How To Quickly Build An Email List
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I’m ripping this one straight out of my newsletter, which I just sent out to my subscribers (just stick your name and email into that big box on the right if you haven’t joined my newsletter yet).
This message is obviously a promo for Membership Site Mastermind (which closes on Monday by the way!), but after I finished writing it I realized that there’s some great content in this that you really need to know about.
If you’re interested in email list building then you NEED to read this…
******
Blog Tips Newsletter by Yaro Starak
Email list building is at
the heart of most successful
Internet businesses, and that
is certainly the case for me.
Here’s the secret of building
an email list quickly…
———————
The biggest mistake I made when building my blog
was waiting so long to start building an email
list.
For a while I was under the assumption that just
having a website or blog and daily visitors was
enough, but boy was I wrong.
No example better illustrates the power of email
lists than my success (and non-success) with
affiliate marketing over the previous years.
During the first years of my blogging I’d write a
review of a product that I’d promote with my
affiliate link, stick it up on my blog and watch a
handful of sales trickle in over the following
week.
It was a painfully slow response rate and I just
didn’t sell many products that way.
A short year later, I had built an email list so I
started combining my blog with the list.
I’d write a review to my blog AND write an email
to my list telling people about the review.
WOW, what a difference.
Now I’d receive a rush of sales within the first
24 hours because people read email much more
frequently than they read blogs and I’d do about
three times as many sales when combining the two
mediums.
Not only that – you should see what happens when
you sell your OWN products through your list and
your blog.
You always sell more of your own stuff than
affiliate products, so when you can write multiple
blog posts and multiple emails to promote your
latest offer, it’s like a license to print
money.
Why does this combination work so much better?
Because you are increasing the exposure points you
have with your audience. They get the email and
the blog posts, which increases the conversion
rate.
HOW CAN YOU BUILD A LIST?
This is all well and good, but how exactly can
you build your list?
The first thing is to not make the mistake I made.
Don’t wait a full year worth of blogging before
starting to build your list.
Make sure you have an opt-in form on your blog and
start collecting those email address contact
points with your audience.
However just using your blog to build your list is
not enough. It’s too slow.
You need more leverage than this if you really want
to ramp up your list growth quickly.
Let me illustrate exactly how I grew my list from
zero subscribers to over 30,000 in just two years
with a little background chronology –
November 2004: I start my blog on the topic of
proofreading, which was the business I was running
at the time.
January 2005: I switch my blog over to the
entrepreneurs-journey.com domain name and change
the topic to entrepreneurship and Internet
business.
December 2005: After a year of blogging I have
1,000 RSS subscribers, but I realize I need to
build an email list.
January 2006: I add an opt-in form to my new blog
design and create my first landing page at
blogtrafficking.com to start building my list.
December 2006: I end the year with 3,000 RSS
readers and 3,000 email subscribers.
At this point I’d like to clarify how painfully
slow everything was going.
That’s two years of solid blogging and one year
of email list building and I only had 3,000
subscribers on each medium.
That’s not a bad result of course, but it could
have been so much more as I later found out if I
just did a few things differently.
In the year 2007 my list grew from 3,000
subscribers up to 15,000 subscribers.
That’s dramatic growth compared to the previous
years.
Did I reach a tipping point? No, I don’t think
that’s the reason.
What happened was I did something I should have
done long ago – I released my own product – a
training program membership site called Blog
Mastermind, which you no doubt know about.
HERE IS THE SECRET
It wasn’t the actual product that ramped up my
list growth. It was because of the process I went
through to promote it.
There’s a well known “secret” in Internet
marketing that to truly build massive success
online you need to continue to roll-out new
launches and build on each previous success.
New product launches are incredibly powerful list
building machines. You might think that it’s
about selling as many units of whatever you are
promoting – but that’s only half the story.
The real killer strategy here is to build each
launch on top of the success of the previous
launch and each time, grow your list by leaps and
bounds.
Sure, 20 new email subscribers a day from your
blog is great – but how about getting 5,000 new
subscribers in one WEEK!
That’s the kind of result you get when you
release your own product and do a few strategic
things well when you launch it.
So, how does this work? It works because when you
do a big promotion for your product you put out a
lot of focused effort and deliver big value in a
short period of time.
You might think that having your own product is
important because you make money when you sell it.
That’s true of course, but the real power is
having a product means you can get affiliates to
promote it for you – and lots of them.
To help affiliates promote you can give them free
resources to give to their readers, but in order
for them to get the goods, the people need to join
your list.
The affiliates do it because they want commissions
and they know that giving great value upfront
before a product goes on sale is the best way to
make more commissions.
It’s a win-win. You build your list much more
rapidly, your affiliates make commissions when
they make sales.
HOW I WENT FROM 3000 TO 15000 SUBSCRIBERS
During the very first launch campaign I did for my
membership site, I decided to release a free
report.
You already know the report very well – The Blog
Profits Blueprint.
When I released that report it was a hit and many
top bloggers and email list owners told people
about it during my promotion campaign.
Within the space of a week my email added 6,000
new subscribers.
It didn’t stop there of course, with a steady
stream of people joining my list during the weeks
that followed – several hundred each and every day.
The key here was actually knuckling down and going
through the steps to release my own product and do
it with a sound strategy.
From that point forward my business tripled. You
might think it was because of sales of my own
product, but once again that’s only half the
story.
With so many new subscribers, each time I did an
affiliate promotion I made much more money.
When I went to sell my next product I made more
money again because I had more potential
customers.
Having a large email list multiplies the income
you get from ALL the possible streams of income
your business taps into.
That’s why the real secret to big success online
is explosive list growth and the best email list
growing strategy is to release your own product.
ARE YOU READY TO DO THIS?
If you “get” what I’m talking about in this
newsletter and you want to start ramping up the
growth of your own email list, then you need to
learn my process.
Here’s what needs to happen -
1. You need to have an online content strategy –
in other words, a blog – where you collect email
addresses
2. It’s smart to also use something like Pay Per
Click advertising and a landing page to ramp up
your list growth speed
3. You need to sell your own product and the best
product is a membership site
4. When you release your product, you need to
market it strategically so you explode the growth
of your list as a byproduct of your launch
campaign
and…
5. You need to join my Membership Site Mastermind
program as it teaches exactly this process.
Yes, a blatant sales pitch I know, but seriously,
this is exactly what I do and what I teach in the
program.
It’s not rocket science, but there is a strategy
behind this process that goes way beyond just
making as many sales as you can.
If you’re thinking about building a long term
business then you know how important it is to grow
your list.
Did you know the current launch I’m doing, the
one that this email you are reading right now is a
part of, added 10,000 people to my email list?
That’s right – 10,000 new subscribers in a week.
What would 10,000 email subscribers do for your
business?
If you’re ready to walk the same path that I
have, here’s the link to join –
http://www.membershipsitemastermind.com/signup/
Here’s to your online success,
Yaro Starak
Entrepreneurs-Journey.com
PS. Membership Site Mastermind closes on Monday
the 11th. You’ve only got a few days left to take
advantage of this program.
On Tuesday the doors will be shut and I’ll be
busy working with the people who had initiative,
took a risk and decided to take my program.
If you want to be one of those people and give
yourself at least the chance of success and a
guaranteed amazing learning experience, then you
need to sign up here –
Subscribe to Entrepreneurs-Journey.com
Free with subscription
"How To Start An Internet Business
& Make Your First $1000 Onine"
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I have to get busy on an email list!
Membership mastermind sounds awesome but I want to finish Blog Mastermind first. I’m so pleased with BMM that I’ll be getting MMM next time it’s available, for sure.
Thanks Yaro, you’ve helped my blog so much!
Ok – 2 points I hadn’t been addressing, building the opt in page for an email list and thinking about my own product launches. Thanks, it’s good to get the basics down.!
Great post Yaro…
Lists are where its at. Im getting ready to launch my first product, so im excited to see what happens with the growth of the list.
Sean Malarkey
@Yaro:
I would join your program ‘yesterday’, if you can tell me this: does this apply to content production, or any product that goes on a ‘membership’ model? I have a product that has a yearly ‘fees’ to it and I have like 15 members. It is hosting plus pro email etc. It is USD19 per month, and USD 171 per year (3 months off). I am not trying to sell that product here and this is not a plug, but a question, a scenario: will this ‘model’ work with your membership mastermind thingy? If ‘you’ tell me that it does, I will join right now.
I can’t guarantee it will – and I don’t quite understand what you are describing, but I can guarantee you will learn relevant information.
My course is essentially about online marketing when you drill down to the heart of the subject, so if you sell something online it’s relevant.
You can always try it out and if you decide it’s not helping, just ask for your money back.
We could have a chat about your concept on one of the group coaching calls.
Yaro
Thanks for the reply, Yaro.
I sell hosting which is an online product and based on a membership model. So yeah it does make sense to have you as the teacher.
But I have no idea about making an email list. Neither am I sure about the pricing that I have done on this. (It is 171 USD per year or 19 USD per month).
I am just a tad bit worried that this is not ‘content’ as such. (although it can be, down the line). I know you have not ‘guaranteed’ any success which is more than understandable. Just wanted a solid ‘hell yeah’ from you when I ask that, ‘is this course for me?’
God bless and regards,
M.
I waited a long time to start a mailing list because I didn’t know what it would be about. I didn’t want to start a list, get a bunch of subscribers, and then decide that I had to change the purpose of the list. So I waited.
But you know what? No matter how much time you spend planning things, you’ll still probably have to change the plan after you get started. So just get started with your list now, instead of waiting for the perfect idea.
10,000 new subscribers in a week is insane! Way to go, Yaro!
I understand the worth of a mailing list with very low cost and information products, but what if you promote more expensive physical products something like iPods or computers?
Any form of contact with customers, no matter what you sell, is how marketing works. This is universal stuff – do you think Amazon.com use email marketing? Of course they do, and they sell all kinds of physical goods.
wow.. I didn’t think of it that way. I’m going to start one very soon then. Thanks Yaro!
Hey Yaro,
Great tips! I totally agree with what you are saying, it’s great to build a quality blog filled with content, it’s also nice to make some sales etc but the real power is totally in the list (the buying list anyway).
Thanks for sharing,
Karl
Hi Yaro,
I’d love to buy into your Membership site. But in runs for the next 6 weeks and I’m flat out getting ready for an imminent OS trip and I’ll be away for 6 weeks. I’ll have to wait for next time. Greg
PS. I’d hesitated setting up a membership course because I wondered how I’d keep adding more content but yours seems more like a course on time payment ? I mean it has an end. Never though of it that way.
PSS My email list is building slowly but the open rate seems like it’s only about 10%. Maybe it’s my niche, maybe it’s something I’m doing?
I plan on building my email list soon. I need to look into it more though. I’m still kind of confused about it.
Great work getting 10,000 subscribers weekly Yaro!
Yep – same here. I’ve meant to have a mailing list for years but have been too busy to do it, but know I’m missing out. 10,000 subscribers in a year would be great for me, let alone in a week!
I keep reading about building an email list but never get around doing it. Your post is about to change all that. I’ll be working on this very soon. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Yaro,
This is a really great article. I’ve read your blog profit master mind and found it very useful in my business. You are right, it is a great way to build your list —- offer something of value for free, get the name and promote your products. (I know that you didn’t quite say it that way….but you know what I mean,,,)
Take Care,
Jonn Thomas
Hi Yaro,
Great article! You touched a very important point.
Having a list of subscribers is crucial when it comes to making money on the Internet. Some people don’t realize how powerful this is.
If you don’t have a list you are leaving a lot of money on the table. When someone buys something from you and you don’t capture name and email then how are you going to offer this person a new product?
I agree with the fact that having a launch for your product is the easiest and fastest way to build a list. But if you don’t have your own product it doesn’t mean that you can’t build a list.
There are many other methods that you can use.
Thanks,
^PV Reymond
http://www.startup-internetbusiness.com
How does an email list fare when you don’t sell information products or very low cost products?
Hi Yaro,
I recently added a post on my site outlining the same thing,
I place so much importance on getting your list started that I decided to put my free report together before any of the content was ready for the site,
I must confess the free report needs to be improved upon and I am proably risking loosing some subscribers if they feel the content is lacking but I really think if you start the relationship with your clients or readers with something, it has to be better than not sarting at all.
I also know of a great plugin that will sign up your commenter’s to aweber when they post a comment on your site.
I will write a review on the plugin in the next week or two.
It may sound basic to some, but it’s the most basic information that is the most powerful. The same techniques Yaro share here is what I personally used to launch my product into success and build my list, credibility, joint venture partners, affiliates, branding, it all comes with this. 1st, create your product, 2nd, pre-launch and build subscribers and buzz – 3rd launch and monetize it with your opt-in form, all that traffic is going to build a good size list.
Terrance Charles
http://www.terrancecharles.com/blog
I have joined the MSM, looking fwd to new module to come
Building an email list is indeed very essential for any business, leave alone a web based one. The problem is in retaining the list on active basis which can be done only by the quality of the mails that are sent.
it’s nice to learn list building.. just asking
what do you think between Facebook page and email list ?… can I change list building with fan / friends building
Thanks for this article and email. Even that I read the Masterplan, only through this article I got aware of how important an email list really is.
You nailed it giving away something to sign up for any list is a great resources. It doesn’t need to be expensive to make it work either as long as it is something useful to the subscriber. It also needs to be related to whatever you are trying to get them to sign up for as well.
Great advice Yaro
I am actually working on a new venture. The ideas outlined here about how to go about building up your email list are very valuable. I was planning on doing a blog and some ezine articles, but kind of stumped on how to grow my list and generate new leads and potential customers. I think your article was great and the information will help tremendously.
thanks much.
Is this at all applicable to a book review site?
Certain fundamentals are so obvious yet so neglected. Thanks for showing us the way, Yaro. The journey is illuminating indeed!
Your success is very inspiring! I definitely need to try to build my own list.
Thanks for this brilliant insight! I never thought building an email list could be an easy task. Thank you for giving us a step-by-step guide on how to obtain a list without a sweat. This sure is great…really helpful!
I agree that email marketing is the main medium that internet marketers use, since people read email far more frequently than blogs.
Blog-marketing plus Email-marketing is like combining Pull-Marketing with Push-Marketing. All that’s left is your own product.
Awesome. Thanks Yaro!
Great post Yaro, building lists is never too easy nor difficult nowadays especially on internet marketing.
You got to be innovative and creative in your sales page of squeeze page for prospects to willing sign up and to be able to maintain along term relationship with your lists of prospects in just as not easy nor difficult..
There is a site that uses a blog and third party newsletter to sell an affiliate product. The customers go to the blog and then access the third party link. Later, they have the option of buying the product or signing up for an email newsletter (free guitar lessons) provided by the third party company. Of course, the affiliate gets the commission for the sales done via the newsletter. Does that sound like a good plan?
I think it’s difficult for many people to make their own products so perhaps this is a way for them to use blogs and emails. Another way would be for them to make their own email newsletter in conjunction with their blog.
That’s amazing e-mail list growth. This is one area that I have never been very strong at. I have never pushed to get people’s e-mail address and then use it to my advantage. I tried passively asking for subscribers to a newsletter but never got much response. So I never even sent out a newsletter. Now after reading this post I feel like I have been wasting my time trying to land one sale at a time.
These are great tips about building the essential email lists. You are right, and I agree 100 percent that building your email list will give you many advantages in your business. I see that you have learned the power of the email list through your experience and are now keen on implementing it each time. Its always good to take tips from someone who is well experienced, so I hope everyone heeds your word!
Till then,
Jean
Thanks for the tips Yaro, but i dont know what to offer to build my email subscriber? I think i must do the ebook stuff like yourself.