Looking back, it is practically humorous how ignorant I was! Here are the basics that I wish I would have understood! It all seems so simple now!
The money is in the list~ how to get the list is the question?!
It’s all about the gift. Always lead with value.
We’re in the information era ’knowledge or coaching’ are wonderful gifts! Knowledge in the form of a PDF document; a book, MP3 audio book, newsletter, or video are great ideas. Coaching in the form of individual time or membership sight, will be popular gifts.
In order to get this free gift, a person needs to give their Name and Contact information. The gift must be good enough to motivate someone to pay for it with contact information (so it’s really not FREE ).
After you decide on a free gift, it’s time to start your list. There are really only 2 services that I can recommend for list managing software. Aweber and Get Response.
Aweber’s cost is $1 for the first month, $19/month (about $16/month when 1 year is purchased)
Get Response is free for 0-10 contacts. When your list has built to 11-500 Get Response costs a monthly fee of $18.
Both of these services have wonderful tutorials. Aweber has online help during business hours. They will help you create an Opt/in box – a “form” with a blank space for name and other contact information (what ever you choose, usually at least email address). Both Get Response and Aweber give you the opportunity to learn before you buy!
When you have even one person on your list, you start developing a relationship with them via email. You’re able to send emails, that you’ve created, at desired intervals.
This is called a campaign, a series of messages with a common theme. With Aweber and Get Response you can be running an unlimited amount of campaigns.
The capture page is a beautifully constructed page advertising the program or service you want someone to buy, again relying on a list to market to.
Both Get Response and Aweber will send emails out to those who opted in automatically.
Aweber or Get Response with notify you when someone has opted in.
In summary~
Here are the basic terms that you need to understand when you are starting to build a list.
Value= relative worth, merit, or importance
Gift= something given voluntarily without payment in return
Free= without cost, payment, or charge.
Capture page= the advertising page that has as opt/in box
Advertising= calling public attention to one’s product
Opt/in box= a “form” with a blank space for name and other contact information
Contact Information= chosen by the one making the opt/in box. Common information required is Email address, phone number, or address.
Aweber or Get Response= Database managing software
Auto responder= the service that your database manager provides, sending emails that you write and tell them when to send
Campaign- a series of advertising messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication.
Sales Funnel= a methodical and systematic approach to bring in new customers and sell to the active existing ones.
Now with this knowledge, you’re ready to begin! Decide what you want to offer as a gift. Decide which database manager you want to use, Get Response or Aweber and you’re on!! When your inbox tells you someone opted in, you’ll be ready to celebrate!
Create and Enjoy!
May 31st, 2010 at 1:10 pm
The money is in the list. I like the metaphor of the list being your inventory. The smaller it is, the less revenue you can cash in on.
Both those tools I liked using and they truly are great – but I actually switched over to MailChimp because I found the user interface to be WAAAY easier! Super user-friendly.. and for a noob like me, it was a relief!
.-= Paul Klaszus´s last blog ..Global Day of Lack Programming? =-.
May 31st, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Goodness, I’ll look into MailChimp~ both you and Adam suggested it the same day!
May 31st, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Linda,
Thanks for such a thoughtful article. I’ve run the gamut of mailing list software from majordomo (ten years ago) to hosting my own to finally settling on MailChimp. I looked at the two you recommended as well and made my choice based upon convenience, usability, transferability, tech support and FUN. MailChimp is really the most fun for me (and free for the first 499 subscribers). Transferability is really important as well, as if you ever want to change mailing list hosts, most make it extremely inconvenient.
Thanks again,
Adam
.-= Adam Sheck´s last blog ..Ever Wonder, “Why Are They Together?†=-.
May 31st, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Thanks for your imput Adam! I will seriously look into it! I’m glad you shared!
May 31st, 2010 at 5:38 pm
As trite as it may sound, I do concur that the money is in the list and that’s why it is important that new people understand or study list building strategies early on. You have laid out some good tips to help.
.-= Facebooking´s last blog ..F.O.R.M: A Powerful Prospecting Method That Works =-.
June 1st, 2010 at 8:17 am
Hi Linda! Definitely you need to start out with a system in place for building your list. I checked in to both MailChimp and Aweber- MailChimp is cheaper for the first 1000 subscribers – but after that their prices are a slightly higher. So, I suppose you would need to decide on whether usability is an issue and go from there. MailChimp would most likely be a great place for a newbie with limited funds to start out
I’m happy with Aweber:) .
Lori
.-= Lori Tisot´s last blog ..How to Implement “Do Follow†on Your Blog – Get Your Links Noticed =-.
June 1st, 2010 at 11:52 am
Lori~
I’m glad to hear your point of view! Price is often the issue, but I really like Aweber too!
~Linda
June 6th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Oh yes … THE LIST. Not just any old list, but a list of people that really like your stuff is what we are looking for. Right?
June 6th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Yes! The list is the beginning! I’m assuming you’re building a list because you’re reading and commenting – I’m curious about your experiences with list building!
June 24th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Hi there, just how do i subscribe to your RSS Feed?
June 27th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Thank you for bringing my attention to the RSS feed? It’s now activate!
May 1st, 2011 at 7:38 am
Thank you for visiting my blog, lindagraceonline.com! I noticed you don’t have a gravatar! Connecting an image to your comment (actually to your email address) is very important! It’s simple and free! Check out this post and I’ll walk you through it! http://lindagraceonline.com/get-the-focus-on-you/
To your success,
Linda
January 17th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
Thanks for shairng that Linda because me to I dont know how to subscribe in RSS, but now i know what I’m going to do glad you share this in here..
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