Posts Tagged ‘list building’

If you are new to article writing and ezine publication you know you need more than you sister Cathy and your dad Frank reading your ezine.    What are you supposed to do to add new readers to your list and where do you start?

Here are 5 super effective tips to help you get more subscribers.

Make it Super Easy

Nothing is worse for your potential followers than to go to your website and have only one option for signing up for your newsletter.  Your opt in box should be clearly visible on each and every page.  If this isn’t possible add other options’ throughout your site.

Give your potential subscribers as many incentives for signing up as you can so that it is super easy to get on your list.

Don’t forget to use your email signature to promote your newsletter as well as on your business card or other materials you create. Making it easy means getting more signups!

Send a Mailer

You’re probably thinking, “Send something in the MAIL?”  I know it may sound counterintuitive but actually snail mail isn’t dead.

Sometimes throwing something different into the mix is just what’s needed.  By developing a really cool mail piece and sending this to your target audience where you inform them about your ezine and invite them to sign up is something different that many people are not doing.

Advertize

Check out other newsletters and websites which are complimentary or cater to your target market and advertise on their site or in their ezine.

Focus on those sites that cater to your niche and you will have a higher chance of getting potential subscribers to sign up for your newsletter.

Speaking

I recently spoke at a luncheon and offered a free subscription to my ezine.  This is without a doubt the fastest way to build your list and get new subscribers.  As an added bonus they also received my FREE report.

You can speak at your local chamber of commerce, or networking groups and associations or at any civic groups such as Rotary Club or Kiwanis.

Ezine Directories

You can submit your ezine to online directories such at Charlie Page’s Directory of Ezines.   People search the Directory by topic and decide if they wish to subscribe. It also allows other ezine publishers to contact you about using one of your articles in their newsletter.

Check it out at www.directoryofezines.com.

There are dozens of ways to build your list and although you may feel overwhelmed with the process, remember that everyone started at the beginning.

But,  if you want to build your list faster and easier then I invite you to sign up for a FREE Teleseminar that my friend Joel Christopher is doing on Thursday, June 17th 2010, 9:00 PM EST.

Joel Christopher is a best-selling author, world-class speaker and mentor known worldwide as “The Master List Builder”.

He built and grew his own opt-in list to more than 200,000 subscribers and on the way to that figure there was one period where he tripled his list to over 30,903 in only 99 days.

Joel now has an email list of half a million people from 105 countries and is building his list even bigger and faster using social media marketing tools like Twitter where he built a list of 251,02 followers in the last 12 months alone!

To register for this FREE call follow this link: http://www.maximizingsuccess.com/teleseminar

We all have to start somewhere.  Let’s face it, when building a list we all start at zero.  Fast forward …. several years later you may have a list of thousands, but maybe it took you years to build it to that level.  It doesn’t have to be that way!   If you are new to list building check out my first article Five Sure Fire Ways To Build Your List for some great ways to get started.  If you have been list building for awhile  here are some more strategies to grow your list quicker and easier.

1. Include a “Join My Email List”  Link At The Bottom of Your Email Signature: I have said it before that this is the most underutilized piece of real estate that you have to market your business and build your list and best of all it’s FREE!  Remember to keep  it to 5 lines or less with a call to action like “Sign Up For My FREE Newsletter Filled With Tips, Tools and Strategies To Grow Your Business”!  Send it out with each email that you send even if it’s to your Aunt Alice in Oklahoma.
2. Run A “Forward My Newsletter Contest”:   I just love this idea because it gets your readers engaged and it helps you to build your list fast!   If you newsletter is filled with great content it makes it easy for your readers to forward to a friend or colleague.  Have a link included in your email so that it makes it fool proof for subscribers to forward and then let them know if they forward it to at least one person they will be entered into a drawing for a great prize!     Your email management system will keep track of who forwards the newsletter.
3. Join Forums and Participate:  There are thousands of forums on the internet.  You literally could spend days browsing them.  These forums are where people share information on a particular topic and post opinions, ideas and participate in ongoing discussions.  Most forums allow you to put a signature line underneath your post.  This is where you can include a link to your subscription information…very easy isn’t it?  Make sure that when you are posting in forums that you provide useful and relevant information in your posts.  If not you will loose credibility and that is sure to damage your ability to draw new readers to your site.
4. Engage in Joint Ventures to Grow Your List: Writing articles and blog posts are great but you want to be able to grow your list by leaps and bounds, not dribs and drabs.  By working with someone that works with your key audience on a special event you have a better chance of growing your list quickly than by other methods.  You can easily put together an on line tele-series, or tele-summit or other event.  No matter which method you choose make sure that each expert is required to promote the event to their list and have each participant register on your site for the event.  This way you are ensuring that these people are ending up in YOUR database!
5. Promote, Promote, Promote: No matter what list building strategies you use you must continually promote your free offer, free give away or tele-series.  With the tele-series if you record it people will still sign up to hear it after the fact so leave the opt-in box up!  Like anything else, list building requires consistent effort to achieve the results that you are looking for.

Growing Your List Is Easy When You Have A Plan

Follow these simple steps and you too can be a master at list building in no time flat!

For more ways to grow your list and market yourself for success I encourage you to sign up for my free report Mastering Your Marketing Mindset.  It’s yours FREE!  Enjoy!

Build it and they will come.  Sound familiar?  Well it might work for baseball fields but in today’s market it doesn’t work for list building.  Just because you’ve built this great site doesn’t mean people will continue to come back to it.  And worse, just because they visit the site at all doesn’t mean visitors will automatically sign up for your newsletter or other offer.

So what is a small business owner to do who wants to build a list?

I can think of 25-30 ways to build your list; let’s look at the top five:

1.       From Your Website: People are inundated with offers, newsletters and other information pouring into their email boxes daily.  But when someone does visit your site you want to be able to offer them something of value.  Offer them something really juicy to encourage them to fill in their contact information. Many people either offer a FREE Report, FREE Audio Tips Series or what is getting more popular a FREE Video Series.  You will need to have a automated mailing system to automatically deliver your FREE offer.  I recommend www.1Shoppingcart.com and  www.Aweber.com.  They have different features but the one thing they have in common is that they are both have an email management and auto responder system.

2.      From Your Emails: One of the biggest pieces of unused marketing space that most small business owners fail to capitalize on is at the bottom of their email message.  When you send an outgoing email include a well-crafted, 5 line or less signature message.  Include a link to your website with a call to action to sign up for your FREE offer.  I have personally gotten a ton of new sign ups from using this marketing tactic.  Remember it is not advisable to just sign someone up who has not asked to be put on your mailing list.  Instead invite new contacts to sign up for your FREE offer or newsletter.

3.      From Speaking Engagements: Giving talks and speeches are great ways to get recognized and to build your list.  You can have participants sign up for your newsletter or FREE offer while at the event.  If you use a service like www.aweber.com or www.1shoppingcart.com you will be subject to double opt in rules when adding names to your list.  Meaning that if you add someone to your list and they did not want to get your newsletter they will not confirm the request when it hits their in box.  No confirmation means they don’t get on your list.

4.      From Your Articles: At the end of your article make sure that you include an “About The Author” paragraph. Include a call to action with a link to your website where they can sign up for your FREE offer.

5. From Your Newsletter: When a newsletter is filled with great content it becomes noteworthy to the reader.  Don’t you just love to share something that you just found that could benefit someone else?  Well the same is true for a well written, tip filled newsletter.  Your current readers are sure to send along your great newsletter.  Make sure to include clear direction in your newsletter on how new readers can get your newsletter delivered directly to their in-box.

There are so many strategies to build your list and gain loyalty.   But remember the single most important action you can do with your list is to cultivate a relationship with your subscribers.  Because of this relationship they will grow to appreciate your products and services and are likely to buy from you again and again.

Maureen and Hank Phillip Ryan from Channel 7 News

Last week I discussed with you some basic marketing strategies that every small business owner should be implementing in their business.  This week I would like to highlight three more advanced marketing strategies that can help  push your business into higher profits.

Tip #1:  Create Mini Celebrity Status

I remember when I first learned of this marketing technique it made me feel VERY uncomfortable.  The notion of creating celebrity status for myself seemed icky.  But once I understood this concept and the power behind it I quickly embraced it as a technique that could help me build my business.

For a very long time women business owners have taken a passive role in their marketing, blending in with all the rest of the business owners out there.  But when you embrace this strategy you take a powerful stand and become known and seen as a true leader and successful entrepreneur.

But you are probably wondering how you do it?  One way that you can build up your celebrity status is by rubbing elbows with other celebrities.  Look for opportunities to be photographed with high profile people.  This could mean having your picture taken alongside a famous key note speaker at an event or training that you are attending.  Post these pictures in your newsletter, blog or on Facebook.  It will automatically up your status!

Tip #2:  Grow Your List

Now I am not talking about growing your list one name at a time.  I am talking about growing your list significantly each time you make a concerted effort at it! How will you make yourself known to others?

There are many different strategies that you can take to grow your list.  When I was researching the best ways to grow my list I found several different strategies that would work for me and my business.  Each time that I have implemented one of the techniques I have been able to grow my list significantly.  And the more people on my list  the more people I reach.

Tip #3:  Have a Marketing Plan

Do you wake up each day and do a different marketing activity without any clear sense of how they work together?

Successful marketing is based on a clear well thought out plan of action that takes different marketing activities together to produce a clear outcome.  When you willy nilly market yourself do you get the type of results you are looking for?  Probably not.   So stop what you are doing right now and develop a clear game plan of what you are going to do and when.  Then track your progress and make adjustments as needed.

There are so many different strategies out there.  Pick at least three strategies and do them consistently to get the best results possible. Follow your plan and you will be on the road to higher visibility and more clients!