In anticipation of an upcoming launch of Jeff Walker's
Product Launch Formula 2, I told my list that I was going
to offer a solo mailing to one of my lists of over 120,000.
This immediately started a flood of emails asking how they
could order early... something that I anticipated.
The second flood of emails asked how I had managed to build
such a huge database. Rather than answering that second
question in individual emails, I decided to answer it with
this article.
First of all, I should point out that I've been in business
online since late-1996, and have been slowly building my
lists almost since the very beginning. So, I didn't
accomplish this overnight. Still, I know that you can
build a huge list rather quickly if you use the right
techniques.
Here are some of my favorite list-building techniques:
1) Put a sign-up form on every page of your websites,
except for direct sales pages where it would interrupt the
flow too much. Next to that sign-up form, give a powerful
reason why they need to join your list, and ask them to
take action.
Next to the sign-up form, assure them that you will protect
them from spam. Also post a few testimonials as proof of
the value your newsletter provides.
2) Write information-packed articles and distribute them
everywhere appropriate. I've written over 850
information-packed article on the topic of Internet
marketing. Those articles demonstrate my expertise, share
useful information, and bring visitors to my websites ready
to join my lists.
I believe in sharing a lot of cutting edge information in
my articles. Many people only drop hints, but I'm not
afraid of sharing too much. The reason is that knowledge
grows exponentially, and since I'm constantly learning new
things, I can never teach you everything that I know.
Since I don't fear running out of useful information that
you will value, my articles are genuinely helpful, and that
generates lots of loyal subscribers.
3) Write information-packed, inexpensive ebooks and then
allow affiliates to sell them for most of the profit.
I create a steady stream of ebooks - largely expansions of
my articles - and then I set up affiliate programs where
affiliates earn as much as 100% commission. Money is a
great motivator for getting others to send you lots of new
"paying" customers and subscribers
My favorite tool for setting up these "ebook traffic
magnets" is Sid Hale's Rapid Action Profits script. This
script allows you to set up a system where an affiliate
earns INSTANT commissions which are paid directly to their
Paypal accounts.
High commissions are a great motivator for people to send
you new potential subscribers. When those commissions are
paid instantly to affiliates who often have cash-flow
problems, it's like pouring gasoline on a fire.
You'll find Sid's Rapid Action Profits System at:
http://TheRealSecrets.com/RapidActionProfits/
4) Run pay-per-click campaigns... when the math makes
sense. This is something that I don't see a lot of my
competitors doing. However, when I know that my
conversions rates or backend profits are sufficient, I
often run pay-per-click ads... sometimes even for free
items.
With pay-per-clicks, you need to closely monitor your
results. You also need a good idea of the lifetime value
of a new customer or subscriber. To me, it makes perfect
sense to lose a dollar to gain a new highly qualified
subscriber.
If you're paying attention, you'll notice numerous Internet
marketers who run promotions where they pay a dollar or
more for referrals who simply opt-in to a list. I
essentially do the same thing when using pay-per-clicks.
With pay-per-clicks you reach new subscribers who may not
already be on a dozen other marketers' lists.
5) Use free giveaways where appropriate. I contribute to,
and help to promote free giveaways, when they are well
managed and the quality is high. I've built large lists
doing this and have a friend who got over 5000 subscribers
from one of his first giveaways. I've written about how I
do that many times before.
The key with free giveaways is that you need to offer a
gift of high enough value that your new subscribers
instantly bond with you. You still have to develop the
relationship, but your gift should start it on a positive
note.
Many people who participate in free giveaways offer
"absolute garbage." Once their new subscriber downloads
their free "gift" and look through it, they HAVE to feel
insulted.
My rule is to always offer a gift that's good enough to
sell. I was humored when, in one recent giveaway, I
contributed resale rights to one of my new ebooks, along
with a rough website. Before the giveaway was even over, at
least one fast-acting individual had my ebook set up using
the Rapid Action Profits script mentioned in number three,
above.
6) Give away free viral ebooks. Write ebooks on topics that
you know a lot of people are interested in. In those ebooks
recommend specific solutions to problems, and include
affiliate links to buy those products. Make some of those
links rebrandable.
If the ebooks are filled with lots of useful information,
AND they have links that can be rebranded, then you have an
ebook that should go viral. People are incentivized to
spread it!
In these ebooks, offer some type of a free bonus... perhaps
an audio recording, or a template, or free piece of
software, but require readers to visit your website to get
this bonus. On your site, require them to register, or
join your mailing list, to get the freebie.
If the original ebook delivered tremendous value, then the
new potential subscriber will have no objection to joining
your list. If the free ebook offered marginal value, then
they have to assume that your other "gift" will be more of
the same, and so they won't subscribe.
For creating viral ebooks, I recommend using the "Viral
Document Toolkit" a next-generation PDF brander created by
David Schwartz. The Viral Document Toolkit allows you to
easily create rebrandable documents where you can specify
links, and text that can be rebranded. You can even specify
rather large BLOCKS of text as rebrandable... and even
rebrand hyperlinked images! You create a rebrandable
ebook, and then pass along the ebook (with most parts
locked, but some parts changeable) along with the rebrander
tool, to your subscribers, website visitors, customers,
etc. Since they can profit from changing the ebook, they
happily spread it, and in the process build you a huge list.
You'll find the Viral Document Toolkit at:
http://ViralDocumentToolkit.com
David finished testing the Viral Document Toolkit software
March 1st, 2008, so you'll be using a tool that 99.9% of
your competitors will have never seen. VDT is actually so
revolutionary that NO ONE other than a few of David's
closest friends have even been allowed to touch it, until
now.
If you make your new viral ebooks good enough, you may be
pleasantly surprised to see your competitors promoting them
;-)
6) Take massive action and do it immediately. One of my
secrets to building my database so large is that when I'm
shown a new tool or technique, and it passes "the common
sense test," then I put it to immediate use... provided it
doesn't distract me from something more urgent that I'm
already working on.
Many of my contemporaries, and subscribers, complained
about having no list as long as five years ago. Many of
them still use that same excuse for why they've not made
any real business growth progress.
I'm not sure why this is since all of the techniques that
I, and that many of my mentors use, are so simple... and
even obvious!
The key is not to over-analyze things. That traps you into
"paralysis by analysis." Instead, get into the habit of
doing while others are still "thinking about it."
My friend, Dr. Joe Vitale, taught me that "money loves
speed!"
I've just shared with you some of the techniques that I've
used to build a massive subscriber database. Of course, I
can't cover every technique that I use in this short
article. I will close by sharing that part of the key to
growing your list is actually retaining the subscribers
after you get them. To do that, you merely need to deliver
tremendous content telling them how to solve their most
pressing problems.
Simple - right?
----------------------------------------------------
Willie Crawford is an internationally-acclaimed speaker,
author, seminar and radio show host, and leading Internet
marketing expert. When not out fishing in the Gulf of
Mexico, Willie enjoys sharing his 11 1/2 years of online
marketing experience with his ezine subscribers. Join them
at: http://WillieCrawford.com/blog/
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