Online Marketing From Home

They say the money is in the list… And, they are right! Well, sort off… It really depends a lot on how you treat your list, why people signed up in the first place and how / where you found your list members…

Anyway, how do you go about building a list? Let’s make it more interesting… How do you go about building a list for free?

Many people simply set up a website or blog, sign up with a company such as Aweber, place an opt-in form on their website or blog and wait for people to sign up for their ‘newsletter’ by offering them some free content such as a free report, video or audio course.

Well, should you place an opt-in form on your website or blog it? Sure. Are you going to get a lot of new subscribers this way? Not necessarily… Unless you are able to drive a lot of traffic to your website or blog and give people a very good reason to opt-in! Your average website or blog will probably not get more than two or three signups a day…

Here are two free list building strategies that have worked very well for me…

1. Free Reports

How it works…

You compile a good quality report on a hot topic that you know your target market is interested in and set up a squeeze page to collect names and email addresses. Set it up in such a way that a new subscriber must first confirm his request for information before he gets a copy of your report.

Even a free report must be sold. I get many offers every week for free reports and ignore the majority of them simply because my time is valuable and the fact that I am offered something for free does not mean I want it.

You have to convince people that your report will benefit them by highlighting as many benefits as possible. In addition, give them a reason why you are giving it away for free… Many people think that a free report has no real value!

Do not make the mistake of giving away a report that is full of fluff and affiliate links and expect people to opt-in before they can read it. Yes, you will be get new subscribers even if the report is crap. But, subscribers do not pay the bills… customers do! By giving away a crap report you will damage your credibility before you have even started building a relationship with a new subscriber!

If I give away a report as an incentive for someone to subscribe to my list I want them to think only one thing, namely: “If he is willing to give away such high quality information for free I can only imagine how good the content is that he is actually selling!”

Tip: Make a note every time you sign up for a special offer, promotion, free report, etc. How was it presented to you? What made you sign up? Copy and test what seems to be working for others!

Do I need to write my own report?

It depends on how / where you are going to promote the report. Let’s look at a couple of options…

WSO (Warrior Special Offers) at Warrior Forum

Okay, this is not free but for only $20 it’s as good as free… I have gained many subscribers by giving away a report as a WSO. It must be your own report! For example, you cannot list a report for which you have acquired resell rights!

Ad Swap (actually a ‘List Swap’)

This is a great way to build your list!

In principle two marketers agree to cross promote a free product to their respective lists.

Okay, let’s consider some common questions…

Do I need a huge list before I can participate in a list swap?

Short answer… No. Even if you only have a list of say 500 subscribers it can work. If your ‘partner’ has a bigger list he is obviously under no obligation to email his whole list and only needs to send an email to 500 subscribers.

How / Where do I find possible list swap partners?

I suggest contacting other marketers that you feel positive about, for example marketers that post good content on forums and that’s on a similar level to you. In other words, focus on your peers and not on contacting gurus.

What do I say to them?

You have to make a proposal. Here is a short and simplified example…

Hello {name},

I really enjoy reading your posts on {forum} and I think we share very similar views on {topic}.

I am going to get straight to the point…

I am very interested in the possibility of doing a list swap with you. I have a list of {number} double opt-in subscribers and was wondering if you have a report that I can email my list about that they can get for free by subscribing to your list?

I have a very good report about {topic} that I sincerely believe will benefit your list members. Here is a link to my squeeze page and a direct download link for my report – {links}.

I am convinced that by doing a list swap we can both gain a significant number of new and responsive subscribers. In fact, it’s a win-win situation… I am sure your list will appreciate getting my report for free and I know my list loves getting quality content.

I look forward to hearing from you!

All the best,

{Your Name}
{Your Contact Details}

A couple of tips…

Do not send reminders! Once your potential partner has indicated his interest you can suggest a date and time, and provide him with a proposed message that he can email his list (he can obviously edit it or use his own).

If your potential partner is interested in your proposal but does not mention the size of his list or the product he wants you to promote ask him for this information. Do not email your list about a product that you have not reviewed. If the product is crap walk away!

Can I trust my partner to email his list?

It really helps to know your partner and to be on his list before you approach him about a list swap. I have done a couple of list swaps and only had one case where a partner didn’t email his list as he said he would.

Tip: If you get a good report for free from another marketer that’s using it to build his list contact him. You already know he is offering his report for free as an incentive for people to join his list and you have already determined that his report is good.

Lastly, I suggest that you use your own unique report in a list swap. You will look very unprofessional to a potential partner if you do not have your own report. If you want to use a report that you have private label rights for I suggest you completely change the report to make it unrecognizable from the original report!

Giveaways

Participating in a giveaway event as a contributor can be a good way of building your list fast. In fact, it’s recommended by most gurus… But, there are some things you should consider before participating as a contributor…

A typical giveaway event will stipulate that you should have a list of at least 500 people and that you need to promote the giveaway to your list. In addition, many giveaways insist that you only list your own unique product and some even request that it must be a product that you are currently selling.

The more people you refer and that sign up under you the better. You usually get more points for referring new contributors than “normal” members and the number of points you have will determine whether your gift is listed on the 1st page or the 30th page. Obviously the 1st page gets a lot more traffic!

There is normally also an OTO (One Time Offer) when you sign up but that another story…

Is the structure fair? Yes. But, that does not mean it’s always a good idea to participate. No, and here’s why…

Unless you can get your product close to the 1st page you are not going to get a lot of people to opt in to your list in exchange for your free report. I often see claims about how you can add thousands of new members to your list… Take it with a shovel of salt!

What about the new members you gain? Well, chances are they signed up for many other “gifts”. They don’t only have a truckload of new products to digest (serious risk of indigestion or information overload) but they are also getting a lot more emails than before.

Remember that at the end of the day an unresponsive list is as good as having no list and you run the risk that some of your previously responsive list members may be less responsive afterwards.

All in all it’s not a bad way of building your list but I very seldom promote giveaways to my list. I normally only participate when I can buy a spot on the 1st page without having to email my list.

But, do you not always need to be a follower!

Here are two ideas you may want to consider in the future…

One – Host your own giveaway! Why not? Learn from what others are doing and copy what works.

Two – Contact a couple of reputable marketers and set up a Giveaway JV with them. This is a similar to a ‘list swap’ except that instead of only one partner you will now have four or five partners. The products can be placed on the home page of a newly created website and the partner with the biggest list can get the top position. Even if your product is the last of five products listed on that page you will probably get more new subscribers than with a traditional giveaway!

Here is one last tip on building your list with free reports…

Tip: Ever heard of article marketing? Sure you have! Well, why don’t split the free report you have created into several articles and submit it to an article directory such as Ezine Articles? At the end of each article (in your author bio box) you mention that this article is an extract from your special report on whatever topic but that they can get the whole report for free by clicking on the special link you have included (that will take them to your squeeze page). I’ve done it… It works!

2. The $7 Script

Just in case you have not heard about the “$7 Script” here’s how it works…

In a nutshell it gives you the ability to run your own affiliate program from your own website. One of the main benefits of the script is that it can pay affiliates 100% commission straight into their Paypal account immediately after a sale. Once you set it up the script takes care of it.

I am surprised not more people are using it…

I think I know why… People often focus too much on the $7 part (you can actually set your own price) and the 100% commission part… They don’t like the idea of paying affiliates 100% commission. But, you know what? They are missing the point!

As far as I am concerned the main benefit of using the “$7 Script” is list building!

I am sure you have heard of “viral marketing”…. I have seen many people advocate that you should give away a free report and encourage others to give it away as well…

Well, here’s a newsflash…

MOST FREE REPORTS NEVER GO VIRAL!

You know why? Because there is no direct monetary incentive for others to promote it!

Marketers want to make money. When they email their list it’s normally to promote a product that will give them the opportunity of earning money. Telling their list about a free report is simply not a priority. In some cases they will promote a free report if they can rebrand some affiliate links with their own but even this is an exception.

Promoting someone else’s free report with no way of capitalizing on it? Yeah right!

Now consider this for a moment… You write a good report and sell it for $7. Your affiliate only needs to add his Paypal address to the url and will earn 100% commission on every sale he refers. In addition, all the people that bought the report through your affiliates will also be able to promote the report for 100% commission. Can you see how such a report can go viral?

It does not matter that you do not get any money on the front end sales of your affiliates! You basically have an affiliate army that’s building your list for free!

By the way, nothing stops you from adding an OTO! You can for example stipulate that your affiliates will earn a 100% commission on the front end and 50% commission on the OTO!

Before I forget… The “$7 Script” is not an expensive product. In fact, it’s only $7! However, unless you are very familiar with installing scripts it can be tricky to install as the installation instructions are not very clear!

Kevin Riley recently launched a new report called “All-Thumbs Guide To Installing $7 Secrets”. The report only costs $9.95 (last time I checked) and includes a copy of the $7 Script meaning the actual cost is only $2.95 since you don’t need to buy the $7 Script separately. It’s over 50 pages long and includes many screen shots that will walk you step by step through the installation process.

Kevin also mentions several precautions you need to be aware of in order to be compliant with Paypal’s policies! This in itself is worth more than the cost of the report!

Click this link for more info on Kevin Riley’s report: $7 Secrets

Tip: Once you have your first report (that is using the $7 Script) up and running you can list it for free on ‘7 Dollar Offers’!

Here is the direct link to ‘7 Dollar Offers’: 7 Dollar Offers

If you have a bit more money to invest then I highly recommend you take a look at the “Rapid Action Profits Script” by Sid Hale. The best way to describe it is “$7 Script on Steroids”! It’s more expensive and will set you back $177 but it worth every cent and more.

I recently started using the Rapid Action Profits Script and can kick myself for not getting it sooner…

Click this link for more info on the RAP Script: Rapid Action Profits

Okay, there you have it. Some of my best free list building strategies!

As always I welcome your comments and will reply to all questions.

Wishing you all the very best!

Francois du Toit     

Tags: free list building, List Building

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 1:52 pm and is filed under List Building. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.