How To Build An Internet Marketing List Of Over 100,000
Copyright 2008 by Willie Crawford
In anticipation of an upcoming launch of Jeff Walker’s
Product Launch Formula 2, I told my list that I was
going to offer a solo mailing to one of my lists of
over 120,000. This immediately started a flood of
emails asking how they could order early… something
that I anticipated.
The second flood of emails asked how I had managed to
build such a huge database. Rather than answering
that second question in individual emails, I decided to
answer it with this article.
First of all, I should point out that I’ve been in
business online since late-1996, and have been slowly
building my lists almost since the very beginning.
So, I didn’t accomplish this overnight. Still, I
know that you can build a huge list rather quickly
if you use the right techniques.
Here are some of my favorite list-building techniques:
1) Put a sign-up form on every page of your websites,
except for direct sales pages where it would interrupt
the flow too much. Next to that sign-up form, give
a powerful reason why they need to join your list,
and ask them to take action.
Next to the sign-up form, assure them that you will
protect them from spam. Also post a few testimonials
as proof of the value your newsletter provides.
2) Write information-packed articles and distribute
them everywhere appropriate. I’ve written over
850 information-packed article on the topic of
Internet marketing. Those articles demonstrate
my expertise, share useful information, and bring
visitors to my websites ready to join my lists.
I believe in sharing a lot of cutting edge
information in my articles. Many people only drop
hints, but I’m not afraid of sharing too much. The
reason is that knowledge grows exponentially, and
since I’m constantly learning new things, I can
never teach you everything that I know.
Since I don’t fear running out of useful information
that you will value, my articles are genuinely
helpful, and that generates lots of loyal subscribers.
3) Write information-packed, inexpensive ebooks and
then allow affiliates to sell them for most of the
profit.
I create a steady stream of ebooks - largely
expansions of my articles - and then I set up
affiliate programs where affiliates earn as much
as 100% commission. Money is a great motivator
for getting others to send you lots of new
“paying” customers and subscribers
My favorite tool for setting up these “ebook traffic
magnets” is Sid Hale’s Rapid Action Profits script.
This script allows you to set up a system where an
affiliate earns INSTANT commissions which are paid
directly to their Paypal accounts.
High commissions are a great motivator for people to
send you new potential subscribers. When those
commissions are paid instantly to affiliates who often
have cash-flow problems, it’s like pouring gasoline on
a fire.
You’ll find Sid’s Rapid Action Profits System at:
http://TheRealSecrets.com/RapidActionProfits/
4) Run pay-per-click campaigns… when the math makes
sense. This is something that I don’t see a lot of
my competitors doing. However, when I know that my
conversions rates or backend profits are sufficient,
I often run pay-per-click ads… sometimes even for
free items.
With pay-per-clicks, you need to closely monitor your
results. You also need a good idea of the lifetime
value of a new customer or subscriber. To me, it
makes perfect sense to lose a dollar to gain a new
highly qualified subscriber.
If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice numerous
Internet marketers who run promotions where they pay
a dollar or more for referrals who simply opt-in to
a list. I essentially do the same thing when using
pay-per-clicks. With pay-per-clicks you reach new
subscribers who may not already be on a dozen other
marketers’ lists.
5) Use free giveaways where appropriate. I contribute
to, and help to promote free giveaways, when they are
well managed and the quality is high. I’ve built
large lists doing this and have a friend who got
over 5000 subscribers from one of his first giveaways.
I’ve written about how I do that many times before.
The key with free giveaways is that you need to
offer a gift of high enough value that your new
subscribers instantly bond with you. You still have to
develop the relationship, but your gift should start
it on a positive note.
Many people who participate in free giveaways offer
“absolute garbage.” Once their new subscriber downloads
their free “gift” and look through it, they HAVE to
feel insulted.
My rule is to always offer a gift that’s good
enough to sell. I was humored when, in one recent
giveaway, I contributed resale rights to one of
my new ebooks, along with a rough website. Before
the giveaway was even over, at least one fast-acting
individual had my ebook set up using the Rapid
Action Profits script mentioned in number three,
above.
6) Give away free viral ebooks. Write ebooks on topics
that you know a lot of people are interested in. In
those ebooks recommend specific solutions to problems,
and include affiliate links to buy those products.
Make some of those links rebrandable.
If the ebooks are filled with lots of useful
information, AND they have links that can be
rebranded, then you have an ebook that should go
viral. People are incentivized to spread it!
In these ebooks, offer some type of a free bonus…
perhaps an audio recording, or a template, or free
piece of software, but require readers to visit your
website to get this bonus. On your site, require
them to register, or join your mailing list, to get
the freebie.
If the original ebook delivered tremendous value, then
the new potential subscriber will have no objection
to joining your list. If the free ebook offered marginal
value, then they have to assume that your other “gift”
will be more of the same, and so they won’t subscribe.
For creating viral ebooks, I recommend using the
“Viral Document Toolkit” a next-generation PDF brander
created by David Schwartz. The Viral Document Toolkit
allows you to easily create rebrandable documents where
you can specify links, and text that can be rebranded.
You can even specify rather large BLOCKS of text as
rebrandable… and even rebrand hyperlinked images!
You create a rebrandable ebook, and then pass along
the ebook (with most parts locked, but some parts
changeable) along with the rebrander tool, to your
subscribers, website visitors, customers, etc. Since
they can profit from changing the ebook, they happily
spread it, and in the process build you a huge list.
You’ll find the Viral Document Toolkit at:
http://ViralDocumentToolkit.com
David finished testing the Viral Document Toolkit
software March 1st, 2008, so you’ll be using a tool
that 99.9% of your competitors will have never seen. VDT
is actually so revolutionary that NO ONE other than a
few of David’s closest friends have even been allowed
to touch it, until now.
If you make your new viral ebooks good enough, you may
be pleasantly surprised to see your competitors promoting
them 
6) Take massive action and do it immediately. One of
my secrets to building my database so large is that
when I’m shown a new tool or technique, and it passes
“the common sense test,” then I put it to immediate use…
provided it doesn’t distract me from something more
urgent that I’m already working on.
Many of my contemporaries, and subscribers, complained
about having no list as long as five years ago. Many
of them still use that same excuse for why they’ve
not made any real business growth progress.
I’m not sure why this is since all of the techniques that I,
and that many of my mentors use, are so simple… and even
obvious!
The key is not to over-analyze things. That traps
you into “paralysis by analysis.” Instead, get into
the habit of doing while others are still “thinking
about it.”
My friend, Dr. Joe Vitale, taught me that “money
loves speed!”
I’ve just shared with you some of the techniques
that I’ve used to build a massive subscriber database.
Of course, I can’t cover every technique that I use
in this short article. I will close by sharing that
part of the key to growing your list is actually
retaining the subscribers after you get them. To do
that, you merely need to deliver tremendous content
telling them how to solve their most pressing
problems.
Simple - right?
——
Willie Crawford is an internationally-acclaimed speaker, author,
seminar and radio show host, and leading Internet marketing
expert. When not out fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, Willie enjoys
sharing his 11 1/2 years of online marketing experience with his
ezine subscribers. Join them at: http://WillieCrawford.com/blog/
