Lesson 1 - Converting
Every Visitor into Subscriber
If a person visits your website and leaves, chances are that he or she
will not come back, especially if there are no compelling reasons to do
so. After all, we all behave rather impulsively on the Internet, so much
so that we can easily forget where we were 10 web pages ago.
But the bottom line is that your visitor may not come back to your
website again. If 1,000 visitors visit your website, leave and never
come back again, you can imagine the amount of potential revenue lost,
simply because they do not come back. You could have converted a
fraction of the visitors into your customers.
Some may say that creating unique content can keep some of the visitors
coming back, but very often, unique content is not the solution. The
real, long-term solution lies in converting your visitors into
subscribers of your mailing list.
Before your visitor leaves your website, you want to convert him or her
into your subscriber via a simple opt-in to your mailing list. You do
this by asking for your visitor’s name and email address through your
opt-in form.
And if your visitor signs up to be on your mailing list, you can still
follow up with him via email. You can get your subscriber to consider
your offer, or endorse another offer to him or her.
All in all, you want to convert as many visitors into subscribers as
possible and obtain the potential revenue you rightfully deserve – the
easy, wise way.
Lesson 2 - Converting Every Web
Page into Subscriber Snatching Devices
If you own one-page sales letter business models or content-based
websites, you should turn every webpage possible into subscriber
snatching devices for you. The good news is that not only is this method
extra effective, it is just as extra effortless when it comes to
applying the concept.
Since visitors can come and leave without remembering your website in
the future (which is very likely to happen), you can still follow up
with your visitors easily by seeking their permission to opt into your
mailing list through your web pages – on autopilot!
You can create a pop up window to appear after your visitor attempts to
close the window or leaves your website, asking for your visitor’s name
and email address so that you can follow up with him or her in the near
future via subscribing to your mailing list for free.
This way, you can convert a big portion of your visitors into
subscribers, giving you a chance to follow up with them on other offers
you may have in the future.
Alternatively, you can insert an opt-in form within the spaces of your
web pages. This method is effective, especially if you are afraid of
Internet users who have pop up killers installed in their web browsers,
set to block any pop up windows.
In conclusion, turning every webpage you own into subscriber snatching
devices with little effort can be responsible for huge
subscriber-pulling results.
Here is a little used technique you can implement to build your mailing
list for no additional cost. I call it “using subscribers to make
subscribers” like much in the context of “using money to make money”.
This simple list building formula can be summed up in two words: ad
swap.
Generally, you trade advertisements with other eZine publishers,
preferably of the same mailing list size or bigger. You broadcast the
eZine publisher’s advertisement to your mailing list while the eZine
publisher endorses your ad to his list. Yes, you are actually cross
endorsing or cross promoting each others offer to each of your mailing
list.
Your advertisement’s goal should be to get as many subscribers possible
from the other eZine publisher’s mailing list to sign up for yours.
The result: you grow your mailing list. This method does not require
money, which means it can be done for free. And the return of
subscribers? Infinite!
You only have to do this with one eZine publisher at least once, because
his subscribers who are also your subscribers can now be followed up
within the boundaries of your mailing list.
Perform ad swaps with as many eZine publishers as possible and soon, you
will have a huge mailing list of your own – built free.
You can build your list simply by writing articles, whether you have
thought of it or not.
Quite simply, you write and submit your articles on your topic of
expertise or business nature to popular article directories where eZine
publishers and readers are looking for the information you provide.
Leveraging your viral marketing efforts on article writing can be
rewarding, if done right. In the real sense, you are actually proving
your worth and demonstrating your expertise about your business through
the articles you write.
So, how can this method in effect build your mailing list? The answer:
the resource box you attach to your articles. In your resource box (also
known as bio box), you include a brief detail about yourself and your
business site together with its URL.
It is strongly suggested that your resource box URL links to your
mailing list’s landing page where you can get your visitor’s name and
email address, which will in turn help you build your mailing list at no
cost.
If your articles are found worth sharing, eZine publishers will
republish your articles together with your resource box for their
readers and subscribers. The wonderful result: viral marketing without
effort on your part!
You can start by writing and submitting your articles to trusted article
submitter sites such as http://www.articlemarketer.com/ and begin your
article marketing journey today.
Lesson 5 -
Building Your List with Paid eZine Advertising
Some Internet Marketers can get clueless when it comes to unleashing the
full potential of paid eZine advertising. One of the most common
dilemmas is that whether should the Internet Marketer advertise the
product or service he is selling directly to the subscribers of the
eZine he is paying advertising for?
This can be a wise method, but with ifs and buts. For one, the
advertisement must be compelling and attention grabbing. Secondly, there
is no telling if the eZine’s subscribers constantly practice a buying
habit until you put some money to find out.
Investing even a small sum of money can be risky to a number of Internet
Marketers who are on tight budgets. But in spite of the risk factors,
eZine advertising can still be rewarding, if done right.
Thus the solution: the marketer would be wiser if he or she uses eZine
advertising to build his or her mailing list. It makes sense, anyway.
Since some eZines display more than one sponsored advertisement, you can
grab the subscriber’s attention by giving a free or risk-free product or
offer through your ad.
When the subscriber clicks on your ad, he or she can opt into your
mailing list in exchange for the free offer, which can be a free report
or even a trial service.
While you are not making a hard sell through your advertisement just
yet, building your list by getting other eZine’s subscribers subscribed
to your eZine allows you to follow up with them in the future, as and
when you have new offers.
I am sure that you have definitely come across advertisements that read:
“1,000,000 email addresses for $29.99”. And these bulk mail companies
can even offer you these names in a CD at your doorstep.
Sure, having 1,000,000 subscribers is the best thing that could ever
happen to any Internet Marketer and often sounds too good to be true.
But very often, it always sound too good to be true.
What many beginning marketers do not really know is that these bulk
companies harvest the email addresses using robots and other wares on
the Internet. That is how the 1,000,000 email addresses come about,
whatever the amount is.
Now, the really awful part is that if you purchase the so-called
1,000,000 names even at a low price, not only is it a waste of money,
you are risking being accused of spamming. It is no longer a surprise
how you often receive spam mails on Viagra, OEM Software and things you
do not even need in your inbox.
That is so possible, because of the 1,000,000 names, no one knows you or
even ask to be subscribed to your mailing list.
On top of that, not all 1,000,000 email addresses are really in use
because a portion of them can either be own by the same owners (one
owner can own more than 1 email accounts) or are obsolete.
When you read such ads again, tell yourself that it is a waste of money.
How would you like to send your commercial emails to people you do not
know, but are expecting to receive such mail from you? Wait a minute.
That does not sound right. How can this be?
It is simple, if you know what is really going on. Everybody who is on
these lists, also known as safe lists, knows that they will be receiving
emails from other members. This is possible because that is one of the
conditions of their “safe list” membership.
And those who join these lists are willing to agree to this condition
because they themselves would want to send out their own commercial
emails to the others on the list.
The result: everyone is sending emails to each other but no one is
reading them!
It gets worse when some savvy members sign up for the membership using a
free or less-frequently-used account to store the useless emails they
will never bother to open and read.
Having said that, it is always wiser to start your own mailing list and
build it with opt-in subscribers, no matter how tempting safe lists can
be or how many members there are in a safe list.
Aside from pre-selling your products and affiliated offers, the other
purpose of your free viral report should be to build your mailing list.
This is because if you are unable to pre-sell, let alone sell, the
products and services featured in your free report, the last ditch
effort should be to collect leads. In short, if you cannot convert the
reader into a ready buyer, you should then attempt to convert him or her
into your subscriber.
In that manner, you can still follow up with your reader on future
offers and have a chance at converting him or her into your customer,
preferably lifetime.
You can do so by offering a lifetime update to your report or a unique
notification list your reader will be interested in subscribing to,
which leads to having him or her subscribed to your mailing list.
One of the few success factors in viral marketing of your free report is
quality. If your readers find your information worth sharing, and you
encourage them to do so by giving them the right to give your report
away for free, you will be able to have your name, status and links
within the report passed around without any effort on your part – simply
because others are willing to do so for you!
Also known as the “name squeeze page” or “lead capture page”, you can
build your mailing list by funneling all of your would-be subscribers
through the creation of a landing page. Not only do you do the work just
once, your traffic driving efforts can be focused onto just one
effective method.
The following are tips in creating a successful landing page that
converts visitors into subscribers on a very huge percentage.
Success Tip 1: Offer a freebie in exchange for your visitor’s email
address. I very much endorse this method of building your mailing list.
You can offer a special report or a sample of your paid product to your
visitor in exchange for their details such as name and email address.
Success Tip 2: The landing page must be written professionally. When
writing your page, treat it as if you are writing a sales letter. While
you are not necessarily making a hard sale or try to get someone to buy
your product upfront, being able to entice your visitors to give their
details to you is just as important as selling.
Success Tip 3: Other than your opt-in form and perhaps important
disclaimers and terms, there shouldn’t be any other links on your
landing page.
Success Tip 4: Rub in the benefits of the freebie you are offering more
than a mere subscription to your newsletter. You should focus most of
the attention of the letter on encouraging your prospective visitor to
download your free offer. Later, you gently remind your prospect that he
or she has nothing to pay but just merely subscribe to your newsletter
in exchange for the freebie.
As a final reminder and conclusion, in order to build trust, you can
include your hand-written signature or a photo of yourself explaining
where you are coming from and how you can help your visitor through your
free report on offer.
Lesson 10 - Building Your List
with Give Away Ventures
With the awareness of the importance of list building, comes a recent
Internet Marketing trend which was started just a couple of years ago
for the mutual benefits of all Internet Marketers and mailing list
owners.
This method is more recognized as a “starting a Give Away venture”.
In a real sense, a Give Away event is much like a big time version of ad
swaps. In a nutshell, a group of mailing list owners partner together
and pool in their individual gifts in one limited-time event.
Each participating partner contributes a gift to the event. The gift can
be a free product, membership pass or a product he is already selling
(if he is kind enough to offer into the event).
The participating partner prepares a Lead Capture Page where he gives
the gift in exchange for the subscriber’s email address. In other words,
in order for a visitor to download the digital gift, he must opt in and
subscribe to your mailing list.
When the gifts are pooled together into one event (site), every partner
will then endorse the Give Away event to their own mailing lists.
The result: lots of visitors to one event as a collective effort of
several participating partners!
With so many visitors downloading gifts from one focused event, it is a
true win-win situation. This is because the visitors get to download
several free gifts for their own use and every partner gets to build
their own mailing list!
You can easily get notified about a Give Away event in the making by
communicating with other Internet Marketers often or participating in
Internet Marketing discussion and Joint Venture boards.