Offer a FREE Newsletter.
I know you’re probably thinking, “Free?” Yes…this has been proven to be THE best offer to
collect opt-in email addresses. If you offer to provide potential subscribers with information they
need (and don’t have to pay for) – information that they are actively looking for – they’ll be glad to
subscribe to your newsletter. These people WANT to know more about what you have to say!
These are the people who are most likely to be open to future offers from you – once you have
established a credible relationship with them. It has been reported through rigorous research
that up to 50% in sales can be generated from newsletter auto-responder follow-ups! It’s also
been shown that offering free newsletters is the single, best thing to offer to increase your opt-in
e-mail list. By giving away Free information early on, chances are you’ll be rewarded later with
several backend sales.
Give Away a Free eBook.
It’s a great way of getting more subscribers and growing your online business. You need to
make sure that the eBook is of quality information or you will lose ALL credibility with your
subscriber. Your customer will see right through you if you give them a free eBook full of
unattractive information. You don’t want to lose these customers just because you were too lazy
to write something of quality. Remember, these people are truly interested in what you have to
offer them, so you don’t want to lose their interest right from the get-go. If you do this properly,
you’ll see return visits from these loyal subscribers. And you know what that means…more sales
for you!
Offer Free Articles About a Subject Related To Your Product or Service.
This is a very powerful list-building tactic. Subscribers gained from articles are more
predisposed to what you have to offer because they practically opt-in pre-sold. Plus, your
credibility as an expert in your field has already been established. By offering information, which
your visitors will find useful for free, you can get them to sign-up to your list (i.e. “Enter your email
address here to receive your Free Guide”).
_ Give Away a Series of Free Reports.
If you offer to teach your visitors about something they are interested in, at no charge to
them, you will not only be able to build your list quickly, but you’ll also boost your credibility as an
expert in your subject. The best way to distribute free reports is via an auto-responder delivery
system. You can set it up so your visitors will receive their reports on specified days of the
week/month. You should also offer your visitors the entire series of reports in exchange for their
email address (or some other fair trade).
_ Give Away a Free Download.
You can’t beat a free download of a “trial version” of software. If you’re selling software, this
is the ideal incentive for your future opt-in. Of course, since you collected their e-mail address
when they downloaded the product, you’ll be able to offer them any special discounts on the ‘full
version’ of your software just before the trial version expires.
There are no hard and fast rules about how you should hold or store your email lists (though
online auto-responder services are the best, in my opinion) but it must contain the ability for people to
unsubscribe (i.e. people must be able to request not to receive any further emails from you). Providing
this ability shows your subscribers that you operate a respectable list and you are far less likely to be
accused of spamming.
Without a doubt, the hands-down best, and most compelling opt-in offer is a Free Newsletter.
You will not only get a truck-load of opt-ins, but you will also be able to expose them to your company
and your offer many times over the course of a few months!
When done correctly, email marketing can become your most powerful way to generate sales.
Your opt-in incentive needs to entice potential subscribers with a benefit that is strong enough to
overcome the common objections of not wanting to share their personal contact information. But once
you have their email address, you must design the proper strategy of promoting your product if you
want to boost your sales from your opt-in list. These devoted subscribers are sitting there waiting for
your offer – so make sure you know how to present it in a way that will entice your ‘new best friend’.
There are some niches that have never ever seen this kind of multi-media and you can literally blow them away with your valuable content. Valuable doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of content.
I’ve realized that taking a “customer-for-life” approach and making them “raving fans” will pay off HUGE dividends.
Now, you might be asking, “how in the heck do I build my list?”
Well, I’ve had great success using Pay Per Click Search Engines, writing articles, press releases, setting up joint ventures with eZine editors/owners, search engine optimization, and using viral tools such as giving away free reports, free eBooks, and free audios, and using the other strategies I’ve listed in Chapter 1. I wasn’t lying to you in the earlier chapter when I gave you the top ways to build your list from scratch.
One of the keys here is to step outside of yourself and try and think like your potential customer.
Also survey your visitors. Ask them what their biggest problems and challenges are and what kind of solution they are looking for. Then GIVE it to them.
I know that sounds like an oversimplification, but you’ll be amazed at how many people don’t ask their visitors what they want. They assume they know better and tend to create a product before ever asking people what they want.
Build a list, build a relationship with that list by providing mind-blowing, over-the-top content, give them a free report or product and show them that you’re a genuine human being that really cares about them, and you’ll have them fighting at your virtual door wanting to buy your products or services.
