The most important tool for any business (online or offline) is an effective marketing strategy; without this, and therefore without sustained income, no business can survive. The internet is particularly suited to marketing due to the enormous reach available; nevertheless, a solid online marketing strategy is required if true success is to be achieved.

An effective online marketing strategy need not be overly complicated and one of the best ways to achieve such a strategy is to build an opt-in mailing list. A common phrase in online marketing is ‘the money is in the list’ and this is certainly true for all but the most specialized online marketers. Why is this? Well, an opt-in list allows you to communicate with potential customers (your opt-ins) to promote your business.

An opt-in list is essentially a list of email addresses of people who have subscribed to receive further information from you, usually by inserting their contact details in a website opt-in form and subsequently confirming their desire to subscribe. Since, opting-in is an option and completely up to the website visitor, their confirmation of subscription enables you to avoid being accused of sending spam email.

Creating an opt-in list can be very beneficial to your business, since you are able to continuously send newsletters and emails promoting the products and services that your business offers. The following list summarizes the advantages of having an opt-in list associated with your business:

1. A mailing list will be your most important business asset

Most, if not all, successful online marketers will identify their mailing list as their most important business asset. The list allows the marketer to promote products and services in a controlled manner to a targeted audience.

2. A mailing list is always current

Your mailing list will never become redundant – as long as your subscribers need a solution to a problem then you are able to promote such solutions (products and services) through your mailing list.

3. The larger you list, the larger your profits

Clearly, the larger the list of subscribers you have on your list, the larger the number of potential customers you have as your mailing audience. As long as you are providing products and services that your subscribers need, then it follows that the larger your list, the larger your income and profit.

It can be seen from the above that an opt-in mailing list can easily become the heart of and most important element of an online business and can be the key to the survival of that business.

Keith Blackburn

Your Business and Building an Opt-in List is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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List Sign Up Boxes

On each of your website pages you need to add an opt-in box or subscription box for visitors to sign up to your mailing list. So if they like what they read on any of your pages they can easily sign up for more information about your product or service. Because people come to your website from lots of different sources they may not initially land on your home page but another page within your website. In fact they may never go to your home page so if you only have an opt-in box on your home page they may never realize that they can join your mailing list. Therefore you need to have your opt-in box on a prominent spot on each of your website pages.

It is no good having a mailing list of people who are not really interested in your product or service because it costs you money, time and effort the maintain your mailing list. The good thing about people who sign up from your web pages is that they are targeted because they came to your website interested in what you have to offer in the first place. These subscribers are much easier to turn into loyal customers than random subscribers.

The great thing about having a mailing list is that it allows you to send information to these people to build their confidence in you and your business. After you have built up a relationship with these people you can them offer them your products and services and be more confident that they are now more likely to buy from you. It is like having regular customers coming to an offline business where their feel comfortable and at ease walking into your store.

Big question is then is “How do you get sign-ups on your mailing list?”

It is relatively easy if you have some money to spend or invest in your business. All you do is simply purchase subscribers through placing relevant ads and offering them something that might interest them. Maybe a simple report about your products and services and how they can help them solve their problems or desires.

However it is important that you do not just build a list of random subscribers who may not be interested in your business. You need to be careful if you give a report away that you target people who are interested in your products or services and do not just want your free report. Your ad should be targeted to finding hot prospects as they are more likely to buy from you. So get specific when advertising for subscribers and only advertise where they are likely to hang out. So search for other websites and newsletter that specialize in your area of interest or those that compliment it.

Another paid way to build a list is to buy a list of people who have expressed an interest in your niche. There are companies that compile lists of people interested in information on various subjects and what sort of information they would like. Basically what you do is buy a list from one of these companies and send your emails to them. However you need to realize that you may buy a mailing list that may not be specifically targeted to your niche.

One of the popular ways of building a list today is to do list swaps with marketers in the same niche or with products and services that compliment your products. An extension of this idea would be to form a sort of partnership with these marketers and jointly buy lists in the same niche thereby sharing the costs.

The methods discussed above are only some of the ways in which you can easily build a list. Another popular way of list building is blogging and article marketing which can also be used effectively to  build your mailing list. For more information about building a list http://simplecashblog.keries.com/

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?List-Building---How-to-Easily-Build-a-List&id=4119865] List Building – How to Easily Build a List

List Building – How to Easily Build a List is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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This site must quickly draw attention to the visitor something of value to them. Typically we understand that you only have a few seconds to get their attention before they click off to another site. Therefore you must have something in front of them that sparks their interest immediately, something of real value to their specific need.

Many successful internet marketers use the approach of offering a free product or service for opting in. In today’s competitive market place the more one can offer the better. Remember you only have a few seconds to get their attention. A great headline and a valuable free offer right in their face is what a squeeze page is all about.

It is also important to understand that a lead capture page is just that, one page leading only to your opt-in form. Remember this site has only one purpose and that is to capture their name and email address. You never want any links that will distract or send them to another location. Also never try and sell anything on this page, it is not a sales page. The only thing you are selling on this page is the value your prospect will receive by giving you their name and email address.

By using lead capture software and the list building methods I mentioned above you are creating a targeted email list of customers. It is paramount for a successful enterprise to deal directly with customers pertaining to that niche. Therefore structure your squeeze page correctly and capture your targeted leads.

To find out more about building your list and creating lead capture pages visit our website. http://superteammarketing.com/list-building/lead-capture-business-email-list/

If you want to learn how to build lead capture pages on the fly without any HTML skills you can find out how here http://www.superteammarketing.com/products/quick-squeeze-pages

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Use-a-Squeeze-Page-to-Grow-a-Targeted-Email-List&id=4068687] How to Use a Squeeze Page to Grow a Targeted Email List

How to Use a Squeeze Page to Grow a Targeted Email List is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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The only difference between a successful online business and an internet business that is struggling to make a buck is the availability of an email list to stay in touch with your existing customers and to build a relationship with potential customers. But what is the best way to create a successful email marketing campaign?

Using Purchased or Rented Email Lists

There are always places that you can purchase a massive email list or use the services of a bulk emailer. But you must consider several things before you decide if that is the best way for you to go.

1. You cannot guarantee the emails on the list are current and active.

2. What is the deliverability of the services? It doesn’t do any good to send a bulk mailing to 100,000 emails at a high price if the company does not have a high percentage of deliverability, otherwise, your emails will go straight to the spam folder and never be read.

3. Do you know how these email addresses were collected? You have no real way to verify that the owners of these email addresses even want to receive your email. Were they opt-in emails or were they simply harvested through the use of software used to crawl the web capturing email addresses. If that is the case, your email would be spam and be against the anti-spam laws in most countries.

4. Are these emails even remotely relevant to your business? How can you guarantee that your email campaign will be delivered to customers who are interested in what you have to offer? You can only take the service at face value and accept what they are telling you. You have no way of proving the effectiveness of the campaign until after the fact and at that time, you have already paid for the service.

5. If your offer is very generic, this service may very well be for you. If your main concern is to just get your offer in front of as many people as possible and, based on averages, make enough sales to make it a profitable venture.

6. There is a cost involved with purchasing or renting email lists. These costs can vary from $300 for 10,000 to $1,000 for 1,000,000 emails or more. If you are confident that your copywriting is very compelling and your CTR has been extremely high, perhaps the cost outweighs the benefits for you. However, nothing is guaranteed. The company can guarantee delivery, but they cannot guarantee results.

Building a Contextual Email List

A contextual email list is obtained, usually through the use of a lead capture page, by potential customers visiting your website, articles, squeeze page and choosing to opt-in to your email list. This can be as a result of you offering an incentive such as a free information report, consultation or an email mini-course. The lead capture page would have an opt-in form where the visitor would input their name and email address. Things to consider when building a contextual email list.

1. You would need to build a lead capture page or have one designed for you. There are some very reasonably priced squeeze page creator programs available that do not require any technical skills to use. The cost of the software is comparable to having one squeeze page designed for you but the cost is still considerably less than purchasing or renting a list and can be used over and over again.

2.The emails on your list would be very targeted and you are assured your subscribers are interested in your offers making the conversion rates much higher than any results you would get from a rented or purchased email list.

3. With your own opt-in list, you have the opportunity to build a relationship with your potential customers. This creates trust and facilitates future sales. It is often necessary to have contact with a potential customer 5-7 times before they will buy. A one-time mailing from a rented list does not allow for a relationship.

4. Having a mailing list makes your business more valuable should you ever decide to sell your business. The email list of existing customers is considered an asset and can triple the resale price of your business.

5. It does take a bit of work driving traffic to your list, but since the cost is so low, you can use that money you would have spent on a rented list to pay for PPC advertising. PPC is low cost, targeted advertising which you only pay for if someone interested in your offer clicks on the link.

6. With a subscribed list, it makes it possible to do repeat business. It is always easier to sell to someone who has bought from you before. This makes the cost of future sales much lower and increases your profits.

As you can see, there are more advantages, in the long run, to building your own contextual email list for more effective email marketing. There is much more to be learned about lead capture and squeeze pages. I go into much more detail in my website.

Thinking of Buying an Email List? Will it Help You Sell More Stuff? is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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In the past several months many people have asked me, why should I use a squeeze page to build my list? The answer is quite simple. List building is, without question, a vital key to your ability to create a sustainable online income. Therefore, one must use all the available tools at their disposal to create their list.

A squeeze page, also known as a lead capture, landing page or opt-in page, is one very effective tool that works! The idea is straight forward, place a link to your landing page in an article, classified ad, social media or anywhere else your audience may find you. Your lead capture page must have something of value that your visitors want or need.

It is important that this page be simple and not too cluttered or over done. It should have an eye catching headline, something that draws the visitor’s attention. There needs to be a clear call to action; a very compelling reason why they should opt-in to your list. This should be a stand-alone page with no links to other pages and do not link to any other promotions. Do not confuse your visitors by giving them any other options except filling out your opt-in form.

Most lead capture pages offer something for free usually a gift or consultation for adding themselves to your list. This free gift fill a very real need for your visitors. The more value you give them the more likely they are to trust you enough to fill in the form.

Of course the most vital section of your opt-in page is the form itself. This is where your visitor enters their email address to receive the free gift. Their information is typically stored an autoresponder service that you have chosen to manage your email marketing list.

Lead capture software is one of the many necessary tools used to easily create landing pages and we go into much, much more detail on our website about how to set up landing pages. Please don’t under estimate the power of having an email marketing list and what a squeeze page can do for your online business.

Why Use a Squeeze Page to Build Your List? is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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People who visit your website will subscribe to your opt in list in return for incentives such as a free report or e-book. Therefore, if you want to increase the number of subscribers in your opt in list, you must attract more visitors to your website.

Use the following 12 methods to attract more visitors to your website:

1. Submit your website URL to search engines such as Google and Yahoo:

Go to Google.com/addurl and enter the URL of your website homepage. You can add a short description of your website in the comments box. Similarly, submit your website URL at search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html.

2. Submit articles to article directories such as EzineArticles.com and ArticleWorld.net:

Add your name and a link to your website in the resource box at the end of the article. Your article must whet the appetite of your readers and make them eager to visit your website for more information.

3. Send a newsletter to your subscribers regularly:

Send the newsletter preferably once a week and include useful information and free offers and services. Don’t forget to provide an unsubscribe link in your newsletter.

4. Advertise in other e-zines:

Use e-zine directories such as Ezine-dir.com to find newsletters in your niche and publish advertisements about your website.

5. Advertise in pay-per-click advertising such as Google AdWords:

Use these advertisements to attract targeted visitors to your website.

6. Start a blog:

Initially, start a free blog using blogger.com or WordPress.com. This is a good way to reach people who are interested in your niche. Invite your blog followers to subscribe your opt in list. Post comments in other blogs as a way to attract traffic to your blog and website.

7. Use social networking services such Twitter and Facebook:

Invite your Twitter followers and Facebook friends to subscribe to your email mailing list and invite your email subscribers to follow you on Twitter and Facebook.

8. Post messages on forums in your field of expertise:

This is a very effective way to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. Add a short message and a link to your website in the signature text in your posts.

9. Answer questions on Question & Answer sites such as Yahoo Answers:

Check the sites occasionally for questions in your niche. Answer them and include a link to your website at the bottom.

10. Send press releases to online sites interested in your products and services:

You can also send your press release to various online free distribution services such as PR Log and PR Free.

11. Submit podcasts to podcasting sites such as iTunes, Podcast Directory and Digital Podcast:

A podcast is an audio file, usually in MP3 format. Include your website URL and information about your products and services at the end of the podcast.

12. Submit videos to websites such as YouTube and Google Videos:

Include your name and a link to your website in the video description box. If you are recording a commentary, include your website URL in it.

You can attract a steady stream of visitors to your website by following the above twelve steps. When people visit your website, they will subscribe to your opt in list if you give them a clear call to action, keep the lead capture page very simple with only one purpose, capturing emails. Promotion of your website and opt in list should be an ongoing activity.

Once you increase the number of subscribers to your list, you improve the chances of selling your products and services by building a relationship with your subscribers through email marketing.

Effective email marketing is a very big subject and will require the use of many different strategies to fine tune your conversion rates.

To learn more about lead capture tools, strategies and opt-in list building, visit http://www.superteammarketing.com and read some of our free marketing mini-courses.

How to Build an Opt-In Mailing List and 12 Steps to Promote Your List is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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An opt-in mailing list is generally considered to be essential to any online business, and it would be rare to find a commercial website, large or small, that does not have a form for the visitor to sign-up to. Even the most obscure micro-niche site can benefit immensely from building a mailing list, which enables a company to market their products and services via email. With an opt-in system subscribers consent to receiving email communications from your company, thereby enabling you to keep your subscribers informed of currently available and future products and services. It is important to note that, when using and opt-in system for building a mailing list, any mail sent to the list is not considered spam in the legal sense.

Building a list should be considered crucial to the success of your online business and you should ensure you provide good content on both your site and mailings to help maintain and build your list. Apart from promoting your products and services, an opt-in list can also be used to earn income in other ways. Once you have a large, responsive list you will be able to market the list in its own right. Here are six ways to do just that:

1. Offer a compilation of your articles to your list

You can compile a number of your articles on a given subject into an eBook. Customers are very willing to purchase such compilations as a means to solving any problems they may have and, with your existing list trusting your expertise in that given area, an eBook could be offered or given away as an incentive.

2. Offer advertising on your mailings

Many companies are prepared to pay for advertising on mailings / newsletters that are sent out to a large list, in much the same way as print or other media advertising works. You should populate your newsletter with a significant number of ads, each one being a source of additional income.

3. Build a network using your list

You should encourage / incentivize your subscribers to get others to visit your site and to join your list. It goes without saying that the larger your list is the more valuable it becomes, thus enabling you to increase your advertising rates.

4. Form affiliations

Form affiliations with companies that offer the same products and services as you do. These companies will provide links to what they offer, and every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. In addition, you can make deals with these companies by asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list.

5. Purchase stock for sale

You may also wish to purchase products from other sites on a wholesale basis and offer them to your list via your mailing. You will need to include descriptions, articles and photos of each product in your newsletter. This can also be carried out on a drop-ship basis.

6. Information

People are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Do not forget that you can also use your list to earn money by inviting your subscribers to become your business partners. Your list will soon become the cornerstone of your business growth.

To find out more about building your list and creating lead capture pages visit our website: http://superteammarketing.com

6 Ways to Make Money Using Nothing More Than Your List is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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Why Not?

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Just check it all out here:
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Kerrie Sheehan
Alstonville Australia

PLR – Here’s a Great Idea! is a post from: Kerrie Sheehan's Blog

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