WebMaster Solutions
Web Site
Marketing
3 Ways to
Build Your Opt-In List
by Kenneth Catto
The light bulb has
finally started flashing in your head and you
realize that you need an opt-in list to make
money on the Internet. You've read hundreds of
articles on the subject and sought expert
advice. You've head all the stories of people
creating a profitable business with opt-in
lists.
With that light
bulb still flashing away you finally decide to
do something about it - start a list of your
own. But how do you get started? And better yet,
how do you build a list big enough to generate
an income from?
It can be pretty
scary when you're first starting out. Do you
need a web site? An opt-in form? Should you use
an autoresponder service or a script on your own
site? How should you format the messages? How
many should you send a week? The list goes on
and on.
The answers to a
lot of these questions will greatly depend on
how experienced you are on the Internet. If you
have no knowledge of CGI or PHP, then hosting
your own script may not be an option. If you
don't know HTML or don't have direct access to
your on-line files, then editing your pages to
insert the code for an opt-in form will not be
possible.
These,
unfortunately, are just some of the obstacles
that you will need to overcome if you want to
give this 'Internet Thing' a go. Having your own
web site is almost a necessity. Without one, you
would only be able to promote other people's
products (as they would have their own web sites
for you to send traffic to through your
affiliate links).
Below are three
easy ways that you can use to start building
your opt-in list:
• Offer a free
report that contains links back to your web site
or even includes an opt-in form on one of the
main pages. You can also make it necessary for
your visitors to fill out your opt-in form
before they can access the report.
• Join some of the
Fire Sales and Giveaways that other marketers
are running (sometimes called Joint Ventures).
Add your gift to the site and when visitors want
to download your gift make them fill out your
opt-in form first.
• Exchange ads
with other opt-in list owners. You run an ad for
them and they run an ad for you. Granted you
probably won't be able to join up with someone
who has a huge list (as they won't be getting
much exposure in return) but if you can find
other lists that are of a similar size to yours,
you should be in with a chance.
• Building a
profitable opt-in list won't happen overnight,
but it will happen. Keep at it and be creative.
Try things outside of the box; put a twist on an
old idea. And most of all - be persistent.
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