Archive for May, 2010

One of the easiest ways to find out what your subscribers need is to simply ask them. You can do this in several different ways. Surveys (my favorite), blog comments and emails can all be used to elicit responses from your subscribers.

If you have a blog, you can simply ask them to leave a comment on their most pressing need in your niche. You can also add in one of the many survey plugins that are available for WordPress and get your answers there… See my Twitter survey in the column to the right.

You can also have your subscribers send you an email with their needs. If you are really wanting to get in touch with them on a personal level, this may be the most effective way to do it. Some will have a problem with sending you a personal email, but others will look on this as the ultimate in relationship building… You gave them your personal email address!

I personally like to do surveys. You can ask questions with limited answers or a completely open reply where they can spell out their needs in their own words. Many people will use sites like Survey Monkey or Vizu to handle this for them, but there is another simple way that I like even more… and its free.

If you have a gmail account (and you really should if you are a marketer), you can log into your Google account and go toGoogle docs and create a survey that you can email to people, embed on your website or blog, or send a link to your subscribers that takes them to the survey page.

The results are tabulated and given to you in a spreadsheet that you can check on at any time just by logging into your Google account. Here’s a video from Youtube that shows how simple it is.

Now that you know how simple creating a survey is, get out there and find out what your subscribers needs are!

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Online marketing may have developed a sudden surge these past few years, but many insiders have felt its rise from the beginning. As more internet based businesses are started, the need to develop new marketing skills and knowledge based on the constant changing technology of the internet have arisen. More and more marketing strategies are being discovered and developed to cope with the changing face of the online business world.

The demand for online marketing tips and strategies has drastically grown, creating a market all its own. While there are gurus and companies that are all too eager to help your site and business build a clientele for a fee, there also many ways that can spread the word about your sites worth in a more cost effective way. One of these is opt-in email marketing, also known as permission marketing.

Opt-in marketing requires the permission of a willing customer, who subscribes to your mailing list, to receie marketing materials that take form in newsletters, catalogs and promotional mailings via e-mail. The more opt-in marketing mail that is sent, the more chances there are to make a sale. To do this, you must build a list of those who want or need the information and products that you supply in your niche.

From your list you will get targeted customers. Having targeted customers on your list is preferable since they already have shown interest in the niche you are working in. These are the people who have liked what they have seen on your site and have decided they want to see more and maybe even purchase whatever product or service your company and/or site has to offer.

Many people would think that building their lists would take hard work and a lot of time to build. This is not so, it takes a bit of patience and some strategies but in building a mailing list, you open your site and your business to a whole new world of targeted buyers. Take the effort to take your business to the next level. If an increase in targeted traffic and sales are what you want, an opt-in list will do wonders for your site.

There are many sources and articles on the internet available for everyone to read and follow in building a list. Sometimes they may be confusing because there are so many different methods and ideas put forth. Different groups of people will have different approaches in building an opt-in list, but no matter how diverse the many methods are, there are always some crucial things to do when building your list.

1) Put up a good web form on the front page of your site. The upper right hand column is a good spot for it. While some may say this is too soon to ask for a website visitors subscription, try to remember that your homepage should provide a quick good impression. It should showcase what the site and your company are about.

A good web form for subscribing to an opt-in list is not hard to do. Using a service like Aweber takes the labor out of designing your opt-in form. Give them a reason (free gift, keep updated, etc) and a clear call to action (limited time offer, etc) to sign up for your mailing list while on the page.

2) As mentioned in the first tip, make your homepage very impressive. You need to have well written articles and descriptions of your site. Depending on what your site is all about, you need to capture your website visitor’s interest. Make your site useful and very easy to use. Do not expect everyone to be tech savvy. Invest in having good programming on your site so that its easy to navigate. Build a clean site with good looking graphics… Eye appeal can be just as important as content.

Don’t waste your time making the homepage too overly large megabyte wise. Not all people have dedicated T1 connections, the faster your site loads into yheir browser, the better. Go for a look that borders between simplicity and sophisticated knowledge. You can have the best content in the world, but if the site doesn’t look professional, it may never get read.

3) Provide good service and products. A return customer is more likely to bring you more business. A satisfied customer will recommend a business to friends and family. Word of mouth and recommendations alone can rake in more business than an expensive ad campaign. As your customer base grows, so will your list. With more members on the list, the more people will get to know about what you have new to offer and the more sales you will make.

4) Keep a clean and private list. Never lose the trust your customers have entrusted you. If you provide your list  e-mails to others and your subscribers get spammed, many will unsubscribe. Remember, a good reputation will drive in more traffic and subscribers as well as strengthen the loyalty of your customers. And don’t forget the occasional freebie goes a long way in keeping your subscribers happy.

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Every online business provides great service to generate satisfaction among their customers. As each and every customer receives satisfaction over their products or the services they get, there is a great chance that they will become a return customer and buy again. Better yet, they will recommend you to other people that could generate more business for you and your site.

As more traffic is driven to your site, you can entice many of them to subscribe to your mailing list or opt-in list. This is a list where website visitors agree to be sent promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and such that could keep them updated about your site or the niche of your site. These promotional materials are sent via e-mail to the members of the list in different time intervals.

When using e-mail as the media of your marketing and advertisements, you eliminate the need for high costs. Email is free and if you can manage to make your own promotional advertisements you can also save a bundle there. With an opt-in subscribers list, you are pretty sure that what you are sending out is received, viewed and read by the subscribers and not simply being deleted. They have signed up for service and have consented in receiving it.

This means that there are constant reminders to your subscribers about all your products, new products and services as well as any promotions and special deals you are having. There is also the chance that they can be forwarded to other potential customers as they tell their friends and families about you and your site.

Of course you should be also aware that a subscriber may unsubscribe when they feel that they are not getting what they want or expected. Make sure that they are satisfied with your opt-in marketing strategies and keep them excited in receiving your newsletters and catalogs. Here are some tips that can help you build a list of eager subscribers.

Make your promotional materials interesting and fun. Try to use a little creativity but not too over artsy. Build around what your product or service is about. For example; if you are selling car parts, put some pictures of what is new in the auto parts world, a new wing door possibly that can fit any car and make it look like a Lamborghini.

Try to research what people are looking for, these way, you stay one step ahead of them all the time and you will be their bearer of new tidings. They will be eager to receive what you are sending them because they new you always have fresh and new things to share with them.

Write good articles that can be very informational but light at the same time. If your subscribers enjoy your articles, they will go to your site by clicking the links that you will be putting on your newsletter to read some more. You can provide articles that can connect to many people. Be diverse in your articles. Put something humorous, then put something informational, then put something that has both.

Are you wary about this because you don’t like writing? No problem, there are many professional and experienced article writers that   can do the job for you for minimal fees. They know what they are doing and can provide the need that you have for your newsletters, the money that you pay for your articles are going to be met by the many sign-ups and the potential profit from the sales that you will get.

Create and send an E-book to your customers about anything that is related to your business or site. Use your knowledge and expertise in the field you have chosen to help other people who are similarly interested. Offer this e-book for free. You can write about anything informational and helpful to your subscribers. For example; you can do manuals and guides in so many things. This e-book could be used as a reference for many people.

Share this e-book with everyone, even other sites; just make sure that they don’t change the links in the e-book that will lead people to your site. If you want, you can always get some people to write it for you just like your articles. Your investment once again will be covered by the great marketing this will generate.

Add e-coupons in your newsletters that will help them avail to special discounts. Put a control number in your e-coupon so that they can only be used once. When people get discounts that can be found in your newsletters, they will be eager to receive your newsletter in anticipation of what you are promoting next.

If your subscribers can get benefits from your newsletters, they will be very eager to receive them. Just don’t flood your mailing list with mails so that you don’t annoy your subscribers.

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Okay… Today I was checking out this new traffic site where your sites are viewed and commented on by other people. They call it social browsing… Pretty cool site for testing ads, but I’ll get back to that in a bit. Anyhow, you can look at all of the comments people left about your page and get feedback as to how effective your message is.

I had submitted a squeeze page for a free copy of my Viral Traffic Automator submitter software. One of the comments left was: “Why do they always want your email address?”… WTH? Okay, if you have to ask why someone would want your email addy in exchange for a free product you are either a newbie or you have been living under a rock somewhere, because if you are not building a list yourself: You are going to fail in this business!

You may be able to make a little money, but sooner or later all of that surfing, ad posting, solo mailing, etc gets old. Using free traffic sites are okay, but use them to build a list. Then use that list to sell your products or send your offers to. Most people on those sites will never take the time to read your long sales letter or watch your video. So, give them something of value in exchange for them subscribing to your list, instead.

With a good list, you never need to surf for credits or post ads or send solos. If you have a product to sell, you just log into your autoresponder account and send the offer to your list! They are there because you have given them something of value in the past and if you are offering something in the same niche, they should be interested… Right?

A list gives you the ultimate targeted traffic. You have people who want to hear from you. They trust your opinions (at least they should). They decided beforehand to let you send them offers in your niche when they subscribed.

My most important thing that I try to do on a daily basis is build my marketing list. Its more important than creating a new product or website. Its more important than the latest JV offer. Why? Because with that list, I have a targeted audience to sell my product or pitch some other’s that I am working as an affiliate for!

Frank Kern said in one of his videos that your list is the most important source of traffic that you can have. Better than SEO, PPC, exchanges, whatever. SEO is fickle because the search engines are always changing the rules. PPC can be cost prohibitive in a competitive niche. Exchanges do not provide targeted traffic. Your list is highly targeted and full of eager participants in your niche!

About exchanges… I’m not saying to not use them. I still run ads on click exchanges, safelists and text ad exchanges. They are highly untargeted and most of the people there are just viewing your site so that others will view theirs. So why would I use them? Because my list is my number one priority and I have added over 500 targeted subscribers to my lists in a 30 day period just using free exchanges. Wouldn’t you like an extra 6000 subscribers per year?

If your ads are short and to the point with a good call to action, you can attract subscribers… Even using the traffic exchanges. That is why I checked out Sweeva today.

Like I said earlier, Sweeva is a bit different than your standard click exchange. People actually stay on the site and look at your ad and give you feedback on it. If your ad is positively received with this highly untargeted audience, just think how well it will do with targeted traffic. I would recommend you checking it out, just to use as a site to test your ads on… If you’re testing squeeze pages, you will probably add some subscribers as well.

There are many more aspects to it that keep people glued to your page, but its too much to go into right here. You can sign up for free and then they have a nice info page that comes up and explains how it works when you log in for the first time so be sure to read it closely. There  is also at least one video in the members area to explain the bidding process used to get your site viewed. It should be a worthwile tool in your bag of tricks.

So get out there and build your list… Whatever advertising methods you choose to use… Always be building your list.

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