Always Treat Your List Right
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
I recently returned home from a short 9 day holiday with my family. We had a great time. For once I decided (reluctantly) not to take my pc with me on holiday… I simply wanted to spend as much quality time with my family as possible. 
However, I did spend a lot of time thinking about online marketing in general and my list in particular during some long walks on the beach… Sometimes it is good idea to put some distance between you and your pc just to clear the cobwebs and to get a fresh perspective on things.
Well, upon my return I had more than 700 new emails (all internet marketing related) in my inbox! As I started pruning my inbox I noticed that several emails were about list building. By the way, I actually deleted most of the emails before reading them but that is another story…
What I found interesting were the conflicting views of some very reputable marketers on the subject of list building. Let’s call it Scenario 1 and Scenario 2:
Scenario 1
Use a squeeze page to capture as many new subscribers as possible. Feed the new subscribers into an autoresponder sequence that will automatically email them on a daily basis. In addition, do a broadcast message to your entire list every day. Every email should be about one product you are promoting.
Scenario 2
Work on building a relationship with your list. Do something that will make you stand out from the crowd and grab the attention of your list members. Try to offer as much helpful free content as possible. Don’t try to pitch a new product with every email.
I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but I noticed an increase in the number of forum posts this week about list building. Some list owners were complaining that their list members were not very responsive while other people complained about receiving too many emails and how they have unsubscribed from multiple lists.
It is a tricky issue… We are always told that it is very important to build a list. The emphasis is normally on building a huge list and not on how to treat your list.
Personally, I believe it is important to build a list. But, I also believe what is even more important is how you treat your list!
I sometimes get the impression that many marketers have no problem building a list but are often clueless on what to do with the list…
There are several issues that should be considered…
In defense of ‘Scenario 1’ – New list members are often more responsive than ‘old’ list members. They are normally more curious as well. Chances are that if they do not buy anything from you within the first couple of weeks after joining your list they will never buy anything from you and will either unsubscribe at some point in time or will pretty much ignore your future emails.
There are several marketers whose emails I used to read from A to Z in the beginning when I just joined their lists and whose emails I hardly ever read anymore…
Furthermore, many new marketers get disillusioned with internet marketing for a variety of reasons. In fact, I have read somewhere that the average new marketer quits within the first six months after starting! Changes are that many ‘old’ members have long ago lost interest in what you may have to say!
Anyway, in my opinion ‘Scenario 1’ can only really work over a short-term period. Most people do not want to receive daily emails. Most people do not want to read emails that are nothing more than advertisements (I was tempted to write ‘junk mail’). Your list members will very quickly unsubscribe or become unresponsive.
The big problem with ‘Scenario 1’ is list fatigue. It can only work if you are continuously adding new members to your list in the hope that they will buy something while they are still fresh.
I have no doubt that ‘Scenario 1’ can make you lots of money over the short term. But, unless you can add loads of new subscribers all the time you will quickly end up with a dead list.
Please allow me a minute to quickly digress… Some marketers have told me that they have to email their list every day because they are promoting very cheap products and need to sell quite a number of those in order to make a living. I don’t want to comment on the merits of this approach. The only thing I want to say that you have to plan ahead and select a business model that will work for you.
Okay, let’s consider ‘Scenario 2’ for a moment…
In short, it’s all about building a relationship with your list and offering loads of valuable and free content. This does not mean that you’ll never pre-sell, sell or promote any products to your list.
Most of your members will have no problem if you pre-sell, sell or promote products, as long as that’s not all you do.
Let’s compare it for a moment to a free magazine that gets delivered to your post box once a week… If this magazine contains nothing but ads, chances are you will quickly lose interest in it and think of it as nothing else but ‘junk mail’.
However, if this free magazine contains loads of interesting and often useful articles you will probably think of it in a completely different light. You will have no problem with the fact that it contains ads. Why? Because you understand that no magazine can survive financially without a single source of income.
In my opinion, the same principles apply to email marketing. It’s very logical when you think about it… Most people are reasonable and don’t expect to get everything in life for free. If they do, and unsubscribe from your list, it’s no loss!
Let’s quickly touch on the subject of relationships…
By building a ‘relationship’ with your list I am obviously not talking about building close and personal friendships… Yes, I have made many new friends through the years thanks to my ezine. But, this is not what building a relationship with your list is all about.
For me the two most important elements in building a relationship with your list are TRUST and RESPECT!
Trust + Respect = Credibility!
People are not going to take anything you say seriously if they do not trust and respect you. Furthermore, ‘trust’ and especially ‘respect’ is something you have to earn. It does not happen overnight… But, it is very easy to destroy your credibility overnight!
In my opinion, there is no better way of establishing credibility than by providing your list with quality content.
Too many marketers make the mistake of seeing their list as a ‘cash cow’ that can be milked whenever they want to! They promote absolute rubbish as the next best thing since sliced bread as long as they can earn big commissions. In other words, they don’t really care a rat’s ass about their list.
I have said it many times before, but I would like to say it again… Your main motivation should never be to milk your list members. It should be to HELP THEM!
Well, I guess by now it should be pretty clear that I believe in ‘Scenario 2’. It may not be as profitable as ‘Scenario 1’ over the short term but if you are serious about building a long term business it is the best way to go.
One last thing…
Why is building a database so important to most companies? Yes, it’s a lot easier and cheaper to market to targeted prospects and existing customers than to find new customers all the time!
I am often surprised how some marketers work very hard to find new prospects but treat their current list members very poorly… It makes no sense to me!
Your list is one of the most important assets you can build in online marketing. Look after your list. Treat your members well and you will be handsomely rewarded. Treat your members poorly or abuse their trust and you will end up with a non-responsive list in no time at all.
Trust you have enjoyed reading or listening to this post. As always, I look forward to reading your comments!
To YOUR Online Marketing Success!
Francois du Toit
Your Host Francois du Toit
