Cash for Now
&
Cash for Later
Quick List Building
I will never claim to be someone with a massively incredible list. It s
something I should focus on a lot more, actually.
My speciality is in achieving great things with what many would consider a
tiny list.
I don t send out affiliate offers willy-nilly - I take care to make sure it s
something high quality that my list can use and that I have either bought
myself or reviewed myself. But when I do mail out, I tend to have higher
conversion rates than average. I get a little smile when I see myself on  top
affiliate lists, mixed in with those I know have much bigger lists than I
have.
If you re new, this mini guide will probably help you get your list started
the right way. If you re experienced, it will probably help you with your
conversion rates. Either way, I think we can all take some time to evaluate
how we are building and treating our lists -- they are absolutely one of the
easiest ways to make money online quickly. They are one of the easiest
ways to build up passive income.
A Few Things to Know About List Building
Before we go too deeply into the mechanics, there are some things I think
are very important when it comes to list building philosophy.
First -- one of the biggest mistakes I ve made (after not building a list right
away) was hardly ever mailing to that list. I know people think they are
being so noble by not mailing hardly at all -- but that accomplishes
nothing.
People are on your list because they want to hear from you. They are not
on your list just to be on your list. If you don t mail to them, connect with
them, and YES, sell to them, it s not even worth it.
People want to be sold to even if they say they don t. The difference is in
the way you do it. Are you mailing out products to make a quick buck or
because you think the people on your list could really use the product? If
you don t mail, will they just buy from someone else?
On the other hand, you can t just mail, mail, mail without giving anything
in return. You ll often see that I ask people to email me if they are stuck,
need help, want to brainstorm, want to share their story, and so on.
That s because I truly want to get to know the people on my list. You
should to.
But you should never be afraid to mail.
You are in business. You can be a nice, caring person building wonderful
relationships while still earning a great income from your list.
Without further ado, let s talk about quick list building.
What You Need...
Sign up for either aWeber or GetResponse -- both are great and easy to
use. They ll give you everything you need and both have wonderful help
documents.
The Ways to Build a List
It is definitely not one size fits all when it comes to list building. Here are a
few of the ways I ve used to build my list:
Through my blog
Through selling my products
Through affiliates promoting my products
Via marketing forums
Through free downloads of my stuff
Building Through a Blog
In the main guide, I recommended you have a blog as your Internet
marketing hub. Make absolute certain that you have an opt-in form on your
blog -- more than one, ideally.
If you post regularly enough (guiltily I do not) you will get sign ups. BUT,
you have to entice people to sign up. They aren t going to do it out of the
goodness of their heart.
I give away two free ebooks on my blog, Work at Home for Moms
This has been responsible for many sign ups over the years. I ve gotten
lucky and rank well for a few key terms related to Internet marketing --
that s really helped! That s why you opt in for needs to appear on every
page.
Make it very clear that people are going to get something of interest to
them in exchange for their email address.
This is a longer term strategy -- but start it now to have that passive
income working for you.
Set up your autoresponder sequence as well -- that way people who sign
up to your list will get relationship building and sales emails without you
lifting a finger down the road.
Build Through Selling Products
Building your list by selling products is the fastest way I know how to build
a list. In another quick guide, we talked about creating fast mini products.
This is awesome because you can have someone added to your list (have
them confirm their email, which is default at most autoresponder
companies) as soon as they buy your product.
If each product has its own web page, with affiliates and the search
engines promoting for you, you ll have fast sign ups and sign ups that
happen passively down the road.
Never sell a product without attaching a list to it -- it s so painful when I
think about the sign ups I ve left on the table because I didn t start
collecting emails from my buyers right away.
Build Through Affiliates
Make sure you give your affiliates a good commission so they will be
enticed to promote for you. Their list members will be on your list too as
soon as they buy! This is a wonderful way to leverage the assets of others
to build your list quickly.
They key to getting affiliates is to network. I ll admit, though, that I ve left
a lot of money on the table because I tend not to network with the  mega
affiliates. There are many out there who churn out products based on
techniques they ve never used themselves just to make a buck. They then
promote each others stuff and it makes my stomach churn.
I really only promote those I know personally and trust. Those good
marketers are out there -- reach out to me if you have something great :) I
don t have a huge list like some of those mega marketers, but it s a quality
one I love.
Build Through Marketing Forums
Networking is a huge part of the  game for anything you do online. Make
sure you include a link in your signature file either to your products (if
that s allowed) or a blog or website where you have an opt in form. Make it
very enticing for people to sign up.
I ve gotten great sign ups through simple chats on forums because people
have gotten to know and trust me.
As always -- no matter how much someone likes you, they won t sign up
unless they know they are getting something valuable in return.
Through Free Downloads
You know how I m so keen on you making mini products? After they ve
been up for sale, you can then use them as free downloads in exchange for
an email address. People love knowing they are getting something for free
that used to be for sale.
Make it clear on your opt in form that they are getting something very high
value just in exchange for their email.
You can promote these free downloads on forums (where allowed), social
media, article marketing, and so on.
Something to Try
Many marketers are making deals with product creators to have their
product added as a bonus. When someone buys the product, they see your
opt in form and have the chance to grab your product free. I have not
personally done this -- but there are products out there that tell you how to
do it.
Again -- it comes down to networking.
Get Started
Building your list is not rocket science. But, it s something that s very
important and that I need to pay more attention to -- I need to grow my
list numbers now that I have built great relationships with those already on
the list.
I feel very strongly that you can get things set up and get your first list
sign up today if you put your mind to it. Money likes speed!