« How Not To Use Twitter | Home | 4 Easy Ways To Build Your List »
Hardly The Death of Email Marketing
By Alan | May 14, 2009
Lately there has been a lot of buzz in the Internet marketing community about the “death of email marketing”. Some folks believe that with the explosion in the popularity of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook that email will be a thing of the path. Some are suggesting on the Internet marketing forums and on blogs, that email marketing is dead.
Look, I don’t know what the future holds but it’s way too early to declare email marketing dead. I wish the death of the “death of” reports would arrive right quick!
No matter how you slice it, it’s still very important that you continue to build your list.
I’m a firm believer in social media and it’s darling sites like Twitter (you can follow me on Twitter here) but list building is a model that has been at the forefront of the direct response industry for over 100 years–from send a self-addressed-stamped-envelope (SASE) to enter your name and
email. It’s a mistake to declare it dead. I mean even mail order is still alive and kicking. Check your mail and you’ll see.
Okay, back to email marketing. It’s important to remember that while getting traffic to your website is very important, it’s not
going to mean much if they visit you once and never return. To keep them interested in you and your products, you need to bring
them into your fold. In other words, you want them on your list. That way you can give them helpful information, establish a
relationship of trust, and market your outstanding products or other people’s products to them.
Let me share four ways to grow your list…
1. Have an opt-in box in the top fold of your website. That means those who come to your site will see the box without having to
scroll down. You have a better chance of catching them this way, since people often only spend seconds to a few minutes on a website
and don’t want to bother with scrolling down.
You might have an opt-in box, but what is it for? It should be there to offer something free, irresistible, and valuable to your
target market in exchange for their email address. People are savvy on the Internet these days so you have to bring your “A”
game. You want to give value so people think, “Wow, this guy knows his stuff. I’m going to stick with him and see what else he
knows.” The offer should be irresistible in that you know something they might not and this could help them out. These are
hungry people, targeted people, people who just might buy from you.
2. Another way to grow your list is to offer a free product in a giveaway event. The premise here is to offer something of value and if people perusing the giveaway event like the look of your product and your squeeze page, they will opt-in to get said product. Now, these opt-ins are not necessarily going to stay on your list. They might opt in for the free gift and opt right out again. At first you feel rejected by these freebie seekers, but it’s best they get
off your list right away or they’ll be the ones calling “spam” on any email you send them in the future.
It is true that people who join your list for the freebie in the giveaway are probably not targeted customers, but some will be.
It’s a numbers game; 700 people grabbing your product at a giveaway and 300 of them opting out the next month leaves you with 400
targeted potential customers. And that’s 400 people on your list you didn’t previously have, right?
I’ve participated in several giveaway events and each event adds at least 200 subscribers to my list. Well worth it since it’s easy to setup once you have your offer ready.
3. An additional way to increase your list is to set up a Warrior Special Offer (WSO) on the Warrior Forum and instead of selling a
product you’ve created, offer it for free with an opt-in. Marketers do this to not only grow their lists, but to get
testimonials and feedback that will help them make their product better. A lot of these people might just be looking for the next
free thing, but they also end up learning from you and will be your loyal supporter. I’ve added over 500 leads doing this myself. Well
worth the $20 fee to post the WSO.
4. Finally, you have the Ad-Swap. The premise here is that you and another list owner cross promote each other. They send your
promotion to their list and you do the same to yours. I’ve added hundreds of subscribers to my list doing this. It’s very effective
because the person sending out your promotion to their list already has a relationship so it’s a warm mailing.
These four ideas, having an opt-in enticement, joining giveaways, ad-swaps, and offering a product for free on the Warrior Forum, are
some of the ways you can grow your list.
Remember getting a big list is not an overnight thing for a relatively unknown marketer; it will be an ongoing but worthwhile
process. You also need to ensure that you offer your new subscribers value with good, quality content. Don’t just flog them
to death promoting everything under the sun. That’s the easiest way of losing your subscribers.
My friend and mentor Lee McIntyre has put together a phenomenal video presentation where he shows very clearly, why list buidling is
a must for your business. The video is free, no opt-in, nothing for sale. Watch this free video training now.
If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my hype free newsletter. It's free! Sign up now to receive tips, news, and REAL product reviews about Internet marketing:
Topics: list building | No Comments »