I keep reading 'The money is in the list' but no one really tells how to get a list. Some give some vague crap in ebooks that cost $9.97 but basically it goes back to the samething again......How does one build a list of their own?
I see lots of people giving away ebooks for 'free' as long as you give an email address, they then give you the 'free' ebook but then spam you.
Well that's how you make a list. And I don't mean spam literally, just semi-spam - the mail is legal but not wanted.
A couple ways: Setup a blog cast if you have a blog. Create a squeeze page where people have to enter in there email address to get the free ebook/product/article your offering. You can also try testing adding an opt in+autoresponder series on a regular sales page that doesn't force the person to opt in to actually buy the product. These can be done very easily using Aweber. It's not spam if people opt in this way and Aweber conforms to CAN SPAM.
Write a small report on something that you are interested in. Setup an opt in page using an autoresponder. I use aweber.com Put that opt in page on your blog or website. And if people are interested, they will insert their email and name. Your autoreponder will email them the download link for the free report. And you get their email and name. Thats it. Thats your list.
Bascially, you build up an e-mail list by getting people to give you their email address (and usually their name). To do this, you have to set up an opt-in form on your website. If you check out a service like aweber or 1shoppingcart, they provide scripts that you add to your website to collect people's information and build your list. Once you have an opt-in form for capturing contact information, you have to offer people who visit your site an incentive to give you their information. Usually this means you either offer them a free e-book/special report about a topic they'd be interested in (ie: if your customers are newbie internet marketers you could offer them a free report on "10 Ways to Build Your Opt-In List In 2 Weeks Or Less!"). Or if your visitors are gardening enthusiasts, you could offer a free report on growing and taking care of roses. OR, you can just offer them a free e-mail newsletter that promises tips and information that they want. Either way, your goal is to get them to give you their info in exchange for something they can use. Once they're on your e-mail list, you want to alternate between sending them emails with a LOT of useful free content they can use, and throwing in the occasional sales pitch for your products. Offering them great content is KEY though. If you're just sending them sales stuff, they'll learn to just ignore your e-mails or unsubscribe. But if you build a reputation for having great, information-packed newsletters, not only will they stay subscribed and keep reading, but they'll also be more likely to buy from you, because they know you offer value. Two places you should check out: 1. www.bly.com - Bob Bly's website. He's a copywriter/direct marketing expert who's written ads for Fortune 500 companies & such. He's got tons of free articles about marketing on his website, plus if you sign up for his newsletter, you get 4 free reports (see what I mean), one of which is about building and maintaining an e-mail list. 2. www.makepeacetotalpackage.com - Clayton Makepeace's Total Package newsletter, if you want an example of a newsletter that offers tons of value AND sells. Good luck!
I've given up building my own list. I don't like writing contents either. So I've resorted to using blackhat techniques.