Grow Your List. Grow Your Business.
Hey guys – this is Brian Evans from DailyConversions.com and ListPlaybook.com.
I’m writing a little guest post here today to give you some good info on list building.
One of the main sub-topics that I want to hit on (one of the many things that I teach over at ListPlaybook), is in regards to affiliate marketing.
A lot of the time people tell me that they are affiliate marketers, therefore they don’t build lists. My response is generally something to the affect of “Huh!?†– Reason being, affiliates marketers should ALL have a list.
The typical plan for most affiliate marketers these days is to drive traffic via any means necessarily, PPV, PPC, Media Buying, Facebook, etc etc and then convert that traffic on their landing page. Right? … Well, yes and no. That traffic that goes to your landing page (or even worse direct linked to an affiliate offer) is never seen or heard from again. You just paid XX cents to never see that person again, and maybe, just maybe get them to buy something.
What I teach over at ListPlaybook is a more about how to build a business with affiliate marketing (or any form of online marketing) by using lists. And, that’s the way everyone should truly be treating internet marketing.
If this is your business or even a part time thing that you want to be your fulltime gig one day, then treat it as such! If you were in the car sales business, you would collect leads and contact them again (if they bought to see if they want to upgrade) or if they didn’t buy to see if they changed their mind. Just about every business benefits from having a “list†of leads. INCLUDING, affiliate marketing.
The problem.
A lot of affiliate marketers like to promote products that are less than quality and immediately after someone realizes (usually upon delivery of the product) that it’s low quality, they immediately have a negative association with that marketer or website that referred them. Often times they remain anonymous. Anonymous doesn’t usually build much trust…
The solution.
Only refer your list to something when you actually believe in it! Put a face behind your websites! Don’t send them an offer everyday, there’s not nearly enough high quality products to be sending people emails recommending products every single day, in most niches.
The disconnect happens when you recommend something that’s trash. People now associate trash with you. You don’t want that…
Stick with what you know best. Hobbies can turn into great businesses because you have a passion for them already.
If you are a former college basketball star that has moved on to something else why not re-spark your passion and create a high quality content blog about basketball.
Give them high quality content about the sport that they are looking for and have an even more exclusive newsletter for them with additional bonuses.
You can then start running surveys and tests and find out what kind of products they may be interested in. If they are players maybe they want to learn how to jump higher or get in better shape, sell them an eBook. If they are just fans, figure out what teams they are fans of and sell them gear.
The important thing to keep in mind is that even though we all use the word “sell†I don’t want you to literally start sending them emails trying to sell them items. I want you to just point out the fact that the items are out there and that you recommend them. Let them come to you, don’t be pushy. Let your content do the selling!
This doesn’t even begin to tip the iceberg when it comes to list building and how many things people overlook or don’t think about.
This guest post was written by Brian Evans of DailyConversions. Anyone interested in joining my personal coaching site List Playbook feel free to email me at brian@listplaybook.com or visit ListPlaybook.com to sign up immediately. I’ll coach you through an awesome list campaign I’m spending next several months doing almost nothing but coaching a limited number of students with everything I know on List Building and Internet Marketing.
I wish most marketer would read this post because….
You tell the quality of a marketer by what he or sends out…if its garage then you have some idea what that person is about. For those reason is why I opt out or list it as spam because they send you things that they wouldn't never use in a million years.The Reason why I read your blog is because of its content helpful and useful the two best ingredient needed for a good post. Thanks again
Gerald
Great stuff Brian. I stopped by both of your sites and I bookmarked them. I'll be sure to learn more about you. I usually don't like to overload myself with to much information. I know you understand how that is, but I'll be sure to check the sites out more often.
You made some excellent points here. I usually sign up for newsletters just to spy on marketers and its just sad how much fluff with a little link in the bottom to a product they send out every single day to me. I guess that just makes it easier for others to succeed, right?
the fastest way to lose list subs is to only be selling things. you lose credibility once it becomes obvious that you are only recommending things just to make money and not because you really recommend them.
Great article Brian. I'm have been at a loss as to the best way to build my contact list. This is great advice.
Hey Brian,
This is an amazing post. A lot of people are disregarding the power of list when it comes to affiliate marketing. They take so much time trying to drive traffic to the product they are promoting, even spending so much money doing it. They don't focus on list building, when in fact, building your subscribers list should be your number 1 priority, not just in affiliate marketing, but in general as well.
Having a mailing list separates super affiliates from an ordinary one. Super affiliates took a lot of time and dedication building their subscribers list. Once they have enough list, they start building relationships to their subscribers, they give free valuable content, regular newsletters etc. After those process, they start recommending products without really trying to sell, and the result? Huge commissions! Because they know what they are doing, and they've built trust and credibility.
So start building your list too, whatever you do online, build a mailing list.
Cheers!
Gary
Great article thanks for introducing me to a new shining blogger/entrepreneur.
I'm going to bookmark this post because I think I could learn from it when I eventually start running my mailing list next month.
Everytime I see a farticle I just cringe, when I think of all the money those guys are missing out on. I even reverted to a farticle yesterday just for shits and giggles and had to stop because I felt like I was wasting my money. Even with a small of highly targeted emails you can make some serious extra cash with one blast.
How could you build a relation with your list subscribers if you recommend them low quality products? In the long run you would leave money on the table
It's a good advice to have a list & a fantastic product and get repeat customers.
Everybody says the same thing… list, list and list… I wonder: is there a way to make huge money without a list? some have accomplished that, but I see there are not many of them, indeed!
Apart from email list and Dofollow blog list are there any lists which we should maintain in order to do better with our blog and increase sales or conversion rate.
Thanks a lot for yet another amazing post. I am always on the look-out for fantastic WordPress tutorials to recommend to my own readers. Thanks for taking the time to write this article. It's exactly what I was looking for. Truly awesome post.
Too many marketers don't realize the true benefits of building a subscriber list. When you are able to keep putting yourself in front of interested people, your chances of making a sale just keep going up and up. Instead of fighting to get more new visitors to your site each day, you can milk each visitor for more sales.
This is great advice, thanks for sharing it. Lists are a great way to grow your business, having a good list can make lots of sales.
Great stuff Brian. 😉
It’s a good advice to have a list & a fantastic product
I just started with Aweber about 2 days ago and I am really liking the service that they offer. The interface is really user friendly and I really like the lightbox opt-in form.
Really like this guest post. Such good information. It is so important in the end to promote and sell things that you are passionate about. It makes everything so much easier, and let's the reader see you are genuine. This was some really good advice.