I hope you’ve been enjoying this lesson series, and I hope you’ve followed all the action steps so far, because today we’re getting into what I consider to be the “heart and soul” of internet marketing.
We’re talking about… list building!
(Watch this video…)
Main points:
Yes it’s also in the relationship with the list, it’s in the quality of the list, and all the other stuff that some marketers say. And you don’t NEED a list to make money online (there are other business models)…
BUT, it is true that the money is in the list for the type of business that we’re building.
– Mail
– Telephone
– Fax
– Mobile phones/SMS
– Social media
– (New types of lists will evolve as new methods of communication sprout)
– ANY combination of the above
1) It’s an effective way to capture and manage leads online.
2) It creates web traffic on demand. (See video for explanation of priority of traffic vs. list)
3) It’s here to stay. (In spite of rumors!)
4) It has a low startup cost, and is very cost effective.
1) Buy it
2) Build it (recommended)
-Receiving your opt-ins from your website
-Sending broadcast emails
-Creating autoresponder sequences
-Managing email campaigns
-Handling subscription management
-Making sure your email gets delivered
Two options:
– Hosted on your own site
– A specialized email host
Hosting your list on your own website is NOT recommended by me, for two reasons…
1) Spam compliance
2) Deliverability
– AWeber
– GetResponse
– Infusionsoft
– iContact
– VerticalResponse
– Constant Contact
– Topica
My personal recommendation: Aweber Communications (who I’ve used since 2005)
UPDATE: AWeber DOES allow you to import lists now, and in some cases without confirmed opt-in. I have imported several lists that I personally built.
Additional resource to learn more about list building:
Click here for the List Building Pack
Action steps:
1) Memorize this phrase: “The money is in the list”.
2) Sign up for an email marketing service provider, such as AWeber.
In the next lesson we’re going to set up a list… step by step!
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.
Have a great day!
There is more good information here than on sites charging hundreds of dollars.
Eric, Thanks for providing this fabulous series. I recommend it to many of my small business associates.
I am having difficulty putting the AWEBER join now form on the right side of my index.html page like you did. AWEBER couldn’t help me. I tried to go into the AWEBER HTML code their form and edit it, but I did not know how to do it. Any suggestions for how to do this would be appreciated.
Thanks again!
Which part are you specifically having trouble with? Did you follow lesson #60?
Are you able to put the form onto your page WITHOUT editing it? That would be a good start. Then you could go into Aweber’s form editor tool and edit it there…
Dear Eric
thanks for teaching me.Your tips are very helpfull for progressing my business.once again i will give you many many thanks.
Dang Eric! I really need to get thiese thing implemented and soon. I have been learning stuff for some time now, but would still consider myself a newbie since I have yet to bring in any profits. I even bought your Trading Pro System, but have yet to implement it…. I need to get with it.
I will deffinately start this series soon. You really have a great training style and I love your wholesome faith and good charity.
Much love Brother!
Ryan K
http://www.RyanKoblasa.com
Hi Eric,
I haven’t seen email marketing explained so simple before. You give so much value that it is truly inspiring.
I have gone thru a few of these services and I would like to say that aWeber can be very demanding because they want to defend their deliverability. They don’t make exceptions for anyone and they don’t offer many extras.
1shoppingcart.com is a lot friendlier though not a cheaper option. You can use it to store your products and manage your list all in one service. I am not affiliated with them in any way. They have a 14 day trial that lets you test all the features before you decide to buy.
They are worth taking a look.
Cheers,
Juan C.
Hey Eric,
Ryan Deiss recommended that I check out your blog, and wow… really, really solid stuff.
I know you’re not into JVs now, but I’d like to chat with you about sharing your course with my affiliates (about 2500) and perhaps doing a quick interview with you.
My niche is fitness, and I have 2 (or 1 depending on the week) books in the Top 10 in health/fitness, so I have quite a few affiliates who could benefit.
My email is included in your comment section… thanks!
Cool, thanks! I’ll send you an email.
Nice lesson Eric,
Have you ever used 1Shopping Carts email system? What are your thoughts on it?
I have not used it much, but I did have a JV partner who used it. One thing that was great was its ability to deliver a download link automatically, which expired after a certain amount of time. But overall it was not as good as AWeber for general list management, and we put all the customers onto an AWeber list also.
Eric: you mentioned buying a list – since I don’t have a list – is there anyone you can recommend – there is so much scam out there. thanks
Good question. No, I really don’t have any recommendations for buying lists. It’s best to build your own. One of the few circumstances where I would advocate buying a list, is if you were buying an established business (for example, a membership website with members). In that situation, AWeber does allow a list to be transferred to a new owner, so you can be sure it’s a legitimate opt-in list. But even then, you won’t know the quality and condition of the list until you start communicating with it– so it’s better to build your own.
Hi Eric
Your post is so true and what people tend to forget is that you must build up a relationship of trust with the people on your list.
People buy from somebody who they can trust.
I am not talking about the impulsive buyers who run from system to system looking for a quick fix to get out of a crisis but people who really want to build a business to create an income.
Eric,
Great info (and, God bless you for the support you’re providing to those missionaries).
I’m starting to get a list built (very meagerly: about 30 clicks a day and 0-2 sign-ups a day)
Which of your videos shows what to do when responses start coming (e.g., do I raise my keyword bids; do I refine my landing page; or tweak my ads; do I send out broadcast messages to the new sign-up; (they’re already receiving AWeber follow-up messages every other day or so . . .)?
Much appreciated,
Henry
(I signed up as a member of your daily blog only after I had already seen several of your later videos.)
Thanks Henry! I would recommend lesson #68, which talks about building a relationship with your subscribers.
I use aweber as well and I love it so far..Now the key is how often should you send without annoying the user (under the condition that the information is very valuable)…
Hello Dan, and Hello Eric!
Dan, I agree wholeheartedly with you about UMC and Kavi’s first-rate service. My account at UMC includes the use of EbizAc – full business management plus autoresponders. I notice that the Champignys use UMC & EbizAc (I think Doug referred me there).
Of course, I am still on the outside, working the Social Media. But Eric has inspired me to get set up at my EbizAc account and learn how to do the list-building thing. I reckon one should use every method possible and see how it goes.
Thanks again Dan! And Eric – a million thanks for your unstinting guidance!
Thanks for the latest lesson. It’s quite interesting.
I certainly agree with you on the importance of list building. It should be one of the first steps that an online beginner marketer does.
I personally use GetResponse, but I know that Aweber is very good as well.
All the best,
Laurie
Hi Eric,
Your email templates and the email writing is really cool. Can i learn how to do that?
Hello Giddu,
Yes, you can pick up a lot of insights when you study the emails you receive from various marketers.
You might also want to check out these templates from Aweber:
http://www.aweber.com/blog/new-features/email-newsletter-templates.htm
Eric,
I too am a newbie, and would like to get started. I am temporary unemployed and cannot afford any hosting cost. Are there any free hosting and domains that you approve of? I am as new as a green twig. Please help me to get started. Thanks.
Hi Bev,
A great free option is a WordPress or Blogger blog:
https://en.wordpress.com/signup/
http://www.blogger.com/
Eric…This is wonderful for a person like me who is just in the Kindergarten of e business. Easy to follow and understand. Thanks a lot once again!
Ram
Fantastic lesson. When i finished the 100 lessons i will buy things from your website. I am beginning to follow in love with the style of your teaching. You just get to the point!
I think is time to imitate the teacher! Thanks again! And God bless you with lots of health!
Great post on list building! Good stuff, glad I ran across your blog!
do you recommend brain host
Hello Violet,
Unfortunately, we haven’t had much experience with Brain Host.
Our recommendation solidly goes to Hostgator:
http://ericstips.com/hosting/
when does the “affiliate” marketing part of the these lessons begin, as promised?
Hi Eric,
I will repeat all 12 lessons you have sent me, again. This is a good idea. I have also finished my action steps for today. Thank you! Marija
Hello Glenn,
Eric plans on doing one or two affiliate marketing lessons in the future.
If you would like to start learning now from a site similar to Eric’s Tips, Eric recommends Affilorama:
http://tinyurl.com/7ugomle
Mr. Eric, it’s July 9th 2012. You forgot to take down your no cost income thinghy.
Hello Tony,
The original sale was pulled.
There is actually a different offer posted at this time. For instance, Resale Rights and the webinar are no longer available.
Thanks, Eric. The money is in the list!!!
Mark
As always, thank you.
yes
Thanks for all the great tips.
Eric, Do you have an index to all of
your lessons? It would be a great a great
help.
Bill
Hello Bill,
Here is a list of the lessons to date:
1) Introduction to Eric’s Tips
2) What is an online business?
3) Is an online business right for me?
4) 18 Ways to Make Money Online
5) How to Avoid Scams
6) Self Employed or Business Owner?
7) What kind of online business will we build?
8) Things needed to start an online business
9) Basic Computer Skills You Need to Have
10) Online Business Terms Defined
11) Who Should You Listen To?
12) Thinking Like a Marketer
13) Getting a Vision for Your Business
14) Setting Goals for Your Business
15) Creating a Business Plan
16) How to Stay Motivated
17) Commitment (The Choice is Yours)
18) Should I Quit My Day Job?
19) How to Choose a Niche (Part 1)
20) How to Choose a Niche (Part 2)
21) Surveying the Market & Focusing Your Topic
22) Branding and Naming Your Product
23) Choosing and Registering a Domain Name
24) Choosing a Web Host
25) Changing Name Servers & Getting to Know Cpanel
26) Email Address on Your Own Domain
27) 5 Ways to Build a Website
28) Building a Website With HTML
29) Uploading a Website Using FTP
30) Using Web Authoring Software
31) Using Templates and Site Builders
32) How to Build a Membership Website
33) Getting Started with WordPress
34) WordPress Recommended Settings
35) WordPress Themes and Plugins
36) Customizing WordPress
37) How to Make Money with Your Blog
38) Making Money with Blogs (Part 2)
39) Outsourcing Your Website
40) Using Graphics On Your Website
41) How to Put a Video on Your Website
42) How to Put Audio on Your Website
43) Legal Compliance & Legal Documents for Your Website
44) Introduction to Information Products
45) Creating an Information Product (Part 1)
46) Creating an Information Product (Part 2)
47) How to Create an Ebook
48) The Marketing Funnel
49) Pricing Your Product
50) Introduction to Copywriting
51) How to Create a Sales Letter
52) Outsourcing Copywriting
53) Payment Processing Solutions for Online Businesses
54) Creating Payment Buttons and Thank-You Pages
55) Upsells and One Time Offers
56) Using Downsells to Grab More Sales
57) Testing to Improve Your Marketing
58) Supporting Your Customers
59) Introduction to List Building
60) Setting Up Your Opt-In List
61) Setting Up A Customer List
62) Introduction to Squeeze Pages
63) Building a Squeeze Page
64) Adding Audio & Video to Your Squeeze Page
65) Advanced Squeeze Page Techniques
66) Capturing Subscribers from “Non-Squeeze” Pages
67) More List Building Strategies
68) Building a Relationship with Your List
69) List Segmentation
70) Getting Subscribers to Read Your Email and Take Action
71) Tracking Your Results
72) Introduction to Web Traffic
73) PPC Traffic
74) Advanced PPC Tips
75) Paid Traffic Sources (Other than PPC)
76) Introduction to SEO
77) On Page SEO
78) Off Page SEO (Link Building)
79) Article Marketing
80) Video Marketing
81) Introduction to Social Media for Internet Marketers
82) Social Media Implementation (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Linked-In, S.U.)
83) Mobile Marketing
84) Over 400 Free Web Traffic Sources
85) Affiliate Traffic
86) Recruiting Affiliates
87) Piggyback Marketing
88) Joint Venture
Thanks Micah,
This will save me a lot of time.
Great video, It is easy to understand and I am trying as fast as I can to get up and running and I know with your info and my persistence I got to get going if I am going to pay you guy’s your coaching fee
Is affilorama better or similar to “non-cost-commission-income” product by Eric,Jeff and paul?
It’s two totally different things. Affilorama is a membership site with ongoing training on affiliate marketing. My NCIS course is one specific step-by-step system for getting started in affiliate marketing using free methods.
I certainly am grateful for your taking the time to go to such lengths to make sure all the necessary details are present here especially with lesson 59 on through covering list building.
I have saved all prior lessons sent consecutively so I can review them when time allows to ensure clarity on other topics covered.
With appreciation for all you are doing and for your “tips “on what’s working well for your business. Thank you.
Thank you for putting emphasis on this group of lessons starting with “List Building.” I will make sure I have read through the material on this group of lessons since list building is an important aspect of creating a customer base for all offers.
First of all thank you for everything you are doing. Now, I see you have a “List Building Pack” mentioned here. And also, in the Real Coaching Club Membership Area you have the “Simple List Building Blueprint Course”. Are they the same or are they two different packages? Or by having both is better. Thanks.
Hello Orlando,
Those are entirely different courses. If you have the time to devote to both courses, they will both be helpful to your business.
But, either one will do a great job getting you going!
Considering the excellent value you provide in your FREE videos, how could you in good conscience even refer me and other subscribers to a fantastic system that only costs $5,000.00 to join??!! Incredible. Guess you think that the number of people who have that kind of money are almost infinite. Well, Eric, and Micah, guess what? Not a single person I personally know in Spokane, WA, has even half the admission price at their disposal. Things like eating, raising children, providing for your spouse, paying your mortgage on time each month as well as all the other “recurring expenses” just keep on getting in the way. I respected you a great deal more before I visited that site, but now I wonder where your ethics/morals have gone.
You start by saying I provide excellent value for free in my videos. Now I did a webinar in which we provided a bunch of good information for free.
Since you viewed the webinar, you would know that this person’s coaching program has dozens of 5 and 6 figure monthly earners, so it’s proven. I chose to promote it because I knew we’d be giving away a lot of great information for free, and because I know there are a few people (I never assumed it would be infinite, as you suppose) who would very much benefit from this program and be happy to pay the price of admission to the coaching program. If you look at what I’ve promoted over the course of this year, you would see that the highest percentage of information I deliver in my emails is “free”. Then I promoted several products in the $27-$97 range, which is what I sell most of my products for. I promoted one $497 product on a webinar with a fellow Eric’s Tips subscriber. I promoted one $2000 program (Product Launch Formula) which again has loads of success stories, and I’ve personally used the formula. And now I promoted one $5000 coaching program (and that BTW is the most expensive payment option… for a lifetime membership). As you can see I have a long track record of promoting very few big ticket products, and when I do it is only the ones I believe in. I will use your own words…
“Considering the excellent value you provide in your FREE videos, how could you in good conscience even refer me and other subscribers to a fantastic system that only costs $5,000.00 to join?”
The word I want to point out is value. Is a free video a good value if it teaches you how to make your first $1000 online? Yes, of course. Is a $5000 coaching program a good value if it teaches you how to make $10k/month or more? Yes, of course.
So the thing to understand is that the value is there, just like it is for my free videos. Just because something has a high price that doesn’t mean it’s not a good value. I DO understand that the $5000 price is too expensive for most people to afford, and that’s why MOST of the information I provide is free or less than $100. But be careful about confusing price and value.
This is total BS!! What happened to the comment I attempted to post not even 60 seconds ago? It was about the small $5,000 investment your friend’s program requires.
All comments go into a moderation queue to prevent spam. I’ve done that for many years.
Interesting that you automatically delete and refuse to post any legitimate replies or comments that you disagree with or deem “rude” or “offensive.” Power hungry, huh?
If you read my comments over the years you would know that’s not true. See above…
Your integrity took a serious blow, to me, by your referring subscribers/readers to the Launch Jack program. In case you didn’t know it, Eric, the price for the lifetime membership (only option) is now right around $5,000.00!! WT* or what the Hell? How many of your readers have that kind of money in the bank at their immediate disposal to spend on a single IM program? Oh well, then again, maybe it makes perfect sense. You DO provide solid value and have earned a great deal of money so far. $5,000.00 is probably not even a large or significant sum of money for you or Micah, but it sure is for a large number of people that I know. Must be nice.
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, although I think you are still confusing value and price. Does someone have a lack of integrity for recommending a $20k honda automobile? How about a $5k all-inclusive vacation? How about a $10k/year (very cheap) college education?
I never said $5k isn’t a lot of money, in fact I said on the webinar that it’s more expensive than any coaching I’ve recommended in the past.
For the record (for anyone else reading this) “launch jacking” is actually just one of many strategies taught in the aforementioned coaching program.
Yea, I’m with Craig this does sounds a little far fetched, come on really $10k – $100k per month? And I don’t think you bought into this program yourself and you have no first hand experience with this program. I think you were paid a handsome sum to advertise this program to your list and offered a generous commission for sucker that signs up. I bet this information is so disorganized and hard to follow especially for a newbie. I think you need to repent brother for recommending something you haven’t tried yourself and for a program so expensive with a “NO MONEY BACK GARAUNTEE”
It’s only far fetched if that’s your paradigm. I’ve been making that kind of money for years, and it’s not strange to me. You can choose to believe it or not, but a lot of people are making a lot of money online, including many of the participants in that coaching program. There are a ton of scams out there, and a lot of scammy sites with fake income claims. Because of that, I don’t blame anyone for their skepticism. But this is not one of those sites. I was paid zero to promote this program. I was given free access to it, and am very impressed with it. I do make a commission for referrals who buy it. I realize it’s not for everyone, and that’s OK. Just because you cannot afford something that doesn’t make it a scam. Anyway, this really has nothing to do with lesson #59 so I would prefer not to converse about it here.
Ok– time for the hot seat.
Let’s say you were approached by a local business and they asked you to help (create or manage) their email marketing campaign. Wait for it ——>
How much do you think you can reasonably ask for and NOT get laughed out the door?
Hello Dave,
It’s perfectly fine to ask for whatever your expertise and time is worth. That is fair. If they can’t afford it, that’s fine. But, if you want to give others a steal of a deal, that’s fine too.
I really need to start making some money…. I have like twenty…twenty firve a month for these project….. I wish I could start with an small bewbsite already build with all the tools I need to start…. Iknow how websites work…. I try a travel agency long time ago for a while … but I run out of money… I know there is websites already ready like clown … where i can buy the info/packs …. the same or some of the same info/ packs you are alreadymarketing…. but my budget in too small ….. and getting smaller buy the day…. I may have to go back to work…. part time just so I can
make a living…. but I want to keep at least twenty five commited to these project…. as I start making money I could ….. pay more for my website and grow…. I could reinvest like at least 30 percent back into my website rental…
but the problem I got is to star….. I’am broke and getting worse by the days…. I need help…. I understand…that the best products to resalle right now will be info/packs…. just like the one I am getting… and I am ready to start…. I know I will have an office that I can open with a p.w and from there I can monitor my daily activity….I bough mail list before…. and I agree that it is probably the best and safer way to star my list…. I used to key in one customer at the time into one of the business I try…. but I alwasys run out of money and something…had to be wrong…. so I left the business alone and focus on my dayly job… but now I retired and I already have ……
time to build my Internet business…. specailly I feel more confidence getting into these business ……
following your steps….. I understand the concept of the business… if you can help me open a litle website …..
that I can afford now …. twenty or twenty five a moth rent….. I could start now…. I am also getting a part time job
to help me keep these going…. Please let me now if you can help to my e/mail…. very trully….Angelo M. Lopez
Hello Angelo,
A realistic minimum investment for an online business would be about a couple hundred dollars, for web hosting, a domain name, an autoresponder service, and a product to start selling.
However, there are many different ways to earn money online. Here is Eric’s lesson highlighting 18 different ways to earn online revenue:
There are also free methods for running your business as well.
Have you checked out Eric’s recent product, the No Cost Income Stream 2.0?
http://nocostincomestream.com/new/
It sounds like it would be a good fit for what you are looking for.