by Tatiana Velitchkov
But now the rules have changed, and although online -- And that they'd be better off doing the ad placing Still, building your own mailing list remains a must in any Because it's a marketing TOOL, it's also supposed to make 1. Define exactly what you need your mailing list to do. Is it for attracting the attention of new clients, for Is it for sending more people to visit your website, for No matter how "worry-free" your mailing list seems to be, And it really doesn't make sense to waste ANY time on 2. Decide on the kind of subscribers YOU need. The old Internet way of thinking was "ANY kind of Just like your existing clients, mailing list subscribers a) the ones who really need what you're offering, b) the ones who aren't sure about what they need, c) the ones who don't really intend to buy any Many old "free web hosting" companies learned this lesson (And that is something you CLEARLY don't want to do.) 3. Define clearly what you expect from potential list Although at first this sounds rather cold & uninviting, Our most ideal clients are the ones who hold personal You created your list for a reason; people sign up for
There used to be a time when a huge mailing list subscriber
base automatically meant huge online profits, simply because
"advertising" was the biggest name in the Internet revenue
game.
advertising is still alive and thriving, most web site
owners have come to realize that the only way most people
can REALLY PROFIT on the web is to sell a useful product or
provide a valuable service --
rather than the subscriber-base-building-AND-ad-spot-selling
if they wanted to maximize their business budgets.
Internet marketer's handbook, with the idea that you can use
it as your own personal marketing tool.
your job as a business owner EASIER, and there are
FOUR THINGS you need to remember to make sure it works
(and stays!) that way:
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keeping old clients interested, or for spotting industry
trends and evolving client needs?
getting existing customers to order more products, or for
gaining the respect & loyalty of people in your industry
-- which could lead to referrals, partnerships, and other
benefits?
managing it (and its subscribers) still takes up a certain
amount of your online & offline time.
something you don't even need.
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subscriber is a PROFITABLE subscriber" -- but that just
doesn't work on the shaken-out web anymore.
(who are also POTENTIAL clients) fall into 3 categories:
and bring you the most amount of profit for
the least amount of time & effort
and bring you minimum profit in exchange for
a lot of coddling & hand-holding, AND
of your products, but are in for the ride
because of all the "free stuff" you can
give them.
the hard way, and ended up either charging high service
fees to quickly recoup their expenses (and repel their
thousands of non-profitable members), or closing shop
altogether.
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members -- and what THEY can expect from you.
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it's actually a rule that's sustained the oldest
successful mailing lists and the best of the new ones.
values & business visions similar to our own. This same
formula applies to ideal mailing list members.
your list also for a reason. If both these reasons are
synergetic enough, then you and your list members can
enjoy a long and satisfying relationship not just through
email, but through actual business interactions as well.
4. Manage smarter, not harder. A business owner's many responsibilities are taxing enough - Combine your website promotion efforts with your - Automate as many functions as possible, but step - Actively seek your members' input in keeping - And remain true to your list's original purpose So what if you apply all these principles and you end up If you sent them a single announcement for an online sale, © Tatiana Velitchkov About the Author
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as it is, so you don't want the role of "mailing list
moderator" to be too complicated to get in the way of your
other roles. So:
mailing list awareness campaigns.
in with a personal touch when it really matters
to your customer.
your list dynamic & useful for everyone.
& vision, creating a real service for you &
your members.
with a list of just 200 members?
and more than 100 of them visited your site & more than
50 made actual purchases, then THAT'S a MAXIMIZED mailing
list indeed!
Tatiana is the publisher of: http://www.TheFortunesEzine.com,
the FortunesEzineWeekly at http://www.TakeYourFortune.com,
and owner of the traffic-solution slam advertising sites
http://www.Guaranteed-Hits.com and http://www.Guaranteed-Hits.net