Information for the Marketer

Whether you read a lot of article’s, sales pages or blogs about building your own list, it’s important that you ensure the list that you are building will purchase from you. There is nothing worse than building a list that will buy nothing from you even if you send them a great offer. I read a thread in a forum today from a lady who has been building a list for over a year of hard work. Her list was over 1000 so she should be making a decent income from this list. Now get ready for this, to date she has not made 1 sale. Nothing Nada Zilch! My jaw fell to the floor when I read the thread. She was asking why! If she needs to ask that question then she has obviously not ensured her list is targeted to whatever she is selling, giving away etc. It is important that you research your intended market to ensure that you have all the relevant information before you embark on a costly time and money traffic plan to build your list. For example! You must ensure your emails are getting through to your list. Use only a top class autoresponder.
Ensure your email/newsletter etc is targeted to the right audience.
Make sure you send frequently. Each list is different so you will have to gauge your customers.
You must ensure your customers are given the right call to action both in the email/newsletter Heading and text. This is but just a few of the actions you must take to ensure your list is responsive to your information/offers. I built one of my lists using Affiliate Funnel a great programme run by two online professionals Jon Olsen and Paul Kinder. Pay them a visit and have a look for yourself.

o:p> So people have told you to go out and build a list. Maybe you think why should I? You feel that all you have to do is build your website start to advertise it and the sales will come rolling in! In fantasy land this may happen however in the real world it rarely does.


 Let us look at the first element selling to a potential customer. You have used various methods to drive that customer to your website. This person may or may not buy, after they have left your site without buying you may never see them again. If you have been tracking your results you will know how much it have cost you to get that person to see you site.


 Now lets take the same customer who you have managed to get onto your list using a tried and tested method. They may not take up your offer this time however you still have their details so can send them another offer. It has cost you the same to get this person onto your list initially. But now its costs you nothing to send them a second offer. It’s a well proven fact that building your list will make you increase your income substantially.


 

So how do you go about starting to build your own list? I have used a product called Affiliate Funnel which is run by Jon Olsen and Paul Kinder who are both successful online Marketers.

In the 2+ years that I have been working fulltime online the single most important lesson that I have learnt is that without getting traffic to your website/blog you will never get your business off the ground.

I have read countless E-books on this subject and even attended off line seminars  to try and get the magic bullet that will get that all important traffic to my websites. I have come to the conclusion that there are numerous ways to generate traffic both paid and free methods.

Whilst paying traffic give you eyes on your site, as soon as you stop paying you get no more traffic.

I have always used the free method because apart from the obvious I have found this type of traffic to generate more conversations thus improving my bottom line. Plus the methods I use keep the same and new traffic coming back.

I personally use 2 types of free traffic generation tools.

Firstly I write articles like this one, them post them in between 20 - 40Article directory’s that I know have a good page ranking and get spidered by the search engines on a regular basis. By using articles I get a steady continuous flow of traffic to my website each and every day. I have only written the article once then posted it. Over time it gets copied and posted in other directory’s / websites thus driving yet more traffic to my website.

Secondly I use free Manual Traffic Exchanges where I place a squeeze page to obtain potential customer details then they are added to my list and sent emails from time to time advertising my products.

Since coming online in 2006 if I have heard “The money is in the list” once, I have heard it a thousand times. In those early days I had no real idea what this meant or how I could get my own list. The whole concept of building a list was alien to me.

 When I joined someone’s list I would get a thank you email followed up with maybe a free gift that I could access via a URL. Then at regular intervals follow up emails would arrive in my inbox with tempting offers, further free information and much much more.

 I could at that time not get my head around this concept of content delivery. What tools to use where to source the products? It seemed so over whelming to say the least. I have spent the last 2years plus working out all the different elements and how to put them together so that they all work.

 The plus is I have at last mastered how to build and sell to a list. The negative was the time it took me to gain the information and experience. I have now found a business that will help you build your list and let you sell the products that you want to sell.

 The great thing is it’s free to join. Plus I love this part it has a weekly seminar on a Saturday at 12pm E.S.T. I have learned so much just listening in on these seminars they are always packed with great information and plenty of Golden Nuggets to help you in your business.

 The site is co-owned by Jon Olsen and Paul Kinder who both own and run successful Manual Traffic Exchange businesses.

 It is well worth a visit to see what they have on offer.,/BR>

What does it take to become a successful Affiliate Marketer? What are the ingredients of an affiliate marketing success story? Is there a shortcut to Affiliate Marketing glory? All these questions play around in the minds of affiliate marketers who want to make it big in this business.

Although affiliate marketing is touted as one of the easiest and most effective ways to earn money online, it is not as easy as it sounds. The wise affiliate marketer plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the potential to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a successful Affiliate Marketing business. We have consulted some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business and below are the top three necessary tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.

Important Tool #1: Your Own Website

The most important and indispensable tool in Affiliate Marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build a user-friendly website, which will appeal to your prospects and encourage them to click on the links to the products and service you are promoting and make a purchase. Therefore, you must first concentrate your efforts in building a website that will cater to what your prospects need.

The most important thing you should consider is that almost all web users go online to look for information, not necessarily to go and buy something. Above all else, make your website full of original, relevant and useful content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Keep in mind that, in the internet, content is still king and good quality content will not only build your credibility, it can also help you achieve a higher search engine ranking. By posting relevant and useful articles, you establish yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more trustworthy endorser of the product or service you promote. Establishing a good reputation is a good step in building up a loyal consumer base.

Important Tool #2: Incentives

Competition is extremely tight in the internet world. You must always be one-step ahead of your rivals to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible means to encourage people not only to visit your site but also to click and proceed to the websites of the products and services you are promoting. Building an opt-in email list is one of the best ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can present free softwares, access to exclusive services and other freebies that will be helpful to your prospects.

Important Tool #3: Link Popularity

The importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list of the most important entities in the internet world. Attracting people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do everything to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine rankings. Therefore, to enhance your link popularity, you must launch an aggressive reciprocal link campaign.

One of the best ways to do this – at no cost at all – is by submitting articles, with your website’s link at the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick it up and post it.

These are but three of the many tools that an affiliate marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and determination. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies, which you think might help you become a high rolling affiliate marketer.