Sunday, February 8, 2009

Opt Email Lists: Tips and Secrets

By Daryl V. Glenn

Some time ago my internet marketing friend told me, "The money is in opt email lists." What the heck was he babbling about? Was it some sort of zen aphorism? "Build a list. Dude, you absolutely have to build your opt email lists." Build, as in construct? That sounded hard. Like I'd have to wear a hard hat and be involved in heavy lifting. "No, dude, I mean building opt email lists! You know, with an auto-responder."

I still didn't care about trying to build opt email lists, but my friend doesn't give up. A few weeks later he said, "Dude, do you know how much time you're wasting, reinventing the wheel? You do all this stuff to get customers to your website. They buy from you and they leave! Poof, they disappear! That means you have to start all over again and work like a dog to get another customer. But if you're building your opt email lists, you can send emails to the customer again and again. With, like, other offers and stuff."

Then my friend quoted a statistic. Yes, he brought it up a third and final time. He said most of the time, customers don't buy right away. They need to see what you're selling on average 7 times before they're ready to buy. Once a potential customer leaves your website without buying, they're not likely to come back on their own. Even if they like what you're selling and just want to take a little time to think about it, they'll probably get busy and forget your websites URL. I admitted, begrudgingly, that he was right.

His point was that you can stay in contact with your potential customers if they're on your opt email lists. So I started building them. And it wasn't as bad as I imagined, not by a long shot. But if my friend had given me some specific tips for building opt email lists, I wouldn't have had to go through so much trial and error. So subscribe to an affordable auto-responder service like GetResponse (I like them because they're affordable), and try a few of these suggestions.

*Make It Easy For People To Sign Up To Your Opt Email Lists

No one wants to have to work to get what you're giving away. They don't want to be confused and have to hunt for what you're giving away. The easier, the better. If you have a newsletter, a blog, a website, give your visitors a break. Don't make them hunt for your opt email sign-up form. Put it close to content, above the fold. Then talk about the benefits of signing up. Make it alluring, something like "secrets and tips you wont find elsewhere!"

*A Free eBook Or Report Is A Reason To Join Your Opt Email Lists

You don't have to write Remembrance of Things Past, you can just write a 5-page report. Give this report away on your landing page or website in exchange for your potential customer's email address. This strategy can have a really has a big pay off in the form of a ton of new email addresses flowing to you. Same with an eBook - you can give away something short and sweet. Whatever the length, don't use some free report or eBook that's already been floating around the web. Give away junky recycled stuff and people will unsubscribe from your opt emal lists. If push comes to shove and you don't want to write your own material, just pay someone. It's cheaper than you think.

*Visit Forums Related To What You're Selling

You've heard this forum business before, but it's true. Find a forum related to your website or product and get involved. A lot of forums let you use a signature link when you answer or ask a question. If they don't allow it, they may allow you to post your link in your user profile page. Post a useful answer and a lot of people may just come to your profile to check you out. If people see your URL in your signature or in your profile, they may end up on your landing page or website where they just might sign up for your opt email lists.

*Try Article Marketing and Be Viewed As An Expert

If your article is useful, you'll get a steady stream of new subscribers over time. Too, when you write an article, you'll establish yourself as something of an expert. And that means, people will trust you. Trust means they'll look to you for more information. If they trust you, there's a very good chance they'll end up on one of your opt email lists.

*Publish A Electronic Newsletter

If you decide to publish an electronic newsletter, don't turn it into a time-sucking venture. You can get away with publishing your newsletter twice a month, even once a month. If you join an auto-responder service like Get Response, you'll be provided with a sign-up form and your opt-in email chores will be handled for you. You can just focus on banging out your newsletter and hitting that publish button.

Heck, you can even buy a list if you can afford it. Do your homework - don't end up buying opt email lists from some spammer. If you go this route, beware of spending a lot of money; I warn you, some lists are quite expensive. If you buy a list, make sure that it's opt-in or even double opt-in.

Bottom line? Try one of the above-mentioned tips - you don't have to try them all. So stop dreading it and start building your opt email lists. - 21151

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