We will cover HOW TO BUILD
your list further down in this Tutorial. One of the best ways to
interact with your list, to gain subscribers and to build trust with them is
by starting your own Ezine (which means "online magazine") or
Newsletter. Ezines and Newsletters are basically the same thing, an
electronically published newsletter delivered via e-mail.
STARTING YOUR OWN
EZINE/NEWSLETTER:
Starting your own Ezine is a
great way to build a list of potential customers. By sharing information
with your subscribers on a regular basis, you will build your credibility and
establish a trusting relationship with them. This provides you with the
opportunity to advertise your products/services and provide them with your
recommendations which means $$$$ in return for YOU.
There are 3 important
decisions to make before you can proceed any further. The are:
-
You must choose on a
"Topic" for your Ezine.
-
You must choose a
"Name" for your Ezine
-
You must decide When
& How Often
your Ezine will be Published
(1) Ezine Topic:
You'll want to spend some time on this, it's important. Ideally,
the topic of your Ezine should be something that you have a great deal of
knowledge about and have a passion for while at the same time keeping in mind
the theme of your website or products that you'll be promoting to your list. You must also keep in mind your
target audience (who will be subscribing to your Ezine). For example,
you have a passion for Music, but your website is focused around resell rights
and digital products. Since a Music Ezine would probably not do a lot for
your resell rights business, perhaps you should focus your Ezine around the
topic of Digital Products with Resell Rights.
Let's take our Ezine for
example. Our business is Internet Marketing. Through Viral
Profits, our goal is to help others become successful by providing them with
the tools and information necessary to do so. So we decided to focus our
Ezine around the theme of Internet Marketing "Success" and called it
the Partners in Success Ezine.
Once you have decided on your
topic, you'll need a name for your Ezine...
(2) Ezine Name:
Naturally, your name should reflect in some way or another your topic
or the general areas you will be covering through your ezine content.
Try to think of something original and then do a search on Google to make
certain the name is not already taken.
(3) When/How Often to
Publish your Ezine:
It is entirely up to you as to how often your Ezine is
published. Some are published weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, twice a
week...We publish ours every other week on Wednesday. Once you decide on how often,
you will need to determine which day of the week to mail it to your
subscribers. The most popular days for Ezines are Monday and
Friday. Keep in mind that your subscribers are probably subscribed to
other Ezines as well so you may want to consider the less popular days of the
week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday or even Saturday or Sunday!
Once you have determined the
frequency and day of the week, make sure you are consistent. You want
your readers to grow to expect and look forward to receiving your Ezine.
Deliver your Ezine consistently and promptly on the date promised!
After determining the
topic, name and publishing dates of your Ezine, your next step is to set up
your autoresponder to automatically respond to your subscription requests.
SETTING UP YOUR
AUTORESPONDER FOR YOUR SUBSCRIBE REQUESTS:
You'll need to set up your
autoresponder to send a "welcome e-mail" to your subscribers.
This accomplishes two things - one, the subscriber receives confirmation
immediately and two, it saves you an incredible amount of time from having to
deal with the requests manually.
To set up the autoresponder
for your Ezine, simply log into your Viral Profits Autoresponder account and
choose "Autoresponders", "Create New". Follow the steps
for setting up the fields. Note that the "subscription
address" should be something related to your Ezine's title. For example
ours is:
partnersinsuccess@viralprofits.com
Be sure to place a checkmark in the fields "Email control" and
"Form control" to allow subscriptions via e-mail or a form on your
website.
Once you fill in all the
fields and create the responder, click on "Add Message" to add your
welcome e-mail for your new subscribers.
Below is a sample welcome e-mail: (Note: If you
offer a free gift to new subscribers which is a VERY good idea, be sure to
include the download information in your welcome e-mail). Not sure what
to offer as a free gift? Grab an e-book from your VP WarehouseTM, upload
it to your site and there you go!
BUILDING YOUR LIST OF
SUBSCRIBERS:
At Viral Profits, we've
already given you a HUGE jumpstart on building your list! Every
Viral Profits Member has a "drop in subscribe box" on their
VP website! The subscribe requests are automatically directed to your
Viral Profits autoresponder series of messages which is automatically set up for
you in your Autoresponder. Once you have your Ezine/Newsletter
details in place, simply send a broadcast to your list and invite them to
subscribe!
There are MANY other ways to
build your list of subscribers which we will cover below.
Place an opt-in
subscribe form on your Website
Place a subscribe me form on EVERY page of every website.
We are amazed at how many people are NOT doing this! If you have websites through affiliate programs that you are
involved in, e-mail the Admin or Support Department and tell them you have your own
Ezine and request that a pop-up subscribe me be added to your site for your
Ezine. They may or may not allow it, can't hurt to ask!
Offer a FREE gift/bonus
to new subscribers
This is an excellent way to obtain subscribers. People will
rarely turn down something for free. Offer them an e-book, free software
or free
e-course. Just grab an e-book from your VP Warehouse, upload it to your
site and you're done!
Include an e-mail
signature for your Ezine in your outgoing e-mail
Excellent, free advertising! Visit the e-mail signature tutorial
for information on how to set this up. Hey, there's no "rule"
that says you can have only one signature! Create one for your Viral
Profits site and one for your Ezine!
Find Forums and Message
Boards related to your Ezine Topic and post to them with your e-mail signature
at the bottom
Most professional Forums will not allow advertising so don't even try
that or you will be quickly deleted. However, almost all of them allow
you to include your e-mail signature at the bottom of your post.
Send an E-mail to all
of your past Internet Contacts
Send an e-mail to all of your internet contacts and let them know that
you have started your own Ezine. Invite them to subscribe and offer them
a free gift!
Reply to
Spam/advertisements that YOU receive with an offer to subscribe to your Ezine!
This is a simple thing and you would be surprised at how well it
works. When you receive an email advertisement from someone, DON'T
DELETE IT! Simply hit "reply" and send them your Ad right
back. It can be something as simple as an invitation to subscribe to
your highly informative Ezine!
Write Articles and
submit them to Ezine Article Directories
Many Ezine publishers feature articles from other Ezine publishers or
internet experts in their Ezine (we will discuss this further down in this
tutorial). Write some articles and submit them to Ezine Article
Directories. Include a "resource box" below your article which
contains either your ezine website address for subscribing or the e-mail
subscribe me link to your autoresponder. Ezine publishers know that they
are required to include the "resource box" when publishing articles
from guest authors. One fellow marketer that we know has built his
ENTIRE business and a list of subscribers (over 60,000) using this method
alone!
Below are a list of Ezine
Article Directories to get you started. Additional Ezine Article
Directories can be obtained from a simple search on Google.
Using any of the above
resources will assist you in building your list over time. You must
remember it won't happen overnight, you will start with a small list and build
it over time. When we started our first Ezine, we had just 200
subscribers. If you would like to speed up the process, it is possible
through services called "Co-Registration" List Building.
We will discuss this further below.
Co-Registration
Services:
Co-Registration Services are a fairly new concept in List
Building. Many expert marketers are already using them to build
massive lists. They are an excellent option for those who wish to
"speed up" the process of building a subscriber base.
In a nutshell, here's how
they work. Co-Registration Services consist of large sites or a network of
sites with a large amounts of traffic. You contract with the owners
of these sites to collect a list for you based on your specific
offer. You pay per name for each person who responds, and you tell the
site Owner in advance how many names you want (or can afford). Some sites will
have a minimum order, but that can be as low as $150. It normally takes
anywhere from a few days to a month to build your list.
The site owners will post a
brief listing of your offer (normally a description of your newsletter or
ezine) with a check box along with one or more other offers for more
information. The leads are quite targeted because the visitor will read about
your offer and if they like the idea, they'll select to get more information.
This will provide you
with a list of high quality, targeted leads. However, we all know that
names purchased via co-opt systems are less responsive. They are less
responsive because the subscribers don't know you - they don't have a
relationship with you. HOWEVER, once you have access to one of these
lists, it's all about return on investment.
If you provide genuine
value in the content of your Ezine/Newsletter, over time, you will build a
relationship with many of these leads. Many will unsubscribe, but again
the important factor is return on investment. If you start out with a
list of 100,000 names but end up with a list of 5,000 quality subscribers,
that's still QUITE a GOOD list! The KEY thing to remember is that by using these
services you are making an investment. Remember, the money is
in your LIST!
|
VP TIP:
We cannot STRESS
enough the importance of building your list. It WILL pay off in
the long run. Once you have built a relationship with your list,
the limits are endless. We have literally earned over $1000 from
just ONE solo ad mailing to our list. We have also built large
downlines in the MLM/affiliate programs we're involved in by
recommending various programs to our list!
|
We have done quite a bit of
research on Co-Registration Services. Based on our own personal use and
experience, we can tell you that this is a good way to add subscribers to your
list but you must be patient. You will have to weed through them, expect
a lot of unsubscribes and even some "nasty" emails insisting they
NEVER asked to be on your list. But hey, that's OK! Just delete
them and move on. They aren't going to put any money in your pocket
anyway!
Based on our experience, as
well as recommendations from fellow marketers who have been using
Co-Registration Services, listed below are the services we recommend
looking at should you decide to go this route.
Nitro List Builder
Click Here
List Builder Pro Click
Here
|
VP TIP:
Create a folder
in your e-mail client and start saving the Ezines YOU receive.
This is a great way to gather ideas for your OWN Ezine.
|
There are literally thousands
of articles available for use in your Ezine. In most cases, as we have
previously discussed, you must include the author's resource box following the
article. Below are a few sites where you may obtain some very good
articles for your Ezine. A search on Google will bring up thousands of
others.
Sites to Obtain
Articles for your Ezine:
Partners in Success.net
Ezine Articles.com
Idea Marketers.com
Web Source.net
Including ADS in your
Ezine:
Always include an advertisement of some sort in your Ezine promoting one
of your products. For example, you might include your Viral Profits
affiliate link or grab one of the products and resell it from your VP
Warehouse. There
are a couple of ways to go about it. You can actually format it in the
form of a small box ad OR you can make a small article out of it mentioning
the program or product and including a link within the article. We have
included a couple of examples below:
Box Ad:
| Recommended
Resource:
An arsenal of
products with resell rights is at your disposal along with a professional
autoresponder, ad tracking, internet marketing tutorials, unique
compensation plan and SO MUCH MORE!
You've GOT to
check this out!
-- YOUR VP AFFILIATE LINK HERE-- |
Small Article:
Guys,
I've run across a resource SO amazing, I'm almost hesitant to pass
it along to you. I'm tempted to keep it a secret, but I won't.
I've
found a new membership site that provides you with a complete arsenal
of products with resell rights, a professional unlimited
autoresponder, ad tracking, internet marketing tutorials, unique
compensation
plan, and SO MUCH MORE!
Check
it out here:
-- YOUR VP AFFILIATE LINK HERE--
|
Once your subscriber base
reaches 1,000, you can then decide whether or not you wish to sell
advertising in your Ezine. The general rule of thumb is that you may
charge $20 per Ad per 1000 subscribers. This in and of itself is a
great way to make a side income. Many Ezine Owners are earning BIG
BUCKS from selling advertising space in their Ezines.
Another great idea is to
"SWAP' Ads with other Ezine Owners - you run their Ad in your Ezine,
they run yours in their Ezine. Simply contact other Ezine Owners
and ask. Find them through a simple Google search.
You have already determined
when and how often you will mail your Ezine. Be consistent and timely
with the delivery. Once you have delivered your Ezine consistently for 3
to 4 weeks, you can then begin mailing "solo ads" to your
subscribers.
|
VP TIP:
Be sure to
utilize your VP Ad Tracker to track ALL of your ads! Your Ad
Tracker is an invaluable tool and utilizing it is a must for the successful
internet marketer!
|
Mailing Solo Ads to
your Subscribers:
A Solo ad is an e-mail specifically promoting a product, resource,
mlm/affiliate program or anything else you wish to pass along to your
subscribers and from which you will profit. For example, you might
send a mailing to your subscribers promoting your Viral Profits affiliate link
or you might send one promoting one of the products you are reselling from
your VP WarehouseTM. You have literally an ARSENAL of products
available to you in your VP WarehouseTM to promote to your Ezine
subscribers. We suggest that you consistently deliver your Ezine for
a minimum of 3-4 weeks before sending your first solo ad. Don't
overload them with solo ads, a good rule of thumb is to send NO MORE than
one solo ad per week your List.
|
VP TIP:
Don't expect
overwhelming results from your first solo mailing. The results
will increase slowly over a period of time as you continue to build a trusting
relationship with your subscribers!
|
WEB PAGE FOR YOUR EZINE
Finally, you will need a
website/web page for your Ezine. This can easily be a sub-page of
your main website. For example, one of our websites is http://www.partnersinsuccess.net
and our Ezine site is
http://www.partnersinsuccess.net/ezine
More detailed information about setting up your website can be found in the
Website Building Tutorial.
Your Ezine web page should
include a description of your Ezine listing all of the major features,
when and how often it is published as well as a description of how the
subscriber will benefit from reading your Ezine. Of course, you will need
an opt-in subscription form. Remember, you may obtain the coding for
the opt-in form from your Viral Profits Autoresponder once you have your Ezine
Autoresponder in place.
Below are some additional
ideas for inclusion on your Ezine web page:
-
Offer incentives
for new subscribers such as a FREE e-book, FREE e-course, FREE software,
etc.
-
Include a
"contact us" button and ask subscribers to contact you with
suggestions of topics they would like to see covered in your Ezine.
-
Include a "Tell A
Friend" feature where subscribers may refer their friends to your
Ezine.
You can obtain an excellent
FREE Tell-a-friend script here complete with instructions on how to edit it
and upload it to your site.
Click
Here to grab the Tell A Friend script
In conclusion, when you put
all of the above into action you will begin to see the true earning power of
the Internet! Never forget, The Money is in the List!
