I'm often asked, "What's the best way to build a business when you don't have
much money to spend." I never hesitate when I answer. Build your own email list!
A good email list that YOU COLLECTED YOURSELF is worth its weight in gold. My
list, that I started with an AOL account and pasting subscriber addresses into Text
Pad, now generates six figures in sales every year. I know a consultant who pulls
down even more with her home-grown email list. And there's the guy who keeps his
business humming by sending his thoughts to his list whenever he feels like it,
once a month, once every three months, once a week.
None of these people have any special tricks to use a list to generate $17,000
in a weekend (you've probably seen sales pitches that promise that). They simply
attract people who are interested in getting their information, put them on their
list, and send them good info on a regular basis.
If subscribers don't buy from you now, they will eventually. It's standard to
hear from new customers "I've been getting your newsletter for years and figured
it was time to buy."
Your email list becomes a continuous source of non-stop sales for you. Want to
know how most of the successful online businesses stay profitable year after year?
They have a good list. Want to know why so many small businesses fold within months
of starting? They don't have a list. It's often as simple as that.
How do you get your list? Here are several commonly used ways.
1. The original and most common method to get people to subscribe to your list
is to offer information. Offer up a newsletter filled with information of real value
to a specific kind of audience. Offer free reports, white papers, or email alerts.
2. When people buy from you, get their email address. Have your order form ask
if it's OK to send them valuable information from time to time. Usually half to
80 percent say yes.
3. Create a contest and have people subscribe to your newsletter as a requirement
for entry. Of course, you will give them a chance to unsubscribe after the contest
is over, but most will opt to keep receiving your messages.
Now let me get all gloomy and say a few words about purchasing lists of names.
Lists of addresses you buy, even from the best of sources, usually don't work very
well. For some reason the immense power of an email list doesn't kick in until people
learn about you, THEN sign up to get your information. It doesn't work very well
to send information to people who have never heard of you. You can send and send
until you're blue in the face and very few will ever buy anything.
OK, all sounds good. But where do you get the information to send to your list?
"Kevin, you're a WRITER. This stuff is easy for you. But I HATE to write!" I can
hear you cry. And that's exactly why you should use my articles, or the articles
of any other writer who will let you (and most will if you also include their contact
information at the end of the article).
Subscribe to lists that cover the same kind of information you do. When you see
a great article, email the author and ask for permission to reprint it. You can
also paraphrase information you find. Just put the information in your own words.
List building is highly effective, but it's not a get-rich-quick method. It often
takes a full year to get your list up to the point where it starts getting results
for you. It could take several years before it becomes a source of income that seriously
changes your lifestyle. But in the scope of things, that's a pretty quick way to
achieve the success you deserve.
