Combating List Building Frenzy: Take The Time To Promote

It is an accepted fact among the experts now that online marketing succeeds only with a quality, highly targeted permission email list in place. As a result, the multi-level marketers have pounced on this and everywhere you look another "matrix" lead generating system springs up.

There is no doubt that these are powerful techniques offering the advantage of building your subscriber base while basking in profits simply from growing your list. This is a best-of-both worlds sorts where the very thing that you are promoting is one in the same with what you are building -> your list.

For "newbie" marketers, it is easy to get caught up in the frenzy since one is desperately hungry to build a subscriber base and actually see the first profits rolling in. However, with working on an initially limited advertising budget, the monthly charges to stay in the "matrix" can take a substantial bite out of other advertising resources.

What is one to do? Can you build a list with highly targeted subscribers, subscribers who are craving for your information, at relatively low cost? The answer: yes, but it takes time.

For those just starting out this is a double-edged sword. You want profits soon, but also want profits to continue to come in. The problem here is that the two are contradictory. They straddle two opposite sides of the fence so to speak.

*Consider the following scenario:

Suppose you have a large subscriber base that trusts your opinions and judgments. On Friday you send to your list a promotion for which you either own the product or are an affiliate. Now suppose that your list is 3000 subscribers in size, your conversion rate is 5% (pretty good) and your profit per sale is $99. That amounts to $14,850 in sales from one campaign! Not bad, not bad. I could easily live with this kind of return.

Now lets take another scenario. You are just starting out, understand that building a list is of utmost importance, but really want to start making profits quickly. You purchase 600 leads advertised as "quality double opt-in MLM". You then quickly blast away your promotion. Approximately 0.5% (note that this is an order of magnitude less than the first example!) actually make the purchase - 3 out of 600, which is not a very good conversion. But hey, you paid $100 for the leads, made $297 in sales, for a $197 ROI! Just starting out, you become giddy and sort of euphoric at the profits you have just made.

All excited, you blast away another promotion the following week. But this time you only receive a single sale. Uh oh! What's going on? So in a panic you only wait 3 or 4 days and try to re- promote. But, over the next few days, not only do you see no sales, over half of your subscribers cancel their subscription.

*Question: What happened?

Your subscribers don't know you. In all likely hood the sales you made were nothing more than pure luck. Within your list you will undoubtedly have a few people who are really serious, perhaps a bit frivolous with their money, and will buy immediately. But you have absolutely no relationship with your subscribers. They simply looked at your second promotion and said "I don't know who this is, but they keep sending me emails", and cancelled.

What has happened here is the marketing analogue of the biochemical "quick fix" you get when eating a candy bar to curve your hunger. It works great initially, but you crash hard shortly after.

*Solution?* Take your time building your list!

One thing that I cannot stress enough is the time between sign up and first contact. When you buy lists, although sellers usually advertise only a few days old, you get addresses of people who don't even remember what they initially signed up for. I don't know about you but if I receive emails from people that I don't remember, it gets canned immediately. Being that over 150 million people are on the internet today, and are constantly hit with advertisement after advertisement, can you really be surprised that after a few days they really can't remember what they signed up for. The information age has catapulted us from one extreme to the next: information no load to information overload. So, you absolutely must make contact immediately after sign up.

There is another very important reason for the quick follow up after sign up - building credentials. People will be much more likely to stick with you if they think "hey, I signed up and immediately received a response. This person cares." And you should care. If your serious about developing an online business you should care about your contacts and you should supply them with valuable information. To succeed first take the time to promote and build a quality list. Profits will come in due time.

About The Author

Dan J. Fry is an independent researcher and owner of e-Kinetic.com, a site devoted to providing resources for small budget home businesses. He has a PhD in Physics and is married with two daughters and two cats. Subscribe to his free E-Zine on home business resources at mailto:e-kinetic@GetResponse.com or by visiting his site at http://www.e-kinetic.com. He can be reached at mailto:comp@e-kinetic.com.

---

4 Effective Ways To Use Autoresponders To Increase Your Sales

An autoresponder is a very powerful tool for any online... Read More

Signature Files: The Easy Way To Create More Business

If you do business as an affiliate, then you're constantly... Read More

How To Get An Instant Response To Your Urgent EMail!

In the business world, "You've Got Mail" has turned into... Read More

Improve Newsletter Delivery with an Autoresponder Service

Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More

FIVE ADVANCED and Essential features of Your Follow up Autoresponder

If you are not using a follow up autoresponder until... Read More

Do You Build Or Buy? (Tips On Leadgeneration)

Every marketer needs leads, they are the lifeblood of your... Read More

Learn How to Double and Triple the Size of Your Opt-in List by Helping Others

I think first of all, everybody deserves to have a... Read More

Make Your E-mail Signature File WORK for You

You're probably familiar with e-mail signature (or "sig") files --... Read More

EMail Newsletter Marketing Essentials

If Gutenberg were alive today he would be in publishing... Read More

Power at your Fingertips

It is just amazing. Power right at your fingertips. It... Read More

9 Tips To Help You Write More Powerful Emails

1. Make the effort to learn about the etiquette (these... Read More

Improve Email Deliverability: 15 Tips for Email Marketing Success

Delivering email newsletters and sales messages to opt-in subscribers and... Read More

Lost: 200 emails gone missing. Last seen on the 25.10.2003

Sound familiar? Ever wondered what happens to those unopened emails... Read More

How to Structure Your Follow-Up Sequence for Maximum Profit

Before I do this, let me describe how autoresponders work.... Read More

Free Email Accounts ? Pros and Cons

Free email accounts are great if you want to hide... Read More

Email Marketing: How Much is Too Much?

I have a special new email address. It's in addition... Read More

Virtual Marketing in a Tangible World

One of the greatest challenges facing business owners and managers... Read More

The Lazy Way To Build A Responsive Opt-In Email List

If you're in business on the Internet to make a... Read More

What is Gmail?

Like most other prime search engines, the ability to freely... Read More

Combating List Building Frenzy: Take The Time To Promote

It is an accepted fact among the experts now that... Read More

Paradigm Shift for the New World

In the business world, the primary focus is on selling... Read More

Email Marketing Kung Fu

Have you ever heard email described as, "the killer Internet... Read More

The Lazy Mans Way To Building a Massive List In Minimum Time

As you read every word of this article, you'll be... Read More

8 Ways to Get More Email Addresses On Your List ... Today

Whether you've got 100 or 100,000 people on your email... Read More

Email Etiquette V

Further to my previous issues this subject continues ? as... Read More

Yes, Please Do Come In, But Better Watch Your Step!

This little parody, and the comments that follow, were... Read More

How You Can Automate Your Business Using Autoresponders

What is an Autoresponder?An Autoresponder is a program or service... Read More

Email Marketing - Whats the Situation in April 2005?

Email is still the King in Internet marketing. Many people... Read More

Protect Yourself Legally with an Autoresponder Service

Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More

Tips to Bounce-Proof Your Email List

Keeping your email lists fresh is critical to the success... Read More

The Magic Of Email

These days email is taken for granted and used perhaps... Read More

Is Your E-Address Unprofessional?

How much time did you spend on deciding on the... Read More

Proven Techniques For Building A Responsive List

We've all heard those who have Internet business-success stories proclaim,... Read More