LIST, A LIST!
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Well, the title of this article gave it away but yes, we are referring to having a LIST.
The big question is WHY??
Why is this issue of list building so critical to my eBusiness success? I mean all I have to do is drive traffic to my site, some people will buy so why do I have to waste my time and energy into building a list?
It shouldn't be surprising that these very questions are ones that coaching clients have asked me so let's just tackle the why for a second. After that I will give you some ideas on how to build a list without having to spend a huge amount of time and energy ;o)
Ok...the why?
Let me give you a typical example of how people market their products/services on-line and that might just hit home the fact a little harder for you.
You purchased the reprint rights to a new eBook. You have put up the sales page and are ready to start driving traffic to that page. You went out and purchased classified ads, hmmm, perhaps purchased some keywords in the PPC (pay-per- click) search engines, and arranged a few joint ventures with on-line newsletters.
All of that marketing brought traffic to that page in the amount of oh say...1150 visitors. Of that 1150 you made 35 sales. Not bad work actually. You saw a return of 3% and of course the sales to show for it...excellent ;o)
But we aren't done yet....
Of that 1150 that visited 35 purchased your book What about the other 1115 visitors? What about them?
Those people have been to your site and have an idea about what your eBook is about. Now you could hope that they will return, or at the very least bookmarked your site...BUT. Put yourself in the shoes of these visitors and ask yourself, would you return, or bookmark the site at least. I am guessing probably not.
As I said these people have been to your site. Your marketing efforts (and dollars) paid off for you...but you are only getting part of the rewards. You made 35 sales and now have a list of 35 customers....but those other 1115 represent FUTURE sales. They didn't purchase for a variety of reasons; perhaps they just couldn't afford it right now, maybe they needed a bit more information...it doesn't matter the reason because now they are gone and you have to go back out there AGAIN and drive more traffic to make another 35 sales.
It is a huge circle and again efforts that are only netting you part of the rewards.
BUT...if you had something in the form of a download that related to the theme or topic of your eBook, that for the price of an email address and name a person could download and read....well do you see where I am going with this??
Yup, you made 35 sales from people who were looking for this book or were impulse buyers. However, you are missing out on the FUTURE SALES that the other 1115 represent for you.
THAT is why a LIST is CRITICAL to an eBusiness owner.
When you think of a list most people think immediately of a newsletter and perhaps all the time and energy it takes to produce one once a week. You don't necessarily need to create a newsletter to build a list.
There are other ways to build a list that will serve just as well. We'll go over a few... however, as we do keep in mind this important aspect. When you are using one of the following ideas below, keep in mind that the information you are using for your list MUST RELATE or TIE INTO the general theme of the eBook, eCourse or software you are selling.
If you are selling an eBook on buildings lists, then offer a course on list building resources, or a report on how to build a list in 30 days. See the tie-in...it is all related to the general theme and of course throughout you can mention how the eBook can help with the process.
Ok...what other things can you do to build a list, other than a newsletter:
1. Expand on details from a sales letter - if you are selling an eBook or piece of software then you might want to ty this. Take one specific detail mentioned in the sales letter that the ebook or software solves. Explain that you will share how that specific aspect works and will only hand it out to those who request the info. Ummm...for example - if you are marketing a piece of software that helps build a list, then you could write a report on one way you use this software to help you and how it added to your list in record time. Explain that one key process and of course you used the software so that ties in the software and explains a specific way to use it. People will request the information and now you are building a list.
2. Write a 2 part article - writing articles is a KEY marketing tactic that all eBusiness owners should be using anyway..but spin it. Write an article n your product/serivce, post Part I to the newsletter databases and send it out to on-line publishers and load the second part to an autoresponder. In order to get the second part of the article you need to sign to receive it...BINGO a list in the making.
3. Weekly tips list - this is an easy one to put together. Just send out a weekly tips mailer again that relates to the general topic or theme of the product/service you are offering.
There you have 3 rock solid ideas, that not many people are using on-line so that will certainly make you quite unique. Of course you have the other tools that are just as effective: eCourses, eReports, Newsletters, Announcement Lists, and the list goes on.
The key to building any list is of course the information you provide. It must be good, solid information and NOT another sales pitch. What we want to do is build trust and rapport so we can make future sales off our list. Not brow beat them into a buying submission...which will never happen...you'll end up ticking them off and they will bolt on you.
It takes a little time to get rolling but once you have a list building mechanism in place it really changes the dynamics of how you do business. You will still drive traffic to your site...BUT...you won't always find yourself having to spend more money doing it. As your list grows, so does your potential for future sales. See now you are building a customer list...a customer list that you can sell more than just your one ebook to...as long as you do it right ;o)
Good luck with your list building...your eBusiness depends on it!!
By Denise Ryder, Marketing Coach
copyright 2004
Denise Ryder is a Marketing coach specializing in Niche Markets. Her latest project is where she sits right now. http://www.land-homes-real-estate.com/ Want to get into some niche markets, and get them profitable fast, then talk to Denise at webmaster @ land-homes-real-estate.com