Every time you turn around these days, people are telling
you that you need to have "a big list". Is this true?
"Yes. . .and no."
Truth is, you must have a list of qualified prospects who
relate to you AND who want to purchase the products and
services you offer.
Let's break that down.
*"qualified prospects" = Individuals in your target market
who look forward to hearing from you and for whom you
provide valuable information. If you are sending
bookkeeping tips to gardeners, for example, they are likely
to unsubscribe as the information is not valuable *to them*.
*"who relate to you" = You want to build a relationship
through your writing so your readers come to know, like and
trust you. They need to understand that you will not be
"here today and gone tomorrow" and that you have THEIR best
interests at heart.
*"who want to purchase" = It doesn't matter if you believe
your prospects NEED your information. What matters is that
THEY feel they need/want it. You could sell healthy eating
books to obese men, but if they don't want to eat healthy,
they will not purchase your book.
A solid list is the foundation of any online or offline
business -- regardless of your industry.
For example, if you have a list of 10,000 readers and you
announce a $20 product and 5% purchase it, you just made
$10,000 in revenue.
If you announce the same $20 product to a list of 3,000
dedicated readers and 25% purchase, you just made $15,000
in revenue.
Now that we agree QUALITY OVER QUANTITY is best, here are
some ways to build your quality list:
1. Article Marketing.
Can't emphasize this enough. If you're writing articles
(and if you're not, time to start!), you need to be posting
them on article directory sites such as EzineArticles.com
and BestManagementArticles.com.
2. Article Publishing.
Article publishing is another way to market your articles
-- only instead of posting them to directories, you contact
ezine publishers and associations and ask them if they
would like to publish your article in one of their upcoming
newsletter issues.
You want to be sure to contact publishers in complementary,
not competing, industries or niches.
3. Public Speaking.
Standing in front of a group, whether it be a networking
event or workshop, is one of THE best ways to build your
list. Through your one presentation, you've built a rapport
with your audience -- they've seen you, they've heard you
and they've connected with you.
If you're not comfortable with public speaking, start with
a small, local networking event such as your Chamber of
Commerce or BNI meeting or join a group such as
ToastMasters.
4. Joint Ventures.
Do you know someone with a quality list who speaks to the
same audience as you? Is there any way you can partner with
them on a project and have them promote you/your newsletter
to their list?
5. Co-registration.
Think of "co-registration" as a strategic partnership. You
promote my newsletter on your ezine sign-up or thank you
page and I promote yours. When someone signs up for my
newsletter, they are taken to a "thank you" page which
could include your newsletter name and a link to sign-up.
This helps each of us build our list through partnership --
just like with article publishing however, you want to
insure that you contact people in complementary, not
competing industries.
There are hundreds of ways you can build your list. I've
given you five of the most effective ways to build a
QUALIFIED list. Are you ready?
Coaching Challenge:
Pull out your marketing plan and look at your list building
activities -- if at least 3 of the above 5 aren't on it,
ask yourself "why" and then see which you are comfortable
adding.
----------------------------------------------------
For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing
self-employed business owners how to get more clients
consistently by implementing processes and systems to put
their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at
http://www.SandraMartini.com for details, compelling client
testimonials and her free audio series "5 Simple and Easy
Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot".
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