I was recently surprised when someone who was new to affiliate marketing asked me. . .”Why do you need a list anyway?”
That’s a good question. And many newcomers are probably asking themselves the same thing. When we first start out, we aren’t really thinking in terms of long-term profit and we don’t really have the statistics ingrained in our brains. We’re just trying to figure out how to make money .. .so the list-building concept may not be all that intuitive.
This article is the first in a series of list building tips. Here I’m going to focus on why everyone (yes, everyone) in business benefits from growing a list.
But first, what is a list anyway? It’s basically just a series of people who have (hopefully) given you their contact information. These contacts are considered leads and the quality of these leads can vary greatly. For example, if you have a list of people who have specifically requested that you send them information about a product that you promote or the business you are involved in, that list is extremely targeted and qualified. If you have a list of contacts who are interested in your industry in general but haven’t shown any interest in your particular product or business, that too is a fairly targeted list.
Buying leads is another (not recommended by me) way to build a list. That would be considered pretty low on the list quality totem pole.
Remember that you might also have several different lists that each represent a certain niche or target market or quality level. You will want to market differently to each of these lists but that is another topic for a future article.
So, on to the real list building tips article number 1: five reasons you want to start building your list now if you haven’t done so already.
1. Increase your earnings, even from the people who don’t buy your product. Anyone who has already learned the lesson will gladly tell you. . .not having a list means not earning up to your potential. Look at it this way. You advertise a product for a month and you get a certain amount of sales from this. If you don’t have the contact details of the people who bought this product, you have made just one sale per person. If you do have the contact details, you can offer these people more similar products, or upgraded products of the ones they have purchased.
Or. . .look at it this way. Someone is interested in your product but they don’t purchase it right now. If you can get them on your list, you can send them reminders about this product or others they may be interested. If not. . .oh well, off they go to your competitors.
It’s important to point out here that the buyers are the ones who will continue to buy. If you’ve sold a product to someone, you can be assured that this person is much more likely to buy that same product again or the next product you offer than someone who hasn’t bought from you. That’s just one more reason to build a list.
2. You don’t need your own product or business yet. . .and you can make money while building. Many people get started with marketing online and they don’t really have a clear idea about what they want to do. Or maybe they are trying lots of different things. As far as list-building goes, that’s perfectly fine! You can start out promoting someone else’s product as an affiliate and build your list that way. As you start to learn more about online marketing and get a clearer picture of where you want to go, you are actually building up one of your biggest assets that will serve you in the future.
3. You can do market research for free. Building a list means having access to feedback and ideas. This goes hand in hand with number 2. Once you can maintain contact with people, you’re able to ask them what they are looking for and in turn, you can develop your marketing strategies accordingly.
4. Building your own list means building your brand/image. The Internet is an amazing power. But you can get lost in a sea of cold websites and hypey sales pages. Building a list puts you on a more personal level with your customer and allows you to establish a rapport. Who do you think people are more likely to buy from. . .the person they’ve never seen before of the guy/gal who sends them those really cool emails about something they are interested in. . .?
5. Your own lists represent multiple sources of income. The ideas you get from your list and from what actually compelled them to join your list allows you to create your own products/services or seek out others that you can offer them.
List building can be creative – the more you put yourself and your personality into the mix, the more successful you’ll be with it.
Keep in mind that your goal is not just to obtain a bunch of email addresses or phone numbers. The real point of list building is to provide value and to maintain relationships with the people who land on your list.
If you’re wondering how it is that you actually get people on your list(s), stay tuned for the next article.
Are you currently in the 97% of business owners who fail in network marketing? Laura Shapiro offers free tips, opinions and instruction at www.MLM-Advantage.com. Sign up for the free newsletter today!
