in search engine optimization. As more people are heading towards the internet for their information needs, serving the right information to them via articles in your site will increase the flow of your website traffic. With more traffic, the percentage of your sales will grow. More sales turn into more profit.
There has been a rise of the importance of well written, information enriched and keyword packed articles for the content of their site as well as for newsletters. These articles provide the information many are seeking in the internet. If your site has them, more people will be going to your site for information and research.
Well written articles would also boost your sites reputation. If they are filled with many information you will be regarded as well informed and an expert on the subjects that you tackle. Your articles must be well researched so that the people will trust you. When you have gained their trust, they will always come for you for their needs on that subject.
In connection, you must write articles or commission them to tackle subjects that are closely connected with your type of business. If you have a site for a medicine tackling a certain disease, your articles must be about the diseases. Or if you sell materials for home improvements provide articles with those themes. Most articles searched for are tips, guidelines, methods, manuals and such. If you provide these articles to your customers and you have their trust, they will always go to your site for help and advice as well as for your products.
With the loyalty of these customers, they may subscribe to your optin list to receive all the information you have. If you provide them with the answers for that need, they will be happy to be receiving your newsletters as well as other promotional materials to keep them well informed. Others may even forward your newsletters to other people when they find a certain article interesting.
You should provide links in your newsletter so that when other people are reading it and wants to read more, they may click on the link and go to your site. With the articles you have in your site that are good, they may decide to sign up as well for your optin list. This will build your list and make it bigger.
Make sure to keep your subscribers happy and interested in your newsletters and promotional materials. Keep on posting and writing good articles for your site and newsletter. If you are not interested in writing them or if you just don’t have the time, there are many available well experienced and knowledgeable writers available to help you out. This is an investment that will pay for itself in time.
Now let's talk a little bit about using free reports to build your list. Aside from pre-selling your products and affiliated offers, the other purpose of your free viral report should be to build your mailing list.
This is because if you are unable to pre-sell, let alone sell, the products and services featured in your free report, the last ditch effort should be to collect leads. In short, if you cannot convert the reader into a ready buyer, you should then attempt to convert him or her into your subscriber.
In that manner, you can still follow up with your reader on future offers and have a chance at converting him or her into your customer, preferably lifetime.
You can do so by offering a lifetime update to your report or a unique notification list your reader will be interested in subscribing to, which leads to having him or her subscribed to your mailing list.
One of the few success factors in viral marketing of your free report is quality. If your readers find your information worth sharing, and you encourage them to do so by giving them the right to give your report away for free, you will be able to have your name, status and links within the report passed around without any effort on your part simply because others are willing to do so for you!
Getting Your Subscribers To Trust YouWhile the rest of the world have developed many barriers and protections to keep their email accounts spam-free, there are also those that subscribe to mails that promotes their products, services and their site. This is mainly because these subscribes wants to know more about what these sites are offering and can be beneficial for them. They expect to get be kept posted on what they are interested in and what are new in the market or field they have chosen.
Businesses would be so lucky to have these kinds of customers; the basic element needed to get these types of people is trust. When your customers trust you they will reward you with their loyalty. Many internet users have gone to great lengths in protecting their email accounts from spam mail. Some free-mail internet providers and internet service providers offer spam protection while there are also some internet based companies that screen your mails for you.
With an optin mail list, the mails you send containing your promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and marketing media will go through. Your intended recipient will be able to read and view what you have sent making it a successful transfer of information. To be able to be allowed to do so, you will need permission from your recipient, to get this permission; you need to be able to get their trust. With the great lack of disregard for privacy in the internet, getting the trust of an internet user you don’t personally know is a big achievement.
To build a good optin list you need people to trust you, for a faster and quicker build up, you need to get your optin subscribers to trust you quickly. The faster you build your optin list the faster word about your site and company gets to be spread. The bigger the scope of your opt-in list the more traffic you get spelling more profits. It’s easy math if you think about it. Getting the numbers is not that simple though, or maybe it is?
- Show your clients that you know what you are talking about. Provide them with helpful hints and guidelines that pertain to what you are selling. Talk about how to install a roof if you’re into hardware products or provide articles on insurance settlements if you’re a settlement lawyer. You don’t have to be a big corporation to make use of an optin list. If your customers see you as someone who knows what he is doing and saying, they will trust you quickly.
- Be true to your customers, if you want to hype up your products and services, provide guarantees. The more satisfied customers you get, the bigger probability there is that they will recommend you. Generally, people will trust someone they know, when that someone recommends you then you’re a shoo-in. They will go to your site and check it for themselves and be given a chance to experience what the other shave experienced from you, so make sure to be consistent in the service you provide.
- Another tip in getting a customer to trust you quickly is to provide them an escape hatch. Show them that you are not there to trap them. Keep a clean list that would enable them to unsubscribe anytime they want. Elaborate your web form by providing information on how to unsubscribe from the list. Guarantee them that they can let go of the service whenever they want to. Many are wary that they may be stuck for life and would have to abandon their email accounts when they get pestered with spam.
Remember that when you get the trust of your clients don’t lose that trust. Because if you do anything with their email addresses like sell them or give them out, you will lose many members of your list as ell as potential members. The true quickest way to gain the trust of your subscribers is when you are recommended by someone they trust.
Using Your List To Make Money (that's why we're doing this, right?)
An optin list can be quite crucial to any site or internet based company. Even for a small venture such as a niche profit site an optin list can make a world of difference and also add some extra income for your pocket. Rarely would you see an ecommerce site, big or small, that is without an optin list.
An optin list allows for a company to market their wares and site via an email. With an optin list, a site and a subscriber consents to sending and receiving a newsletter from your company. Through this, you can keep your subscribers abreast of what is currently available in your site as well as whatever is coming out.
And because there is mutual consent between the two parties, any mail sent to the list is not considered as spam mail. There is a great number of successfully read promotional materials such as catalogs, newsletters and such that are sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up for them, meaning, they do want to be sent those items.
Building a list is crucial, only a small percentage actually subscribes for an optin list. Many people find promotional mails annoying but of you provide a good newsletter or promotional material, you will see your list build up and grow. You can also achieve this by having good content on your site. If people like what they see and read on your site, then they surely would want more. Newsletters would be a way to attract them back to your site.
But other than marketing your wares and your services, an optin list can also be used to earn extra profit. Not all lists can be used though. It would be good to first build a successful list with a huge number of subscribers. The more subscribers you have, the more money you can get. Here are seven ways to make money using nothing more than your list.
- Place advertisements. There are many corporations who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would just rather place ads with lists that have a huge subscriber base. Your newsletter could be placed with many ads and each one spells money.
- Have affiliations with other companies that have at least a semblance or relation to what your site is about. Here other companies will provide links and brief descriptions of what they offer, products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This P4P or pay for performance.
- Make deals with other companies by asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list. With every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter, the other company will pay you a small percentage of your sales. The more people who buys from them, the more earnings you get.
- You may also get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list via your newsletter. Place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your newsletter. There will be those who will buy from you and when that happens, you can order the product from the other site and sell it to your buyer.
- Sell ebooks or a compilation of your articles on your list. Manuals and how-to articles are in great demand. Many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic and subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an ebook could be offered and sold or used as an incentive.
- Create a network out of your list. Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list is, the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.
- Subscribers are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners. Your list will be the bloodline of your growth and increase.
Building Your List With Paid Advertising & Ad SwapsSome internet marketers can be clueless when it comes to unleashing the full potential of paid email advertising. One of the most common dilemmas is that whether should the marketer advertise the product or service he is selling directly to the subscribers of the email he is paying advertising for?
This can be a wise method, but with ifs and buts. For one, the advertisement must be compelling and attention grabbing. Secondly, there is no telling if the email’s subscribers constantly practice a buying habit until you put some money to find out.
Investing even a small sum of money can be risky to any marketer that is on a tight budget. But in spite of the risk factors, email advertising can still be rewarding, if done right.
Thus the solution: the marketer would be wiser if he or she uses email advertising to build his or her mailing list. It makes sense, anyway. Since some emails display more than one sponsored advertisement, you can grab the subscriber’s attention by giving a free or risk-free product or offer through your ad.
When the subscriber clicks on your ad, he or she can opt into your mailing list in exchange for the free offer, which can be a free report or even a trial service.
While you are not making a hard sell through your advertisement just yet, building your list by getting other email subscribers subscribed to your email allows you to follow up with them in the future, as and when you have new offers.
Now let's talk a little bit about using ad swaps to build you list.
This is a little used technique you can implement to build your mailing list for no additional cost. I call it “using subscribers to make subscribers” like much in the context of “using money to make money”.
This simple list building formula can be summed up in two words: ad swap.
Generally, you trade advertisements with other email publishers, preferably of the same mailing list size or bigger. You broadcast the email publisher’s advertisement to your mailing list while the email publisher endorses your ad to his list. Yes, you are actually cross endorsing or cross promoting each others offer to each of your mailing list.
Your advertisement’s goal should be to get as many subscribers possible from the other email publisher’s mailing list to sign up for yours.
The result: you grow your mailing list. This method does not require money, which means it can be done for free. And the return of subscribers? Infinite!
You only have to do this with one email publisher at least once, because his subscribers who are also your subscribers can now be followed up within the boundaries of your mailing list.
Perform ad swaps with as many email publishers as possible and soon, you will have a huge mailing list of your own, built free.
The All Important Subject LineThe race for supremacy in the internet based businesses has been really heating up and many sites have been put up to help others to get ahead for a small fee. But there are also ways in which you don’t have to pay so much to make yourself a good list of loyal followers. Having a satisfied web traffic and visitors allows you to put up a foundation wherein you can build an optin list and make it grow from there.
An optin list allows you to provide newsletters to your subscribers with their consent. When people sign up, they know that they will be receiving updates and news from your site and the industry your represent via an e-mail. But that doesn't mean that all of those who subscribe read them at all. Many lists have been built due to an attachment with free software or for a promotional discount and such. Some are not really interested in receiving e-mails from companies and just treat them as waste of cyberspace and delete or trash them without so much as opening the e-mail and scanning them.
You can change all that. While forwarding an email message is relatively after producing your newsletter. Getting people to open them is not as easy. You don’t want to waste all the time and effort used in making the newsletters, you want people to read them and have their interests piqued. Interested enough to go to your website and look around and most especially purchased and acquire your products or services.
One of the numerous ways you can tempt or persuade your subscriber is by providing a well thought out and well written subject. The subject of an email is what is often referred to when a person or a recipient of an email decides whether he or she wants to open or read an e-mail. The subject could easily be regarded as one of the most important aspect of your promotional e-mail.
Your subject must be short and concise. They should provide a summary for the content of the e-mail so that the recipient will have basic knowledge of the content. This is really vital in grabbing the attention of your readers and subscribers. You want your subject to instantly grab the attention of your subscriber and get them to be intrigued to open up your mail. Remember, it is not necessarily true that a subscriber opens up subscribed mails.
A good subject must always be tickling the curiosity of your recipient. It must literally force the recipient to open the mail. A certain emotion must be ignited and get them to open the mail. It is essential to use specific words to get the reaction you need. Keep in mind that the recipient or subscribers spends only a few seconds looking over each subject of the e-mails he receives. You must grab your reader’s attention right away.
There are many forms you can use for your subject. You can provide a subject that says your email contains content that teaches them tips and methods on certain topics. An example of this is using keywords and keyword phrases such as, “How to” , “tips”, “Guides to”, Methods in and others like that.
You can also put your subject in a question form. These may include questions like, “Are you sick and tired of your job?” Or “Is your boss always on your case?” Try to stay on the topic that pertains to your site so that you'll know that your subscribers have signed up because they are interested in that topic. This form of subject is very effective because they reach out to your recipients emotions. When they have read the question on your subject, their mind starts answering the question already.
You can also use a subject that commands your reader. Statements such as “Act now and get this once in a lifetime opportunity”, or “Double, triple and even quadruple what you are earning in one year”. This type of subject deals with the benefits your company provides with your product and services.
You may also use breaking news as your subject to intrigue your subscriber. For example, if you deal with car engine parts you can write in your subject, “Announcing the new engine that uses no gasoline, It runs on water”. This creates curiosity with the reader and will lead them to open the mail and read on.
Tactics You Should Avoid When you decide to have an optin list, it is not just a matter of sending your subscribers your promotional newsletters or catalogs. There are many things to consider in avoiding many complications. While there are so many ways you can make people subscribe to your list, there are also some things you must do to avoid subscribers from wanting to get off from your list.
Aside from that, you also want to avoid any problems with the law and your internet service provider or ISP. There are now many laws and rules that are applied to help protect the privacy of the internet users from spamming and unwanted mails. With the popularity of the electronic mail as a medium for marketing because of the low cost, many companies have seized the opportunity and have flooded many people’s e-mail accounts with promotional mail.
But, with an optin list, you avoid this annoyance because people subscribe to the list; they want to receive the newsletters and promotional materials. They have consented to being on the list by subscribing themselves, just don’t forget to put an unsubscribe feature every time in your optin list so that you avoid any confusion. There may be times when an email account was provided when the real owner didn't want to subscribe.
It is essential that you keep your list clean and manageable. Arrange it by using the many tools and technologies available for your optin list. Do not worry; your investment in this marketing strategy is well worth it with all the coverage you will get which will likely be converted into sales then to profit.
Keep yourself and your business out of trouble and potential run-ins with the law and the internet service providers. Keep your operation legit and clean. Your reputation as a legitimate businessman and a legitimate site depends on your being a straight and true marketing strategist. As a tip, here are three things to avoid when emailing your list.
- Take notice of your unsuccessful sends. These are the emails that bounce. Bounced emails, also known as undeliverable messages, are those messages that, for whatever reason, were not successfully received by the intended recipient.
There are bounces that happen or occur because the server was busy at that time but can still be delivered in another time. There are also bounces because the inbox of the recipient is full at that time. There are those bounce messages that are simply undeliverable ever. The reason for this is that it may be an invalid email address, a misspelled email address, or an email address that was abandoned and erased already.
Manage your list by putting markings on those that bounce. Erase an email account from your list so that you have an accurate statistics and records as to how many are actually receiving your mail. You may also want to check the spellings of your email addresses in your list. One common mistake is when an N instead of an M is placed in the .com area.
- Always provide an unsubscribe feature in your site and an unsubscribe link in your mails. When someone in your list files a request to be unsubscribed, always take that request seriously. If you don’t take them off your list and keep sending them your e-mails, you are now sending them spam mail.
When you are reported as a spammer, you and your business can get into a lot of trouble. You can be reported to the authorities and maybe blacklisted by many internet service providers. You will lose a lot of subscribers this way and many more in potential subscribers.
- Do not provide pornographic or shocking and disturbing content in your newsletters (obviously). It is hard to decipher the age of the recipient and many complaints may stem from these. Controversial issues also are to be avoided to not be branded by your subscribers. Stick to the nature of your site and business.
Always remember these tips in this article so that you can have a healthy relationship with your subscribers as well as be kept within the boundaries of what is allowed in sending mails to an optin list.
Buying Bulk Email AddressesI am sure that you have definitely come across advertisements that read: “1,000,000 email addresses for $29.99”. And these bulk mail companies can even offer you these names in a CD at your doorstep.
Sure, having 1,000,000 subscribers is the best thing that could ever happen to any Internet Marketer and often sounds too good to be true. But very often, it always sound too good to be true.
What many beginning marketers do not really know is that these bulk companies harvest the email addresses using robots and other wares on the Internet. That is how the 1,000,000 email addresses come about, whatever the amount is.
Now, the really awful part is that if you purchase the so-called 1,000,000 names even at a low price, not only is it a waste of money, you are risking being accused of spamming. It is no longer a surprise how you often receive spam mails on get rich quick schemes, OEM Software and things you do not even need in your inbox.
That is so possible, because of the 1,000,000 names, no one knows you or even ask to be subscribed to your mailing list.
On top of that, not all 1,000,000 email addresses are really in use because a portion of them can be owned by the same person or they are obsolete. When you read such ads again, tell yourself that it is a waste of money. Bottom line, just don't do it.
Some Simple Landing Page TipsIf a person visits your website and leaves, chances are that he or she will not come back, especially if there are no compelling reasons to do so. After all, we all behave rather impulsively on the Internet, so much so that we can easily forget where we were 10 web pages ago.
But the bottom line is that your visitor may not come back to your website again. If 1,000 visitors visit your website, leave and never come back again, you can imagine the amount of potential revenue lost, simply because they do not come back. You could have converted a fraction of the visitors into your customers.
Some may say that creating unique content can keep some of the visitors coming back, but very often, unique content is not the solution. The real, long-term solution lies in converting your visitors into subscribers of your mailing list.
Before your visitor leaves your website, you want to convert him or her into your subscriber via a simple optin to your mailing list. You do this by asking for your visitor’s name and email address through your optin form.
And if your visitor signs up to be on your mailing list, you can still follow up with him via email. You can get your subscriber to consider your offer, or endorse another offer to him or her.
All in all, you want to convert as many visitors into subscribers as possible and obtain the potential revenue you rightfully deserve – the easy, wise way. Now let's go over a few landing page tips that you can use to increase your response rates.
Also known as the “name squeeze page” or “lead capture page”, you can build your mailing list by funneling all of your would-be subscribers through the creation of a landing page. Not only do you do the work just once, your traffic driving efforts can be focused onto just one effective method.
The following are tips in creating a successful landing page that converts visitors into subscribers on a very huge percentage.
- Offer a freebie in exchange for your visitor’s email address. I very much endorse this method of building your mailing list. You can offer a special report or a sample of your paid product to your visitor in exchange for their details such as name and email address.
- The landing page must be written professionally. When writing your page, treat it as if you are writing a sales letter. While you are not necessarily making a hard sale or try to get someone to buy your product upfront, being able to entice your visitors to give their details to you is just as important as selling.
- Other than your optin form and perhaps important disclaimers and terms, there shouldn't be any other links on your landing page.
- Rub in the benefits of the freebie you are offering more than a mere subscription to your newsletter. You should focus most of the attention of the letter on encouraging your prospective visitor to download your free offer. Later, you gently remind your prospect that he or she has nothing to pay but just merely subscribe to your newsletter in exchange for the freebie.
As a final reminder, in order to build trust, you can include your photo of yourself explaining where you are coming from and how you can help your visitor through your free report on offer.
Topic: List Building - An Overview (Read 6768 times)