"The money's in your list" - how many times have you heard this statement? Plenty
I'll bet... Ever wondered why it's been repeated so often it's like a mantra?
Simple, it's the truth. Anybody who owns a list containing the contact details
of people interested in their products or services, has a high degree of control
over sales. Luckily, there are numerous low or no cost ways you can rapidly double,
triple or even quadruple the size of your opt in subscriber list. Here are 3 of
them:
1) Increase Your Opt In List Through Ezine Advertising.
Many ezine publishers incorporate advertisements into their emails. Most will
charge for this, but there are ezine owners who publish ads for free.
Without getting too involved, here are the three basic types of ezine ads:
i) Solo Ads - separate emails dedicated to a single advert, and are the most
effective. Unfortunately, nearly all ezine publishers will charge for a solo ad.
ii) Top Sponsor Ads - a short classified ad published at the top of an email.
Not as effective as solo ads, but most ezine publishers will charge for these.
iii) Trailer Ads - these are short ads published in the middle or at the bottom
of the email and are the least effective. They are often grouped with a number of
other ads, and are the most likely type of free ezine advertising you'll find.
If you are prepared to search, you will find ezines which publish free ads, and
many ezine publishers allow new subscribers a free solo or top sponsor ad.
2) Increase Your Opt In List By Posting to Forums.
If you think the only people to frequent online forums (or discussion groups
or bulletin boards as they are also called) are spotty faced techno geeks, you are
wrong...
Successful business people (and some of the wealthiest) use forums and they do
so for 4 major reasons:
i) They are looking for advice - people like to ask for opinions about various
products or services before purchasing. They also ask for help on using the multiplicity
of ideas, tools and services available on the internet.
ii) They are on a search for new products - the replies to people looking for
advice often contain links to new ideas, tips, tools and services, making forums
a great place to search (and just as great a place for you to promote your list).
iii) They are searching for ideas for their own products - the types of questions
asked, and the number of people asking similar questions often leads to the creation
of a successful product.
iv) They want to make contact with others - quite often the owners of the tools
and services recommended to those searching for advice will set up joint ventures
with each other.
This is good news for you as a list owner if you frequent forums related to the
topic of your list, because in no time at all you will be able to post numerous
helpful replies to other forum user's questions. Most forums will allow you to use
a "sig file" at the end of your post. This is where you place a brief advertisement
and the link to your list.
3) Increase Your Opt In List Through Small Changes to Your Everyday Business
Stationery.
A common misperception is to think list building is only an internet marketing
"thing". The plain truth is offline businesses also benefit from building their
own email lists.
If business is slow, you could send an email to your list containing a "discount
coupon" for a particular product or service you sell. A boring morning idly watching
people stroll past your shop window could quite easily turn into a mad rush, which
leaves your cash register bulging to the point of busting.
To get people to join your list, you need to make maximum use of every piece
of normal everyday business stationery.
On every invoice, statement, packing slip, delivery note, parts list, itinerary,
you name it, you must have a brief advertisement and the link to your optin form.
You can build on these three tips and put together a formidable list building
arsenal. Don't sell yourself short by using only one method, use as many as you
possibly can and you could build an incredible list in a relatively short space
of time.
