subject: Notes for Newbies: Why Build a List? [print this page] Notes for Newbies: Why Build a List? Notes for Newbies: Why Build a List?
Ah yes, THE LIST!!
You have reached the point where you have chosen your niche, and are excited about this great product that you are keen to put before your hungry crowd. You are about to set up your website, and you can't wait for the orders to come pouring in.
But you keep hearing these nagging voices saying things like "The Money is in the List",or "Build Your List", and every bit of advice you read that is aimed at newbies goes on about building a list.
Now here is where you can make a huge mistake. You are really keen to get started on making all those millions of dollars that the gurus have promised you, and you don't want to spend precious time building a stupid list.
So let's think this one through again, shall we!
What Exactly is a List?
Simply put, this is a list of customers, or more specifically in Internet Marketing terms, a list of email addresses through which you can contact potential customers.
If you have ever needed to enter your email address before purchasing or downloading something from the internet, then you will certainly have ended up on someone's list.
As a newbie internet marketer, I have no doubt that you have already signed up for numerous lists yourself. All those free reports and downloads that you thought would be so helpful, have resulted in dozens of emails and offers flooding into your inbox every day from people who have captured your email address.
Why do I need a List?
It is no longer possible just to set up a website and run a comfortable business selling one-off products. This is not a way to build a long term and sustainable business.
The reason to build and use a list is to gradually build up a base of regular customers to which you can market your products and services.
As the internet expands, and more and more people are turning to Internet Marketing as a career, so it becomes necessary to learn new skills and develop new approaches to marketing and customer relations. This is why learning to build and nurture a responsive list is essential to your online success.
What do I need to get started?
1. The Autoresponder. This is your essential list building tool and a good autoresponder will allow you to create and maintain numerous lists and will automate your future email contact with these lists.
You will have a few to choose from, depending on your budget, but the two biggest are Aweber and GetResponse, and both of these have features that cover a variety of functions. As you would expect, they allow storage of emails, and allow you to schedule automated emails to send to your list
You can also view your statistics, and monitor sign-up rates and click-through rates.
There are free autoresponders available, but features are very limited, and the advice is always to go for one of the best if funds allow.
2. The Squeeze Page. This is a webpage where you give details of your offer and where you insert the all important opt-in form.
On this page you will have to give a lot of thought to creating a really eye catching headline, and as the content of this page has to be brief, every word must count.
Remember, this page is all about getting your potential customer to give you their name and email address in return for your irresistible offer!
3. The Irresistible Offer. This is the really important bit. The product you offer here must be attractive to your target customer and must be of real value to them.
Free ebooks, free reports, or free newsletters are all excellent ways to get started on building your list, but do make sure you are not offering rubbish. Don't forget that a customer can unsubscribe even quicker than they subscribe!
If you have a real passion for your niche and have written an original ebook or report, then you will have something really unique to offer your list.
However, if this is not the case, do not despair, as there are enough Private Label Rights (PLR) products available to help you create good content.
Building a good responsive list will take a bit of time and effort, but it is an essential part of developing a successful online business.
