Posts tagged building your list

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10 ways to build your list!

Build your list Build your Business!

You’ve heard all the buzz, hype and whoopee-la on building your list and email marketing but what really IS the big dealy-o?

Well here’s my take on it.  Should you build some sort of a pet parent list? Yes…do you need to bug them every other day with your stuff? Well maybe not so much.  Should you keep in touch with them, with useful, valuable information and updates…Absolutely.

Having a list of people that have stepped up and said “yes I’m willing to open up my valuable inbox to you and listen to what you have to tell me” is pretty amazing.  Not to mention a wonderful direct line to those who matter most in your business.

With that list you can ask questions, get honest feedback, share updates, make product and service announcements the possibilities are endless.

The idea is that if you have stuff to sell, the people in your list will be at least willing to hear you out, and if you present it with them in mind and they need what you’re sharing they’ll click the ‘buy’ button and you’ve just made an easy sale.  In theory this is how the gurus’ say it works, but what if it doesn’t.

What if you have a list of a just a few people and you’re just starting out?  Well here’s my theory.

To start out let visitors to your website and/or blog know that you’d like to have them on your list. How do you do this without sounding…’List-y’ ? You can go for the give stuff away bit. That works for some folks.  For example: “Sign-up for my 5-day e-course on selling to retail boutiques” this way they get something from you for free, and you get a name and email address…Golden!

Or if you don’t have an e-course to give away, you can share tips with them on something you know, or something you’ve recently found that they would enjoy or like.  Be creative and make sure it’s something that’s useful. DON’T trying selling something unless you know beyond a shadow that they want it. If not it will surely backfire on you.

Here are a few email marketing services you can look into.

1) Aweber – Have heard rave reviews about this service and it looks great if you have the budget for it. Pricing starts out at:

$19/month, and they have a free trial to give it a shot for $1.

2)iContact – This one keeps soliciting to me to switch and try them, while I have not yet, they seem worthy enough to mention.  They too have a trial to give them a try first, and their plans start at just $9.95/month.

3) Your Mailing List Provider – This is the one I personally use for Bark Business and for my other gigs. It’s free to use for up to like 1000 contacts, you can upload images, and you can configure the experience after they enter their name and email.  You can use HTML, and it’s pretty easy to use.  By far a great fit if you’re just starting out and don’t want to pay for a subscription service just yet. And when you’re ready to their plans are awesomely affordable, like under $6/month affordable!

4) Constant Contact – I’ve used this service in the past and was mildly pleased. I was upset that for each email blast I could only add I think maybe 5 images. Anything over you have to upgrade…bummer. And their lowest plans start at $15.95/month. Not much else to say, it’s an ok starter, but would personally go for one of the other service providers.

My guess is that your email list and your blasts will depend on what you want to share, what you want from them, and how much you’re willing to spend on it all. But at any rate, the idea of course is to start if you haven’t already.