Don’t laugh; it is not what you’re thinking. Although the jolly old guy could probably teach all of us a thing or two about lists and list building. Just the mention of his list can still send shivers down my spine, residue from all those childhood wonderings if I was naughty or nice?

However, this article has nothing to do with Santa directly, but in a way it has everything to do with him!

You see indirectly, old Saint Nick played a prominent part in my list building education; a very important role. Please let me explain and it may help you in your own list building efforts.

Like every webmaster or online marketer I kept hearing from Day One how vitally important it was to build your own opt-in or permission based contact list. It would be the key to building traffic and revenue from your site or online marketing. The one key element you must have.

But building a list is easier said than done, anyone who has tried to build a list will know this fact. I soon realized I needed help with my list building. For more details simply visits www.craigs-list-profits.com. I have an art background, that’s not important, but it did show me how to learn or dissect a subject. All artists develop a hands-on “let’s dig in and dissect this creature” attitude; they learn by exploring and studying the masters/techniques that have worked in the past.

This inquisitive learning becomes a second skin.

It was extremely helpful when I started to build my lists. I first examined how other well known marketers were building their lists. One common theme that keeps repeating itself was: free gifts.

Almost all these marketers gave away a free gift: report, e-book, recourse, article, software program, marketing tips or knowledge – all in exchange for the name and email of their visitors.

This simple tactic worked like a charm. Maybe it has something to do with our unbreakable belief in a Santa! Or maybe it has to do with that entire gift giving; we all like to receive gifts. Who doesn’t?

Soon I had my own free gifts (e-books, recourses, and free software programs) on all my sites, attached to follow-up auto responders to keep in contact with all my visitors and prospects on my lists. My lists grew

But I didn’t stop there, as free gifts was a key to building lists, I needed a creature to dissect!

Then a few years ago, such a creature stumbled out of my email inbox. This was “The 12 Days of Christmas” give-away package by Mark Hendricks.

Countless marketers all donated valuable gifts to an online package/promotion in exchange for building their contact lists. Great idea and the gifts just kept on coming for well, 12 days.

Everyone builds their lists compliments of dear old Saint Nick.

However, I used the Gift package in another way. I signed up for whatever marketers or gifts interested my fancy but I then did an in depth study of how each of these marketers handled their follow-ups. To know more about it simply login to www.confessions-followup-marketing.com. What they did to build or lose my loyalty. Which ones held my interest, which ones I unsubscribed from and why. Analyzing a whole group of marketers and webmasters through this online package was a valuable lesson or training in list building.

A direct, hands-on experience that pointed out the techniques and methods of building a responsive contact list. What you really need to know about building an effective list.

Marketing is the key to success for any business. You can have the best product or service in the world, but if your customers don’t know about it, you are sure to fail. Likewise, you can propose only a mediocre offering, but if your marketing program is strong and on target, your cash register will ring all day long.

Instructions

1. Identify your market. Who will buy your product or service? Define their age groups, income groups, geographical locations and other key demographics. Attempting to sell to the wrong group of people is a huge waste of time and money.
2. Research your competitors. Thoroughly immerse yourself in all of their marketing materials. Look at both the successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns of your competitors. Analyze price, service and customer benefits.
3. Identify your competitive edge. What is it that you do better than your competition? Identify your company’s strengths, and promote them. But remember, it’s only a strength if your potential customers believe it to be so.
4. Select your message. You must send a clear and focused message that easily illustrates the benefits your customer will receive by doing business with your company. And of course, clearly ask for what you want the customer to do. Your call to action must be specific and easy to follow.
5. Establish your budget. Refer to your marketing plan and financials to identify your ROI expectations and available funds for marketing.
6. Select your media channel. You have many choices: radio, TV, print, direct mail, telemarketing, email, Internet, sponsorships, co-marketing and many more. Use your customer demographic, budget and established competitive edge to help you select your most appropriate media channel.
7. Prepare for response. The best marketing campaign in the world is useless if you can’t keep up with customer response. Make sure you have adequate resources available to satisfy your clients’ requests.
8. Initiate your campaign. Now you’re ready to send your message to all of your potential customers. Make sure you track and analyze your results. This will give you clues on how to adjust your marketing program to maximize results.

Tips & Warnings

• Always follow all local, state, and federal marketing and advertising regulations.

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By zimbio.com
Internet Marketing Product Launches