One of the biggest challenges that bloggers face is how to build an email list.

Most know and understand the saying, "the money is in the list."

Loyal subscribers who know, like, and trust you turn into customers provided you're continuously providing value and have good content.

Back when I first started blogging, I didn't understand this. I wanted tons of readers, but I wasn't exactly looking for emails because I didn't have a product to sell (or so I thought).

This is before internet marketing really hit.

A friend of mine suggested I get a blog to promote myself as a freelance writer, but that was about as far as it went. It was probably about 6 months to a year before I REALLY figured out that I was doing it ALL wrong.

Even as a freelance writer, I should have been building a list of loyal subscribers and sending out at least a weekly newsletter with my content to engage my readers.

Crazy right?

What's even crazier is that with ALL the information out there about how to make money blogging, and how to build a list, I still see people who make the silliest mistakes that myself and so many others made years ago.

The sad thing is that a lot of them have great blog, filled with valuable content, fabulous designs, and yet.... one mistake in particular is costing them BIG

How To Build An Email List On Your Blog

Click Here To Read More

It was my cousin in North Carolina who told me about this program. At first I thought it was on of those things. You know A Scam. But, after I took the time to take a close I saw there was more value in what the program was offering than what I was paying to buy. 

Since I've gotten started I've made several times over my investment and it's growing everyday. This hasn't been without a few challenges and I've had to learn new things. But, it is paying off in many ways. Give it a try. http://advertisethiswebsite.tk

Is Your List Making You Money?

It seems like a funny thing to ask, I know. But, the mantra "the money is in the list" has us slapping opt-in boxes on our web pages and waiting for the money to roll in.

How's that working for you? I know it did not work well for me until I had this epiphany.

The money is not in just having a list; it's in the relationship you build with them.

A list is just that, a list of people who have given you permission to market to them. So, the key to unlocking the money making potential you hear so much about requires you to market.

And for most entrepreneurs, that's easier said than done.

Why does it seem so easy for our marketing heroes and professional crushes to make money their lists while you struggle to build yours?

The truth is it isn't a matter of hard or easy, It comes down to strategic and consistent execution until you find what works for you and your subscribers.

So, how can you build a list that is a win - win for you and your subscribers?

Here are a few tips to help ensure you build a list of responsive subscribers, ready to take action on what you have to say & sell:

#1. Get In Tune with Your Ideal Customer's Deepest Challenges and Desires

If you don't get this right, fuuuget about it! And it's not enough to know this intuitively, especially if you're just starting out. You need to deliberately research this information and keep a running list you can reference on an ongoing basis. This will not only help you hit the bull’s-eye with the next tip, but also when it comes to your follow-up campaign.

#2. Create a Compelling Signature Lead Magnet or Opt-In Gift

Make the right first impression. Your lead magnet should be both relevant and helpful to your visitors and be a natural first step to doing business with you. Gone are the days people signed up for stuff just because it's FREE. These days people's email in-boxes overflow with hundreds of messages from people who want them to sell something, read something, and do something!

Use this criterion as a general guide:

• Is this something I feel confident about referring my offline networking connections to?
• Is this something that people would gladly pay money for if it were for sale?
• Is it a natural first step to working with me?
• Is it a good introduction to my core offerings?

If you are a little shaky on any of the above questions, look at ways to change or improve your offering so you feel confident about marketing it and driving traffic to it.

#3. Provide One-Time-Offers on Your Thank You/Download Page

The "Thank You" page is the least utilized web real estate. It offers a great opportunity for you to offer your new subscriber an opportunity to solve their problem at a higher level. And, it provides you an opportunity to make a sale. They are the most excited and engaged at this point so now's the time to give them a deal on a product or service they won't want to refuse.

#4. Identify & Tell Your Subscribers What to Do Next

Be sure to build into your opt-in process, instructions on what to do next. To make this the most effective, you'll want to build this call to action into your opt-in offer itself. If you are providing a report, insert your call to action in the beginning and at the end of your report. If you free offer is a video or audio series, be sure to end each session with your call to action.

Don't assume they will go back to your site to buy something or read something. Show them that you have taken the time to guide them towards getting the results they need.

#5. Create Effective Follow Up and Nurturing Email Campaigns

"What do I write about?" This is the reason most entrepreneurs aren't making money. You have to build the know, like and trust factor and train your subscribers to act on what you have to say and sell.

I recommend when you create your opt-in gift/lead magnet. Write you first 10 follow up messages at the same time. Otherwise, it may never get done.

Here's a sample sequence you can use to get started:

• Email 1 - Welcome and set expectations
• Email 2-9 - Give incredible value
• Email 10 - Sell them something

Don't forget to work in a pitch every now and then. It's okay if you have been adding value, they will be hungry for it.

Examine your opt-in process and use the above tips to implement or improve your list building results. Understand that building a highly profitable list may take some testing and work. But, if you commit to the process, it will be well worth the reward in the end.

"Feedback is the breakfast of champions."
~ Ken Blanchard

And as a champion of your success, I'd be honored if you let me know what you thought about this article. Your tips, advice and comments are greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you scratching your head wondering why people just aren't responding to your emails? I mean it's bad enough that they don't respond to your special sales promotions. But, they don't even respond when you give away free stuff.

What gives?

I believe there are three things that could be happening here:

1. You have spies on your list: You know, people who signed up just to see how you did your ebook or what kind of email campaigns you deliver. Oh, don't act like you've never done it :)

2. They're just not that into you: These people may have joined your list for something very specific that met their need at the time and now that they got it, well, they could care less what you send them. So, why have they not unsubscribed? They hang on waiting for something from you that wow's them to buy from you again.

3. You're not putting your back into it: I'm sorry, what I mean is, you aren't even trying. You are just throwing together emails, hoping that that best practice tip (you know the one where they said to email your list once per week?) will hypnotize your subscribers into obeying your every command.

If you want to get your marketing emails opened and your subscribers to take action you need to shift and shake things up a little.

Give value, value and more value and you'll be rewarded for it. Yep! Content Marketing applies to your email marketing efforts too!

So, how can you create a follow up campaign that keeps subscribers engaged, responsive and eager to buy from you?

Here are five quick tips:

1. Don't just send promos: Follow the 80/20 rule provide value eighty percent of the time and promote your offerings twenty percent. This will keep your subscriber's sales walls down and show them that they are worth more than a sales pitch.

2. Be intentional about providing value: Do you take time out each week and look for ways to make your subscriber's lives better?  I myself have been guilty of just throwing together a "fluff" email just to keep in touch. But, if you want to pass the "so what" test, you need to demonstrate that you really care about giving them valuable information they can use, whether they work with you or not.

3. Provide incentives: Sure coupons and discounts on your products and services are cool, but find ways to take it even further. What can you use as a carrot to get people to act? Can you offer tickets to an event, a gift card, a gift basket? Maybe you could partner with someone  and have them sponsor a gift to your list? The possibilities are endless, get creative.

4. Give your subscribers a piece of you: It's important to be you in style and tone when writing your list. It helps them to create a deeper connection and establishes the all important "know and like" factor of that famous marketing mantra.

5. Reward your most responsive subscribers:  If you want your subscribers to engage and pay attention to you, show them that you're paying attention too! Try rewarding them with exclusive discounts, a spotlight interview or a cool prize. I feel the best way to do this is unexpectedly. By the way, this could be a great incentive.

Employ these tips and your subscribers will go from "so what" and ignoring your emails to looking forward to communication from you.

I know there are a lot of email marketing blueprints and advice that give you the A to Z on how to build a responsive list. But, there is no magic bullet. You have to put what you know into action and see what works. Repeat what does and tweak what doesn't until it works too! Don't forget to have fun and be creative, your subscribers are people....not robots :)

 What are some techniques you use to keep your subscribers engaged and happy?

Some email campaigns can be a lot more successful than others. While this is typical, the more emails that are opened, the more qualified they are to becoming successful. This is because when readers are interested enough to actually read the email, the chances of taking action are much higher. It's not rocket science but the truth is, readers must be convinced if you want them to click on your link.

In a previous post, I discussed the importance of having a catchy subject line or headline. This is the first thing a reader notices. The bottom line is, it has to be right or it can be the cause of the downfall in your email campaign.

Writing compelling words will do wonders for your business. Now, let's factor in everything else.

1) Make sure your email is targeted. Personalize the subject line. Motivate your reader just enough so they will want to open your email right away. Be creative.

2) Some people think branding is stupid. Well, you have to make your mark in the industry somehow. Giving people what they are looking for and fulfilling a need will keep your recipients wanting more of your emails. Keeping them interested is what you always need to do. If they know your brand, they know what to expect.

3) Pay close attention to what you are putting in the content of the email or newsletter. Writing a compelling copy may take practice but originality is what counts. Make it valuable. If you have subscribed to blogs or websites and you receive emails, save the ones you found interesting enough to open and go over them to see why they were compelling.

4) Take advantage of holidays for sending out emails with discounts or free offers. People love opening these types of emails because they can save money on your products or services. Some people actually wait until the holidays to see what will be on sale.

Another factor which forces the reader to open the email is his relationship with the company. Email readers fall into different categories. They can be irregular purchasers, potential clients, information hungry subscribers or existing clients. The method by which they decided to subscribe and the reason also tells a lot about the customer’s interest.

Did they find the website through a search engine or did they sign up when buying products? The subscribers who have sought for information and then signed up for the emails are more likely to open the email, when compared to subscribers who signed up while buying a product because of a pre-checked box meant for signing up which they forget to uncheck.

The email list should be of high quality and should be well-maintained always. Also, efforts must be made in expanding the email list with targeted audiences which are more likely to open the email and take the desired action. Most of the times, long-time list members become inactive. So the list must be segmented based on list age and the inactive customers must be offered interesting incentive to bring them out of the hibernation.

The mailing frequency is also a very critical issue. Too frequently send mails will hamper the growth of email open rates as the recipients will get irritated, so does scarcely send mails as the recipients will not remember who you are.

The time of sending also is important. Test different time and days for finding out which time works best for every type of audience.

What Causes Spam?

Who likes SPAM? I know I don't. But that doesn't stop me from getting legitimate emails caught in the spam trap. If this happens to your emails, then your recipients may not even get a chance to see them. Spam filtration is caused by words known as spam triggers. Spam filters are used by most ISPs which analyze whether or not an email is considered spam. Using capital letters, quotation marks, or larger than normal fonts in your subject line, can trigger spam filters. Being cautious of the words you use could prevent this from happening. Do a test first to see if your email was actually delivered.

If you want your emails to have high open rates, make sure you are viewing the process of your email campaign from every angle. Take everything you've read here into consideration and you will be well on your way to email success rates!

Live for purpose, prosper, and have fun doing it!

Get more tips and info on the blog at http://www.selfmadesavvy.com/info

Authentic Business and Marketing Strategy: The Power of Autoresponders and Articles

First let’s talk about what an autoresponder is. When I first was introduced to an autoresponder years ago it didn’t catch my attention long enough for me to go through the learning curve needed to set one up.

Well you can imagine that my community and list wasn’t large enough to experience the pain of manually managing my lists. That was then and about a year later I found myself with the need to learn how to set up an auto responder. it was my new welcomed friend. It’s well worth the time to learn the ins and outs of setting it up, although we now offer a Done for you (done for you) service if you prefer not to deal with it.

Most complimentary offers, teleseminars etc. send you a welcome email once you opt in and if it’s a double opt in you will receive the welcome once you confirm. Now imagine having manually sending out the welcome emails or manually sending a newsletter/Ezine to your list of even 100 subscribers. Now multiply that 10 times. Ha! That’s why you need an autoresponder. So that your new friend can auto respond to your contacts, subscribers etc.

Now that you have a basic intro to autoresponders let’s talk about using articles to market your business, product, product or service.

Writing articles to market a product or service is an excellent way to build business. The articles should be very informative, providing the reader with information that is relevant to a specific topic. The article usually includes a link to a webpage for more information. The webpage, of course, is designed to sell a product or service that relates to the topic of the article.

These articles are commonly submitted to article banks, websites, and ezine publishers. This is one of the most effective ways to market a service or product on the Internet, and it can become even more effective when it is combined with the use of an autoresponder.

Begin by setting each of your articles up in your autoresponder. It is important that each article have its very own autoresponder address, so you will need an autoresponder service that will allow you to do this. Next, make a master list of your articles, with the autoresponder address for each article listed beside the title. You can even add descriptions of the articles on your master list if you want to.

Advertising your articles one at a time can take a great deal of time…but advertising one autoresponder address – the one for the master list – won’t take very much time at all. Simply put it in your newsletter and on your website. You can even allow other ezine publishers to use this is as a free resource for their subscribers!

There you have it an Authentic Business Marketing Strategy using the power of the article and autoresponder.

Want to learn more about marketing your business online? Register here for my FREE training call “How to Market Like a Superstar on a Shoestring Budget!” It’s not about a scarcity mindset but rather a “smart marketing” mindset.

There was a time that you could put up your offer for a free Newsletter and you could be guaranteed nice opt in rate. Now a days it takes a little more than a post that reads “Sign up for my free newsletter.”

It makes you wonder if E-mail marketing is dead?

A related aspect of online marketing that can be as annoying as it can be effective is targeted e-mail campaigns. Improper use of this avenue has lead to the use of so-called “junk” e-mail filters and huge campaigns against vendors and sites that knowingly send out millions of e-mails to any e-mail address they can harvest.

Junk e-mail is typically sent without regard to whether or not the person in question is a potential customer or not. Returns of less then 1% on these campaigns are common, and still considered a “success” because the costs are so low that any return seems worthwhile.

So is it worth my while to consider this strategy? While e-mail is one of the most abused forms of advertising on the Internet, it can be a great way to start a marketing campaign. Use it carefully and correctly, especially with customer acceptance and true manned “removal” systems.

So what is the key to successful e-mail campaigns?

The key to successful e-mail campaigns is to target people who would actually want to hear from you about your product, and then to personalize your e-mails in such a way that it isn’t apparent you are mass-marketing. One thing you will need to get started is an autoresponder. This will help you automate the process of capturing the prospects name, email and building rapport by sending follow up emails with value added content and hopefully converting them to a client/customer. This is of course after you build trust and demonstrate your expertise. You’re working on the know, like and trust factor throughout this process. Just be sure you act responsibly, or you may find your e-mails going into junk e-mail bins and all your marketing dollars wasted!

If you’re looking for a great autoresponder I recommend Aweber. It’s great to use while getting started. You can click here to learn more and get a 21 day free trial.

Consider adding e-mail marketing to your marketing plan. If you feel a little shakey and want additional support in this area and Online Marketing as a whole, I invite you to join other dynamic entrepreneurs and I for The Online Marketing Breakthrough Boot Camp.

Click here to learn more and secure your enrollment.

Empowering you!

Robin aka The Empowerment Diva

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Perfect Your Pitch For Maximum Impact

I love interacting with people. Sometimes, I have the opportunity to be of service, either through one-on-one coaching, this blog, or as a result of connections at social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Savor The Success. It warms my heart to receive notes from people who say they enjoy my work and have exciting ideas about how we can collaborate. In addition to those email messages, I also receive cookie-cutter messages saying how "wonderful" I am, and then asking me to do something like exchange links, feature their product or service on my radio show, etc.

Cookie-cutter pitches are incredibly annoying. I can tell when an email that purports to address me individually is actually part of a bowl of pasta that someone thew at the wall in the hopes that something would stick. Don't pitch people like that. Be genuine and sincere and you'll make perfect partnering pitches and have more fun in the process. A true story illustrates my point.

Last week, I received an email message from someone I don't know and have never heard of before. There was no "Dear Donna Maria" at the top, and the body of the message said this, "Your organizations focus on women is incredible. I've passed along this flyer so you can share it with your staff or your audience. Thank you- Name." This was followed by a business name, a street address, a phone number, an email address and a website address. The email also had an attachment, which I think she expected me to open. Before you read on, think for a minute about what you would do it you received such a message.

What I Did

My first thought was to wonder how she knew that my focus on women was so "incredible." I could have been flattered, but there was no indication that she was really talking to me. It looked like a canned message that was sent to hundreds if not thousands of anonymous people. That's not a good way to introduce yourself to someone when you want them to promote your work. Even so, I was curious.

So, I Wrote Back

I responded to the email as follows, "Thanks, why are you sending me a flyer? What is it? Who are you? What do you do ...?"

And She Responded

I received a very nice reply, which said:

• she found out about me through Mocha Moms, where I serve as the National Work At Home Network Director
• she is a certified life coach
• she has worked in a home office for 15 years
• the flyer is about an inexpensive teleclass she is offering to help women in the areas of stress relief and self care
• she sent it to me in case I wanted to offer it as a resource to members of my network (I guess she meant the Indie Beauty Network) or other professional women

Why Not Say That At First?!

All of this made me wonder why she didn't tell me all of those great and wonderful things in the first place.

When contacting someone to ask them to connect you with their audience, know that the person receiving your request will probably want to know how you heard about them. They will also appreciate being addressed by their name. And they will probably be very hesitant to open an attachment from someone they don't know.

They'll appreciate you providing enough information to allow them to "investigate" you a bit before taking any action. In my case, I get dozens of emails weekly from people wanting to connect with me and my circle of business colleagues. There are only so many hours in a day, so I focus on the requests I receive from clients and members of IBN first, and then on sincere inquiries that seem to be genuinely targeted to me. After all, if someone doesn't care enough to make their offer seem special, then they have no reason to expect others to treat it as though it's special.

If you want to use an email message to attempt to collaborate with a complete stranger, address them by name, include a short introduction about yourself and what you do, and tell them exactly what it is you want them to do with and/or for you. It shouldn't be too long and flowery. It should be interesting and easy to read, and get quickly to the point.

Sample Outreach Letter

You can use this sample outreach letter to introduce yourself and the collaborative opportunities you have to offer. It's skeletal, and meant to be that way, so that you can infuse your own details and personality into the mix. I hope it's helpful.

Dear Donna Maria,

My name is Joanna Doe, president of Joanna Doe Company. I provide products that help people do this or that. I heard about you from so and so's blog and I am writing to find out if you might be interested in working with me to do thus and such.

I know that you are a big fan of these things and those things, and since I am as well, perhaps we could join together on this project that I believe would be beneficial to each of us, and to our customers. You can read lots of details about my products at this link, but the short overview is that I would like to connect with you to create a whatever your idea is that will accomplish the goal of whatever the goal is. The benefits for you are these and these benefits. All you would have to do to participate is this and this. I will take care of the rest, such as announcing your involvement in my blog, at my website and in my newsletter, which has this many opt in subscribers. (See a recent issue, plus what my readers have to say at this link.)

I hope this interests you and I'll follow up by phone at the number at your website in a few days to discuss this exciting opportunity. I am also interested in knowing if you have any ideas so feel free to call me at the number below or send me an email with your questions or thoughts.

I look forward to connecting!

Thanks for your time,
Me

Full Name
President, URL
Other marketing copy

I used some of the techniques described here to get my blog listed in the Small Business category at Alltop. And while email is great, sometimes people's websites or blogs will tell you the best way to pitch them an idea. Failing to follow their instructions to a tee is the surest way to get your idea tossed in the delete folder. And don't forget that, sometimes there's no substitute for a friendly phone calls or an in-person meeting to pave the way to new and exciting collaborative opportunities.

What do you think?

First impressions count, even in email messages. Even though technology makes connecting easy and cost-free, we still must use basic manners and etiquette. Don't make the mistake of coming across as unprofessional or insincere. Both are deal breakers, don't you think?

How do you connect with other people? Weigh in with your ideas and tips for creating new collaborative ventures that help you and others accomplish their goals. And don't forget to leave a link that describes your successful collaboration so we can find out more!

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