List Building Course – 4 Killer List Building Tips
So you want to build a list?
Are you looking for practical guidance; for an easy-to-follow list building course?
Listen, I will assume that you are already aware that growing your own list of subscribers is absolutely necessary when it comes to building a successful online business.
Many Internet marketing experts go as far as saying that it is nearly impossible to make a consistent amount of money online if you fail to build your list.
And yes, I am one of those experts who feel that list building should be the #1 priority of every online business.
So without further ado, here are four (4) quick tips that can help you build a cash-producing opt-in list:
Create a Lead Capture Page: You will not be able to capture a single person’s name and email address if you do not have a lead capture page. In case you don’t know, a lead capture page is a simple one-page website that is designed to give your visitors two (2) simple choices, which are: Join your list or leave your website.
Size Doesn’t Matter: That’s right, contrary to popular believe, size doesn’t really matter when it comes to building a list of subscribers. It is in you best interest to focus on quality, not quantity.
Think about it; would you rather have a list of (A) 1,000,000 subscribers who can careless about reading your emails, or a list of (B) just 1,000 people who actually look forward to hearing from you?
Well, I hope you went with option because that is what would definitely make you the most money.
Avoid Buying Subscribers: You see, there are many companies on the internet that sell subscribers. Yes, you can actually purchase millions of names and email addresses and get yourself an “instant” opt-in list. Beware! You will only throw away your money, as this so called “opt-in lists” are filled with untargeted prospects; therefore, you’ll be lucky to make $1 from them.
Respect Your Subscribers: Your subscribers will buy from you only if you treat them right. Do not abuse their trust by selling them junk or recommending affiliate products that you haven’t actually reviewed. Breaking the simple “respect” rule will result in a huge number of people unsubscribing from your list and not to mention the fact that you’ll taint your reputation.
Well there you have it… four quick but killer list building tips. Now get out there, build a list and make some money!
Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new list building course, ‘Critical List Building’
Download it free here:
http://CriticalListBuilding.com/vip/
Do Your Readers See What You See?
You’ve set up a beautiful email campaign. Your copy is tight, your graphics are eye-catching, you are just sure the click-through rate will be more than respectable.
But are you sure your readers are seeing what you see?
In a recent survey by Epsilon, 48 percent of respondents said that the images in their email clients are “sometimes or always” turned off. Experts expect this number to increase in 2008, as fears of viruses and spyware increase. And, with email clients and platforms getting more sophisticated many of your readers will have image suppression set as their default.
The only way to guarantee the success of your next email campaign is to assume that none of your readers can see any of your images. Sure, it sounds harsh – but do you really want to risk alienating over 48 percent of your subscribers?
By following these best practices, you can ensure better results with your next email campaign:
1. It is critical that you use images to support your message, not convey your message. Never use an image as a headline, or in place of text. Never use an image to express an idea that is not repeated in the copy.
2. Always include an alt tag with all of your graphics. And be sure the tag is descriptive enough to actually take the place of the image. Also, adding captions to any applicable images will help in two ways: first, it will provide necessary information to readers who can not see your image, and secondly, eye tracking studies prove that captions do get read a majority of the time.
3. Be sure to tell your subscribers how to turn the images on in their email clients. I suggest creating a confirmation page with whitelisting instructions and image display instructions. Take your customer to this page immediately after he subscribes to your mailing list. Repeat the instructions in your confirmation email.
4. Create a web-based version of your email and include a link to it in each of your campaigns. Many readers want to see your graphics, but they don’t want to take the time – or they don’t know how – to adjust their email clients.
5. Always offer a text only version of your email campaign during the subscription process. And, since some readers will be accessing their email from multiple clients, such as Outlook when they’re in the office and web mail when they’re on the road, include a link to the text only version in each of your html campaigns.
As hackers and spyware and viruses become more prevalent and email clients become more complex, it is important for marketers to stay on top of the best practices and conventions. So, follow these steps for now in all of your email marketing campaigns, but beware, the rules are sure to change sometime in the near future.
Karen Scharf offers several whitepapers, free reports and checklists, including her FREE email pre-flight checklist to ensure your emails get delivered, get opened and get read. Download your copies at http://www.modernimage.com/freereports/preflight.htm
The 3 Best eZine Formats
When choosing a topic to publish your ezine on, you must consider some important success factors that can determine the flow and goal of your ezine.
You are encouraged to write non-time sensitive contents such as short tips, mini stories and interviews. Doing so enables you to create content in advance so that you can conveniently dispense to your subscribers at a later schedule.
Topic-wise, you will do well to cater to a starving market that will always be on demand for the kind of content you offer. And by this, I mean that you should zero in onto a demand that has been, is and will always be there.
Relationships and dating are niches that have been on Earth long before the World Wide Web came up, for example. The food niche will always be there as long as there are chefs cooking for anyone with a stomach to fill.
Having said that, you also want to have a steady stream of products or services of your own or an affiliate for you can endorse to your mailing list and make even more money.
This is also the reason why the internet marketing niche will remain one of the hottest niches there is, as products and services are created almost around the clock. As long as there Internet Businesses cropping out, there will always be needs to be fulfilled.
eZine publishers today use any one or more of the 3 most commonly used eZine formats which I am about to describe to you in this article.
Ultimately, you can decide which format is the best choice for you, though each winning format has its pros and cons.
The text eZine is the most commonly published. The advantage of this format is that other than writing, you do not require any special skill to use a Word or Notepad program.
While the HTML eZine format requires a certain degree of HTML skills on your part, you can add more sophisticated features to your eZine issues, making them more appealing to your subscriber thus increases your readership value, something that text eZines do not have.
You can decorate your eZine format, change your fonts, include pictures, and more. However, the drawback often faced by HTML eZines is that they often get trapped into spam filters before they reach their subscribers’ inboxes.
The third and least used among the 3 formats is the PDF eZine. Publishing your eZine in PDF format can consume a lot of time and effort on your part but often make up in quality readership
Due to the commitment, PDF eZines are usually published on a monthly basis. The great part, though, is that you can put in your affiliate links in your PDF eZine issue and allow your subscribers to pass the eZine issue around.
Given the choices, however, you do not have to necessarily choose strictly one eZine format, as some eZine publishers today do publish in more than one format.
Jo Han Mok is the author of the #1 international business bestseller, The E-Code.
He shares his amazing blueprint for creating million dollar internet businesses
at: http://www.InternetMillionaireBlueprints.com
16 Benefits and Tips To Submitting Articles To E-zines
This may come as a surprise… but ezine advertising is one of the most effective ways to advertise online.
People are not effectively using article and ezine advertising as they should be… I mean it is the best form of FREE targeted lifetime traffic.
1. You’ll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in your resource box.
Get every last out out of every promotion you do… this is achieved by branding.
Get your site and service out there.
2. You will become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against your competition.
This will continue to build as time goes along. It will take the snowball effect on your business and traffic as well.
3. Your article might also be placed on the publisher’s home page. If they publish each issue on their home page this will give you some extra exposure.
This can be achieved by writing valuable content… why would you want to hold the best stuff back?
You have to give the best stuff on every article.
Putting a random 500 words together will do no good for exposure.
4. You might get extra exposure if the e-zine publisher archives their e-zine on their site. People might want to read the back issues before they make the decision to subscribe.
Again you have to get them out there to achieve this. Time is ticking… get to work.
5. You will get free advertising. This will allow you to spend your profits on other forms of advertising. You could buy advertisements in other e-zines that don’t publish your articles.
Always re-invest a portion of your profits back into your business so it will grow and keep growing.
6. You might get extra income from people wanting to hire you to write other articles, books, or even ask to speak at seminars. This is a great way to multiply your income.
Again you must be putting on the valuable content first to achieve this, don’t hold anything back.
7. You could allow e-zine publishers to publish your articles in their free e-books. Since people give them away, your advertising could multiply all over the internet.
Make sure they know not to alter any of the content or links so you can make sure you will profit from it.
8. You will get your article published all over the web when you submit it to an e-zine publisher that has a free content directory on their web site. They’ll allow their visitors to republish your article.
Let the viral marketing take it’s effect.
9. You’ll gain people’s trust. If they read your article and like it, they won’t be as hesitant to buy your product or service. You will then be able to increase your profits.
10. You could get your article guaranteed to run in an e-zine. You could agree to run one of their articles in your e-zine if, in exchange, they run yours in their e-zine. It’s a win/win situation.
11. Develop an enticing title
By choosing a question for the title of your article, you involve your reader in your article. Interaction is a key to successful ezine article writing. You need your reader to WANT to read on.
Curiosity is a powerful tool that can be harnessed with a question title. Example: “What’s Wrong With Your Advertising? Check These 5 Things”
12. Make the article informative and useful, and without hype or jargon
13. Keep it focused on a relatively narrow topic
14. Keep the length under 1,250 words
15. Proofread to ensure there are no typos, punctuation or grammar errors
16. End with an author’s box of less than six lines, complete with short bio, email address, web URL and telephone number
Develop a list of article archives and ezines that publish features on your area of expertise.
These hot tips will explode your article marketing.
You can apply any of these 10 tips and an increase online sales.
Steven Gwillim is a internet marketing top gun and expert affiliate marketer…
You can download a FREE copy a $97 valued FREE e-book titled “Discover How To Make Your First $1000 Online In 30 Days” at http://www.ewenchiaautopilotprofits.com/ {Steve’s Partner site)