What is List Building?

Email marketing is permission-based marketing, which means you must have permission to add people to your marketing list, and permission to email them information. Email addresses should be obtained only by legitimate means like through opt-in and subscribe boxes on your website, or by specific request. This is why online marketing lists are often called opt-in lists.

It is difficult to talk about email marketing and not talk about list building. In fact, many experts make it seem as if building a big list is the only thing Internet entrepreneurs need to worry about. But when it comes to your list, does size really matter?

Yes and no. At several of the conferences I have attended, experts say that the tipping point for a truly successful ezine is 1,000 subscribers. But I am here to tell you that HUGE results can come from small lists, as long as your readers are engaged and you are actively working to build long-lasting relationships.

Click here to check out my insights on marketing list size.

  

Tips for Building Your Email Marketing Opt-in List

Give Them Something Free!

We live in the holy land of the “free gift with purchase.” This sales technique repeatedly draw hundreds shoppers to retail establishments daily and it is just as effective when used online. While retail stores provide a gift in exchange for a sale, online marketers provide a free gift in exchange for an email address.

In Internet marketing, giving away something that is relevant and valuable to your prospects and customers not only helps you build your list, but it gives people a sample of the caliber of products and services you and your company offer and a feel for what it would be like doing business with you.

Here are some ideas of the type of items you could give away:

• Special Reports
• A teleseminar or teleclass
• Audio Recordings
• Ebooks
• A Coaching Session
• Monthly Newsletter
• Product Reviews
• Prizes
• Rebrandable Reports
• Physical Products
• Coupons and Discounts
• Trial Memberships
• Tips, Tricks and Strategies
• Checklists
• And more!

Add a Sign Up form or Opt-In Box on Every Page of Your Website

Adding a subscribe form or opt-in box to every page of your website ensures that no matter what page a visitor may land on first, they will learn about your valuable ezine and your special offer.

Advertise in Another Ezine

One of the best places to spend your advertising dollars is in email newsletters, email marketing, and ezines from other entrepreneurs and businesses that target the same market share and audience that you do. Think about it. The audience is already subscribing to one ezine and the likelihood that they will subscribe to another is pretty high. Plus, the cost of advertising in an ezine is relatively low when compared to other forms of advertising.

An Advertisement in an ezine is also a great place to test out different headlines and calls to action. Just be sure you commit to run your ad multiple times and track your links. Remember, a mediocre offer seen several times will have better conversion rates than an irresistible offer made only once.

Promote Your Ezine in Your Email Signature

At the end of your email signature, after all of your usual contact information, include a quick 2-3 line mini advertisement for your ezine. If you’ve got a special offer or free gift, let people know about it!

Send Out a Press Release

Are you launching a brand new ezine? Are you tapping an emerging market that people want to know about? Have you hit a milestone such as a specific number of subscribers or a specific number of issues published? Did publishing your ezine bring you a huge new opportunity, contract, book deal, etc.?

No, the press release isn’t dead. In fact, with more and more media outlets cutting staff, the reporters and journalists who are left have a much larger responsibility and a lot more work to do. Reporters do still look at well written, relevant, timely press releases.

Also, optimized press releases with the right keywords and longtail key phrases are amazing tools for search engine optimization and increased online visibility for you, your ezine, and your business. Reporters use online media sources to search for press releases that are relevant to their stories. Bloggers use press release distribution sites to see what content is popular and to get ideas for new blog posts, and potential interviewees. You should be using press releases with links back to your website, services, and products to boost your search engine ranking.

Announce Your Ezine to Your Network

Be sure to send out a promotional marketing piece to announce your ezine to your clients, prospects, business networks, and friends. You can also send them a single sample issue to read through with an invitation to opt-in to your list and continue receiving your ezine. Also, if you belong to any professional organizations or associations, find out if you can place an ad in their newsletter or trade publication.

Use Your Business Card

If the back of your business card is blank, print new cards and include your mini ezine advertisement on the back. Include a call to action or an irresistible offer that drives them to your website to get a free gift and a complimentary subscription to your ezine.

Attend Live Networking Events

The people you meet in person will be your most loyal and valuable prospects and customers, and if they opt-in to your ezine list, the probability that they will purchase something from you skyrockets. After all, people do business with people they know, like, and trust. Taking the time to connect with people in person, accelerates the “know” and “like” factors, and a consistently well done ezine will build the “trust” factor.

When you are networking, be sure to mention your ezine in your commercial. If you have time, or someone wants to know more, chat about the benefits subscribers receive. Let them know when your next issue will be sent and offer to add them to your list. If they are still unsure, offer to send them a sample copy to review.

Use Article Marketing to Promote Your Ezine

Article marketing is the use of a written article to market and promote your business, products, services, or programs. You can write value-added articles on any area of expertise and post them to several article marketing websites, such as www.ezinearticles.com and www.articlesbase.com. Attached to each of your articles is your author resource box that contains more information about you! Here you can include a link back to your website, a plug for your ezine and special offer, your tagline, and more.

Get Published in Other Ezines and Blogs

Bloggers are HUNGRY for fresh content and if you approach them the right way, will usually welcome a well-written guest post. Make sure you look at who the bloggers target market is and what the content theme of the blog is prior to contacting them. You want to submit a post idea or post content that fits their market, stays in the same genre of content the blog readers are expecting to receive, and provides information that will benefit the readers.

Just as bloggers are looking for new fresh content, so are ezine publishers! Many entrepreneurs that publish weekly ezines will occasionally publish feature articles by guest writers. The same criteria apply for ezine publishers: 1) Make sure the article provides information of value to the readers and 2) Make sure your article topic fits the overall ezine theme and reader expectations.

It also doesn’t hurt to offer a reciprocal post for them on your blog or in your ezine. Check out what they are doing in their business. Are they planning an event or getting ready to launch a product? Offer them a post around that time to promote their business efforts.

Start Doing Some Public Speaking

Public speaking is a great opportunity to do some ethical, permission-based list building. And with an ezine, your post-event follow up can be easy and inexpensive. As the speaker at an event, you already have the audience’s attention, now it is your responsibility to give them an easy way to sign up for your ezine.

Here are some ways you can build your list as a speaker:

• Offer to send a free copy of your presentation notes, or a copy of your PowerPoint presentation to attendees who give your their business card.
• You mention your ezine in your presentation and pass around a signup sheet to collect their names and email addresses. Make sure your signup sheet includes a compelling headline with your ezine name, a short description, and your opt-out terms or privacy policy.
• If you have a table or booth at the event, you can hold a drawing for a free gift or an hour of consulting time. To enter the drawing attendees simply drop their business card in the bowl!
• You can offer a free gift or a prize during the close of your presentation. First, mention the item or offer you are promoting and all of the fantastic benefits attendees can receive as a result. Make sure you get them really excited about your offer. Second, announce that one lucky person in the room is going to get it for free along with a free subscription to your ezine! Third, tell the audience to get out their business cards. You can either have someone collect them, or have people hand them in.