How to Build Your Email List

Most of the time when someone asks how to grow their email list what they're really asking is, "How can I get 1,000 people on my list this month so I can hurry up and start selling to them?" Most people won't admit that, but honestly, if I could give one secret tip that would answer that question wouldn't you go for it in a heartbeat? 

The truth of the matter is, the very nature of a successful email list has nothing to do with its size. It has to do with the engagement and loyalty of the people on that list. And getting loyalty and engagement takes time, attention and quality content.

There are several things you need to do off the bat to make sure you're giving people every opportunity possible to opt-in to your list. It isn't easy to get someone's email address. It's your job to make opting in to your list easy and compelling.

Using Opt-ins to Build Your Email List 

To make subscribing easy, be sure you have several places on your blog where people can opt in to receive some type of free goodie. The side bar, and header of your site are common locations for an opt-in box. But you should also consider adding a pop up. Even though just about everyone will say they hate pop ups, the truth is, they work. Today's pop ups have settings that allow you to make them as customized as you like. They don't have to be the intrusive screen covering monstrosities of years past. 

Other great places to have your opt-ins:

Email signature line 

Social Media profiles 

Each blog post (up to five different types leading to the same freebie in each post) 

Business card 

Bios of guest posts you write for other sites 

Using Freebies to Build Your Email List

When creating your opt-in, you need a really amazing freebie. This should be something that offers a quick win to the person receiving it, but it shouldn't take you a long time to create. Consider the fact that the person opting in is probably a newbie in your area of expertise. Ask yourself:

What questions do newbies in your field want answered? 

Which questions do you get asked all of the time? 

What do you wish you'd known when you were first starting out 

Stay away from freebies that don't offer a really quick win for your reader. They'll put it aside to work on later and will probably never get back to it and, thus, never realize how valuable your content is to them.

Using Great Content to Build Your Email List 

No matter how many places you guest post, how many blogs you write or how many emails you send out, if you want to build your email list quickly, you need to provide really amazing content. Nothing you do will build your list more quickly than word of mouth. 

If you want people to share your terrific email with their friends, make sure those friends can easily find a way to add themselves to your list. Post snippets of your blog on social media and provide a spot on the blog to opt in to get a freebie that compliments the blog's content. Have a spot on your social media profiles where people can sign up for your list via an app or Call to Action in your header.

Building a strong, responsive email list takes time. It takes work. But if you leverage the work you're already doing to create amazing content that your followers love to read, you'll have a list of raving fans before you know it!

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Your Most Important Launch Tool: Building Your List

Growing your business from scratch each day isn't easy.

Maybe you aren't completely starting over, but if you're working to grow your business online, it sure can feel that way. Every day is a new struggle to build your email list. Each morning you start at zero for the day and work to see how many new subscribers you can get.

It can be frustrating, adding new email subscribers. It's hard work convincing people that you really want to help them, to provide them with terrific content they are going to love. You work hard to write terrific emails and engaging blog posts and yet your subscriber list builds slowly. You feel like the tortoise.

You know this is work you have to do, but boy, isn't it easier to just hop on to your social media account and engage with your fans there? Images, video, fast moving comments - these are the things that pump you up and get your juices flowing. Be careful, this is where you become dangerously close to becoming the hare.

Sure, it's nice to have a massive following on social media. It feels good to know that people respect you, that they enjoy interacting with you, but have you ever considered that these leads, these social media fans you have are not your own?

It's All About Your List: Your Email List

In the world of online marketing, where everything is virtual, all you really have... is your list.

The list of people who love what you're doing, will follow your every word and are likely to buy whatever you sell. If that valuable list of people who love you is only on social media, you are operating at the whim of a company you can't control.

What if you woke up tomorrow and Facebook was gone? How would that affect your business, your client interaction? What if it were Pinterest, or Instagram or Twitter?

Over the past few years we've seen how platforms modify their policies, change their algorithms, and decide to start charging us if we want followers to see our content. This is no way to build your business: at the mercy of someone else's business success.

Whether you have hundreds or thousands of followers on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter, you eventually need to move them to your email list if you want to be able to market to them. This can be much more difficult than it sounds. It is easy for people to decide to engage with you on social media, there's very little commitment on their part. All they have to do is click a button. They can log in or out at will, they can block you, or they can unfollow you and you'll never even know. Don't let a huge social media following to give you a false feeling of your popularity.

Just yesterday I responded to someone who is launching her product and despite the fact she has thousands of followers on FB who love what she's doing and like her posts, she's unable to get them to buy. That's because social media is for interaction, not sales.

Building Your List is Personal 

Getting into someone's email inbox is much more personal than getting them to "like" or share something you've posted on social media. Instead of your message being one of thousands they scroll through quickly and "like" without reading, now your message is among those of the people they care most about: their family and friends.

Once someone trusts you with their email address, once you begin offering them amazing content as your beloved subscriber, they will tell you they appreciate what you have to say by engaging with you, by buying from you. They are allowing you into their inner circle. Make sure you deserve to be there.

Yes, building an email list is hard. Yes it can be slow, but it is also the very best way to give your business a firm and solid foundation. You may feel like a tortoise, but at least your home moves along with you, it isn't left behind in the interest of the next flashy new thing.

If you want to build an amazing online business, if you want to be able to launch incredible products to the people who most respect and admire you, trust me. Your most important launch tool is your email list.

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How To Leverage The Law of Reciprocity

We all love getting stuff for free. If you've ever been given something that is useful to you unexpectedly from someone else, even a stranger, you most likely felt an element of gratitude. You're grateful for that person's actions. Research show that this also develops a feeling of respect and appreciation for the gift giver.

Building Your Email List

As an online business owner, you unquestionably must give away valuable content, or physical products, to build your email list. Your email list is your most valuable resource. The people who are on your list a your prospects and future customers.

You may be thinking that if you spend a lot of time and effort creating an amazing piece of content, why should you give it away? Why not sell it? The answer lies in how the human brain works when you receive a gift. If you're new to email list building, you may be concerned that building a list of "freebie seekers" will lead to poor sales and profits. And that's a valid concern.

But our brains are hardwired to respond in a favorable way. Unconsciously, without even knowing it, your brain will begin looking for options to repay that person. This is known as the Law of Reciprocity.

When you receive something of value, either virtual or physical, without having to pay for it in some way, you automatically feel like you "owe" that person something.

Your Online Business and The Law of Reciprocity

You are beginning the relationship by giving away something for free, without asking for any money. Everyday your audience are bombarded with messages from businesses trying to sell them something that they don't need. But when you provide value, they see you as one of the 'good guys'. This is why people will be happy to join your email list in return for something they see as more valuable than their email address.

Always Provide Value

It's up to you to make sure that the resource, e-book, checklist or physical product is extremely valuable and useful to your prospect. If you give away something that is rubbish, this will reflect poorly on your business.

Make sure it solves a big problem in your prospect's life. You want them to come to know, like and trust you. If they see that you provide a high level of value for free, they will believe that you'll provide even better value foe your paid products and services.

You may think that producing a valuable resource will take too much time to create, research, write, format, publish and market. Don't worry, free resources are easy to develop. You probably know more about your market that 99% of your prospects. If you create an e-book and you offer it away for free, it becomes even more valuable. To learn more, download my Free Checklist: How To Write An E-Book: http://jonallo.com/ebook

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Simple Strategy Of Online Marketing 2

First, choose your niche. Health, finance and business, relationships, self-improvement... choose something you enjoy yourself that's filled with people who spend money. The hungrier your market, the better.   Either create a lead magnet or have one created for you. It should be an offer so enticing that visitors can't help but opt-in to get it. Put an upsell after that squeeze page to earn some up-front money.

Run solo ads or Facebook ads to send traffic to your squeeze page. Just spend a little bit here and there at first until you get your squeeze page and upsell page tweaked and optimized for best results. Then buy more traffic. Use the profits from the upsell to buy MORE traffic. Yes, you will be spending money.  But done right, you will also be making money. Worst case scenario, you spend $5,000 to build your list of 10,000 people. Best case scenario, you make that $5,000 or more on your upsell to pay for your list building.

It's a leap of faith to do this. Which is why most will never do it. But because most never will, that leaves plenty of room for YOU to do it.

Don't have money to invest in traffic? Then you'll have to use 'free' methods, which aren't free. They involve spending time and effort, but again, it's totally worth it. Now here's another 'secret' to getting this done - anything, and I mean ANY PART of this endeavour that you don't want to do yourself, you outsource. Get someone else to do it for you. Yes, outsourcing costs money.

You're building a business, aren't you? You are looking at earning a $5,000 a month income within 3-4 months, so just make the investment and do it.

Mail your list consistently as it grows. That means once you have your first subscriber, you start mailing 4-7 times per week. This is where you're going to put your real effort - into writing emails that make people WANT to open them and read them. You can't force people, but you sure can entice them. Whatever it is that your particular list wants, give it to them.

If you don't know what that is, hang out where they hang out, talk to them and ask them what they want, what they need, what one thing would make a big difference for them. "But all of that sounds like so much work!"

Guess what? If you want to build a business it's going to take work. It's going to take going through some bad stuff, some stuff that doesn't work, some stuff that costs you money to build your business. But once it's built, you have a perpetual fountain of money on your hands. You keep building the list, you keep emailing the list and you keep promoting to the list. Build, email and promote.

Imagine the lifestyle where you can be anyplace in the WORLD, send out an email and literally get money into your account that same day.  5 sales, 50 sales, 500 sales, all from one email. But to get to that point you've got to do the work first. And I don't care how many programs you buy. The fact is sooner or later you will finally come to the realization that regardless of what else you might be doing, you should also have a list.

Because a list is security. It's money in the bank. Now think about this: A year from now something happens and you need to make serious money FAST. Maybe you found the house of your dreams but you're short $20,000 for the down payment. Maybe your son needs an operation and your insurance won't cover $20,000 of it, and they won't do the operation until you get the money.

Maybe the IRS says you owe $20,000 in back taxes and they're about to take your home. Whatever it is, you need a substantial amount of cash in your hands NOW. But thankfully, a year ago you began building a list. Within 4 months your list was up to 10,000. Now it's over 30,000. You send out one email. And the next day you have $5,000 in cash. So you send another email the next day, and two more after that. And you have your $20,000. You get the house. Or your son gets the operation. Or the IRS leaves you the heck alone. Now that is security. That is power. That is freedom.

And it all starts with you, right here, right now, creating your funnel and building your list.

If this is the only piece of internet marketing advice you ever take, you will succeed and succeed big. Build. A. List. Starting now. Discover how to engage and excite new customers into taking action and spending money with you by using these simple free marketing tips from Nick James,

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Simple Strategy Of Online Marketing 1

I don't know what day you're reading this. But I do know that today someone, somewhere, just launched a brand new Internet Marketing product or course that will finally teach you the secrets to building a successful Internet Marketing business in just months. How do I know this?  Because every single day of every single year, someone does exactly this. And here's the best part - many and even most of these products work. They truly do. That is, they work as long as you do the work.

Which bears repeating - Building an online business takes actual WORK. There is no magic button to making a million overnight.  If there were, no one would be waiting tables or working at dead end jobs because everyone, and I mean EVERYONE would be rich.

So just get thoughts of overnight wealth out of your pretty brain the next time someone tries to tell you they found the magic button and they'll share it with you for just $97. However, if you are willing to work, and you're willing to invest in your business, then I will tell you the secret to having an honest to goodness real business within 3-4 months that does indeed earn you a minimum of $5,000 per month.

The sad things is, most people who read this aren't going to actually DO it. And that's because it's not sexy and it takes WORK. Darn, there's that 4 letter word again. And one more thing - if you want to accomplish this in 3-4 months, it's probably going to take an investment as well.

Now, before you get unravelled because I suggested you have to WORK and INVEST, think about this...... what job can you get - with no formal training - that will pay you $5,000 a month to start, with monthly raises? And that calls for you to work from any darn place you choose, when you want, where you want and how you want?   Name me one job like that and I'm in.  But there's no such thing.

Imagine for a minute that you apply for a job. The interviewer says to you, "The only training you need will be on the job. You'll be making $5,000 a month by your third or fourth month. Each month that you want a raise, you can have one. There is no limit to what you can earn, it's up to you. You can work from home or anyplace you like. You can work whenever you like, as little or as much as you like. And if there is any part of the job you don't like doing, you can outsource it to someone else."

That, my friend, is a job applicant's wet dream. And it's exactly what you can have, if you want it bad enough.So what's THE big internet marketing secret I mentioned in the title?  If you haven't already guessed it, keep reading. If you have guessed it, are you doing it yet? If not, why not?

Okay, here we go, and I warn you - you have heard this before.

You may have heard this 100 times before. But what counts is the ONE time you hear it and actually starting DOING it. That, my friend, is LIFE-CHANGING. And it's why I'm taking so long to lead up to this - because I'm trying to help you make THIS the time you actually DO it and make it yours.

Here we go...What you need to succeed is a LIST. Yes, I told you that you heard this before. But if you really want total financial freedom, you need a list. You need a list. You need a list.

YOU NEED A @#$% LIST.

Whew. Sorry about that. I get a little keyed up when I see people buying every latest greatest newest product out there when all they need to do is get busy and build a list. Having a list gives you a ready market for any products you want to develop and create. It allows you to sell affiliate products whenever you want. It allows you to make money on demand.

Whoa - did a big bill just land in your lap? Send an email and get the money to pay it. Did you just find something in the store you MUST HAVE RIGHT NOW? Send out an email and in a few hours you can have it. Think about this... properly built and handled, a list of 10,000 people can give you an income of $5,000 a month if you promote the right affiliate offers. This doesn't even include promoting your own products.

Plus when you have a list of 10,000, you also have leverage. You can ask other marketers to promote your products to their lists in return for promoting their products to your list. And you can build your list from zero to 10,000 in a couple of months, especially if you're willing to invest in your list building effort

see Section 2 tomorrow for more information

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Why Is Building An Email List So Important?

An email list is the bread and butter of an online business. It's a collected list of email addresses of customers and prospects that have filled out a form to receive your messages. These email addresses are collected into a database that allows you to easily send out messages both immediately and automated to all the people on your list, or specific ones that you choose.

So why is building an email list so important?

1. You Get Permission

When you get someone to join your email list, you are basically getting permission to communicate and continue marketing to them via email. By subscribing, they are telling you that they want to hear from you and what you have to offer.

2. You Own Your Email List

You don't own your Facebook Page - Facebook does. You don't own your Twitter profile - Twitter does. And it's the same with all your other social media accounts that have followers. The point is, when you're building an email list of people who are interested in what you have to offer, you actually own that list of people. It's an asset you can use to build your online business.

3. You Control Traffic

Building an email list building is the best way to get people to come back to your website. Once you've successfully gotten people to subscribe to your email list, all you have to do is send an email out to your subscribers with a link back to your latest post or information product.

4. It's The Professional Way To Contact Customers

Today most consumers are used to giving their email address to a business, or understand that when they make a purchase the business will need their email address. Email is a common way to communicate and contact customers and is very accepted by most people.

5. Email Marketing Increases Conversion Rates

There's no question that email marketing is one of the most, if not the most, effective forms of marketing that has ever existed. By using email to teach prospects about your business and offerings, you can increase conversions.

6. Email Let's You To Add Value

When you use email to contact people who have signed up to receive your messages, you're connected to them in a very intimate way. This affords you the opportunity, if you plan for it, to add extreme value to your customers' lives by sending them information that solves their problems.

7. Email Keeps You Super Close To Your Customers

You're always with your customers due to smartphones and the ability to send messages to your customers any time of the day. You can contact them at anytime easily with just a click of a button. Just think about how often you check your email.

You're not going to build your email list very fast with a bland opt in offer. If you're offering a boring, "seen it all before" report that doesn't address your visitor's problems with any urgency, they won't be enticed to give you their email details.To learn how you can build your email list with an opt in offer that your audience can't resist go to: http://jonallo.com/build-your-email-list-fast/

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7 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid to Run a Successful Campaign

Mistakes are inevitable.We all make mistakes. Some are big and some are insignificant. But when it comes to business, every single move adds to the final impact. Therefore, even an unseen mistake can cause serious damage and can affect the entire business operation.

Email marketing is one of the prominent channels of marketing used by businesses today. It not only helps businesses to position their brand and engage prospects but can also help in attaining astronomical sales revenue. Therefore, it becomes crucial for every marketing professional to be cautious while triggering an email marketing campaign. Here we mention 7 mistakes that should not be part of your email marketing campaign.

Mistake #1: You send without testing

Confidence is the key to success, but do not forget that we are amidst the ever-growing jungle of PCs and web-based email software. Businesses gain confidence by spotting flaws and resolving them in just few minutes testing a message in popular email clients like Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, etc. Ensure that all the links work properly, images load correctly and there are no spelling or grammar mistakes. To get maximum return from an email campaign you must lay emphasis on how the message is displayed on various email programs. For an intense review of the message you can use services like Email Analysis. Moreover, if you are managing a campaign at pro level, A/B testing can always be fruitful in testing variations of the same message on a sample list, and then trigger the best performing one.

Mistake #2: You do not bother about a permission based mailing list

Unless you have recipient's permission, anything you send through an email is almost a spam, which is strictly against the law. Today, numerous businesses take shortcuts and purchase email lists and compile them in an unethical way. Do not forget, that spam also hampers your brand reputation. Read all the information on CAN-SPAM act to be well informed. Being aggressive sometimes drive businesses towards desperations, which leads to these unethical tactics. You can go through the Federal Trade Commission website to take corrective actions to mitigate the damage caused by your past mistakes.

Mistake #3: Yours choice of "From" and "Subject" are really poor

7 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid to Run a Successful Campaign

After the mailing list mistake this is another common one the email marketers usually commit. Pay special attention to "from" and "subject line". It is a fact that your prospect takes a fraction of a second time to decide whether to open an email or not. In case, the recipients don't recognize the sender, it takes no time for them to move on or deleting the mail.

Mistake #4: Poor call-to-action usage

You run an email campaign for a purpose. And you want the readers to take a decision on reading your mail. You may want them to go to your website and register or download a piece of information or take a similar step. Whatever the objective may be, make your call-to-action statement simple and clear. Also, make sure that the landing page you choose to make your visitors land after clicking takes them to the right page to ensure your readers get what they want.

Mistake #5:You put graphics everywhere

It's a common mindset that graphics excites the readers and compel them to stay engaged, but the fact is that such days are gone.Today's readers are aware about their needs.Too much graphics can over shadow your primary message and may cause slower download speed that can turn off your readers.So, keep yourself away from such pump and show and be concise and to the point, thus helping the reader to take an action.

Mistake #6: You do not optimize your emails for mobile devices

7 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid to Run a Successful Campaign

The volume of mobile users is ruling the internet realm today. You have to be quite assured that your emails look good on mobile devices. Moreover, they should also be user-friendly for your subscribers. Make sure that all your buttons, links, call-to-action are big and distinct so that the readers don't accidentally click on the wrong links.The layout, responsiveness and compatibility are vital factors to ensure readability irrespective of devices it is viewed on.

Mistake #7: Your blind belief on purchased list

Businesses, especially the startups often show a strong affinity towards readymade mailing list. However, today most of the reputable email marketing agencies won't suggest you to email on a purchased list as they don't want to get dinged by spam complaints. But the right reason to not to go for a purchased list is the results. They can be so shocking that you would probably want your money back. Be patient and focus on building a list for a loyal consumer base. Remember, great email programs were not built overnight; it takes time to build a list that really works.

What do you think?

Have you ever made any such mistakes with your email marketing? Readers, if you think that you have dealt with a tough situation with your email marketing then please do share your experience below the post. We are always eager to listen and learn!

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4 Tips for Effective Emails

Just like social media, email marketing has become a staple in how businesses drive sales and retain customers. Creating an effective email marketing campaign can result in significant increases in sales, retention, and customer satisfaction. Follow these four tips to start sending effective emails today:

Catchy Subject Lines

Just like a gatekeeper can block a person from getting to their intended recipient, a weak subject line may prevent your email from being opened. Think about it: the subject line is the first thing that the recipient will see. First and foremost: make sure you're consistent with your brand. If you tend to have more of a humorous approach to your communications, then keep your email subject line light. If you're all business, then keep the subject buttoned-up. While there's no silver bullet to creating a catchy subject line, consider some of the following ideas: 

• Ask a Question: "Is your business getting the most out of social media?" The idea here is that the recipient will have to open the email to find out.
• Mention a mutual connection: "John Doe told me to reach out." A personal connection is always a sure-fire way to grab someone's attention.
• Tell them what's inside: "New Updates to your platform inside!" This will make the recipient want to open your email to find out.
• Use actionable language: "Catch a pass from Tom Brady!" wins over something like "Local Sports Hero Visiting." It helps the reader visualize actually being there.

Think about the kind of language that piques your interests and gets you to open an email, and always keep it short and sweet.

Get Right to the Point

Think about how you read your emails. Most email is scanned beginning with the subject line and preview pane, and not read in its entirety at all. Don't inundate the beginning of your emails with an over-abundance of images, icons, and introductory language. Instead, use that space to get to point of your email. If have images and other related copy, put it after the primary point at the beginning, and then restate it at the end.

Personalize

This works in two primary ways. If you have the recipients first name, use it in your introductory line. Something as simple as "Hi John," goes a long way. Many email marketing platforms such as MailChimp and Constant Contact have tools that automatically fill in your contacts first name in your emails blasts. Then, if you have a working relationship, following with a friendly greeting is a great way to truly personalize the message. Something as simple as "It was great speaking with you last week!" goes a long way as well.

Add Value

These days, everyone gets inundated with emails day-in, day-out. Before you send your email, think about what sets your email apart from others. By and large, people join email lists not only to learn more about their interests but also to receive something of value just for being signed up. Think of your email list as something of a VIP club and try to treat your subscribers as such. If you're sending a sales-related email, consider including an exclusive deal for your email subscribers. If it's an update to existing customers, try to give them something they can use - helpful tips and tricks, tools, or first access to new features.

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Where Do You Start With Email Marketing?

Nobody ever says "I wish I could receive more emails". So when somebody signs up to receive emails from you they are giving you very special permission to send them information.

Email marketing is about making real connections with real people who want to hear from you. As they receive your messages, they'll grow more attached to your brand, engage with your content and be much more likely to buy from you.

So where do you start with email marketing?

1. Determine Your Objective

What do you want email marketing to accomplish for you? Do you want to increase sales for your product or service? Do you want to develop relationships with subscribers? How will it fit with your overall marketing strategy?

2. Identify Your Ideal Subscriber

Your can't sell everything to everyone so the more focused you are your ideal subscriber, the easier it will be to connect to that individual. What problems can your product or service solve for them? How can you make their life easier or more comfortable?

3. How Will You Get Email Addresses?

You can't use email marketing if you don't have any email addresses to send your messages. The most common way to build a list of addresses is via an email opt-in form on your website. Or you can direct prospects to a specific landing page where they are offered something for free, like a report or eBook, in exchange for their email address.

4. What Are You Going To Email Them?

A lot of businesses know that they need email marketing to develop their business, but get stuck trying to decide what type of content to send their subscribers.There is a whole variety of options. You can send welcome emails when somebody joins your email list, educational emails about your niche or industry, newsletters, e-courses and, of course, promotional emails where you're offering products for sale.

5. How Often Should Use Email Marketing?

There's no one right or wrong answer for how often you should send emails. If you've got nothing of value to say via email, then don't send an email. If you send an email every day for two weeks then wait three weeks before sending the next one, your subscribers may have forgotten about you. Remain consistent. If you email once per week, stick to that schedule and ensure that every email you send provides value to your subscriber.

You have to give your prospects something of value in exchange for their email address. And if you're offering a boring, 'seen it all before' report that doesn't address your visitor's problems with any urgency, they won't be enticed to give you their email details.

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