Chapter 17 List Building Continued

Chapter 17, List Building Continued...

"Every Online Step.com Training Course"

Information products—the key to the success of your Internet marketing business

Creating a product or program is a powerful—and possibly necessary—step in your business development. When you do so your business has the potential to skyrocket.
—Michael Port

An information product that adds value to people’s lives is the best tool for creating word of mouth. When you offer real solutions to real problems, satisfied customers will want to tell the world about you.

The best way to start a viral marketing campaign is to share your knowledge and expertise with prospects and customers.
As an Internet marketer, you know that the key to your business success is the ability to build a list of customers and potential customers who look forward to hearing about your new product releases and special offers through e-mail announcements. And you know that successful list-building depends on your ability to build a bond of trust with prospects and customers.

You already have a powerful list-building tool right in your own hands—literally. Whether you type on a keyboard, talk to your voice recognition software, or grind it out the hard way with a pencil and paper, you are the best tool you will ever have for building a list.

A lead-generating information product is one that you give away in exchange for an e-mail address and permission to follow up. A lead-generating product is the easiest, fastest, and most effective tool for creating a connection with potential clients. As you build trust with potential customers, you will soon reach the point in the sales cycle where prospects are ready to buy your products or services.

Your information product is often the most powerful tool in the sales cycle. Readers will brand you on the basis of what you offer them in exchange for their e-mail address and permission to follow up. Creating an information product is the easiest and fastest way to establish yourself as an expert, build your brand, and win the trust of customers and potential customers.

A free offer of something valuable turns visitors into friends. When you follow up by continuing to add something of value to people’s lives, you establish the kind of rapport and trust that turns friends into clients. And when you cultivate client relationships by keeping in touch, offering new solutions, and creating additional benefits, you turn customers into clients for life.

The best time to build your database is now
Do not wait for a change of environment before you act; get a change of environment by action.
–Wallace D. Wattles

The best way to build your database is by offering an information product designed to generate leads. Find a product idea you’re enthusiastic about. If you can tie it into your current business model, you have the topic for a great information product.

When you give first-time visitors a free information product in exchange for their e-mail address, you take the first step toward establishing yourself as an expert. And when visitors give you permission to follow up, you start to build a bond of trust.
If you’ve already written something, think about how you can leverage it to create additional information products. An article might contain the seed for an eBook. A series of articles or reports can be reworked and presented as an eCourse or a series of Web seminars.

If you’ve never written anything for publication on the Internet before, start by asking yourself how you can package what you know or do. What are you passionate about? How have you helped people in the past? Ask family and friends for their honest feedback.

Do you have a hobby that’s related to a product or service that you would like to market? A sport or other pursuit that you’re passionate about can be a great place to start.

Be sure you know what your vision is. When you find products and services that you can market and sell with enthusiasm, you won’t have any trouble writing about them with passion and conviction.

How to create lead-generating information products

Just start with something simple. Be sure to choose an attention-grabbing title. And let people know you as a person. Let them see who you really are.

When you write your information product, be sure to remember the first rule of relationship management: Customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

If you’re starting from scratch, here’s how to take advantage of the enormous opportunity that information products provide for generating leads and establishing yourself as an expert in your field:
Offer readers an insight into how you dealt with a problem or crisis in your own work or personal life.

Connect with readers by showing them how you solved a problem that they may be facing now. The fastest way to establish your credentials and build rapport is to connect with readers on the basis of your shared experiences.
Give testimonials of your own experiences with products and services to engage the reader’s interest and build a bond of trust.

Write about real solutions for real people.

Permission marketing starts by inviting customers to opt-in to a database in order to receive e-mail and special promotions. Permission marketing is a proven vehicle for building and maintaining customer relationships.

Here are some of the most popular formats for creating a great lead-generating information product:

Write a short eBook to offer free tips.
Write a short how-to eBook.
Write an article that connects with one of your current business needs.
Turn your free-tips or how-to book into an eCourse or Web seminar.
Produce your own podcast or video cast.
Always put into practice the four R’s of Internet publishing—review, rethink, rewrite, and recycle:

Review: Take a fresh look at anything you’ve written before. The key word is anything. Looking at an old product from a new perspective can get your creative juices flowing faster than you think. You may even discover a solution for a business problem today by taking a fresh look at something you’ve done in the past.

Rethink: Think about how you can approach the topic from a new angle. Getting a fresh perspective on an old topic is one of the easiest and fastest ways to create new information products. An article or eBook that provides a new angle on an old topic is a very effective tool for driving traffic and generating leads.

Rewrite: Rework your old articles. Write from the perspective of where your target market wants to go today. Always ask yourself how you can give your customers a useful insight or a fresh view of a topic.
Recycle: Leverage your new product into as many different formats as you can to achieve the full potential of information products. Some minor tweaking here and there can turn old articles into new eCourses and podcasts.

Information products plus permission marketing equals rapid-fire lead generation

As an Internet marketer, you know that your database of e-mail addresses is one of the most important tools in your business system. A list makes it possible to offer products and promotions to build your relationship with customers and add value to their lives.

Successful Internet marketers know that special reports, web seminars, consultations, and free trials are proven tactics for enticing visitors to leave their contact information. You build your brand as an online expert with every information product that goes out under your name.

When visitors opt in by voluntarily entering their name and e-mail addresses on your web site or sales page, they give you permission to start building a relationship.

An effective web site must do four things:
Sell products and services.
Build your brand.
Capture names and e-mail addresses of visitors.
Foster affiliate relationships.

Information products are the single most effective point of entry into the sales cycle. Why? Because they are ideal tools for:

Generating leads by driving traffic to your web site or squeeze page.
Building your brand as an expert and separating you from the competition.
Creating multiple revenue streams.

The unlimited power of viral marketing

The most effective tool for creating word of mouth is viral marketing. Viral marketing is a promotional strategy that encourages users to forward your messages to others by clicking on a “Tell-a-Friend” or “Forward-to-a-Friend” link.

Rapid-fire list building depends on learning how to achieve the full potential of permission-based lead generation by harnessing the unlimited power of viral marketing.

A database that automatically captures each prospect’s contact information is the single most powerful marketing tool on the Worldwide Web today. Internet marketing is all about capturing e-mail addresses—the sleekest and most attractive web site in the world is useless if it isn’t building you a list.

A web site is a waste of time and money if it isn’t capturing names and e-mail addresses of visitors. The only goal of a web site or sales page is to convert visitors into customers. Enticing visitors to give your their e-mail addresses—and permission to follow up from time to time—is the most crucial step in the online sales cycle.

Research shows that the majority of customers visit a site four or five times before they buy a product or service. Follow-up is a crucial step in the sales cycle. Getting a visitor to opt-in is what makes the difference between hooking a prospect and losing a lead forever.

How you follow up is what determines whether your leads turn into customers or not. When satisfied customers are so excited about your product or service that they want to tell the world about you, they put the power of viral marketing to work for you.

Sure-fire tactics for creating your own information product

It is certain that you can do what you want to do. The desire to do it is proof that you have within you the power which can do it.
—Wallace D. Wattles

To sum up what we’ve learned so far: The single most powerful way to build a database is by creating your own information products and programs.

Most Internet marketers would rather schedule root canal surgery than think about writing their own information product. Let’s face it: It’s easier to hire a writer to do it for you. And there’s nothing wrong with hiring writers—most of the time.

But if you write just one of your own information products, you’ll be astonished at how it helps you focus more sharply on your customers’ desires. Indeed, you’ll get a sharper focus on every aspect of your business. You’ll get closer to the real concerns and needs of your customers than ever before.

Writing information products stretches your mind by giving you a new perspective on things. When people ask me what I think about something, I sometimes answer, “How can I know what I think about that if I haven’t written it down yet?” The act of putting your ideas in writing is the best way to clarify your thoughts.

The process of writing is what triggers creativity. All successful writers know that you can’t wait for inspiration. Just start writing. One thought will lead to another. Soon you’ll start to make connections between ideas that have no apparent connection at all.

The result is always a fresh view of a topic. You’ll be amazed at what you start to produce when you make a commitment to start. Follow these proven tactics for simplifying and speeding up the writing process. Creating your own information product doesn’t have to be rocket science—and it should never be root canal:

Don’t worry about spelling and grammar when you write a first draft. Just think about your readers. Content is all that matters at this stage of the writing process. You can always find a friend to proofread your information product when you finish your first draft. Never try to edit what you’ve written until you get it all down.

Set a deadline and stick to it. An occasional writing project will make you more self-disciplined. When time is so valuable, setting a deadline for completing a new information product will give you a heightened appreciation for the value of every hour and every minute in the day.

Focus like a laser beam. Try to complete your writing project ahead of schedule. You’ll start to develop time-management skills that spill over into everything you do as an Internet marketer.

Get it all down before you try to correct your work. Interrupting the process of writing to check and correct things before you complete a first draft is a sure way to take the joy out of writing. As you practice the technique of “freewriting,” you’ll start to write much faster. And the faster you write, the more you’ll enjoy the process of writing.

Write your first draft as fast as you can. Freewriting lets you keep up with your thought processes. The act of writing is what stimulates creativity and clear thinking. The faster you write, the more closely you’ll be able to pattern your sentences after your thoughts.

Stop making excuses. We say we don’t have enough time to write; we don’t have enough skill to write; and we don’t have enough stamina and patience to write. These are just excuses for not starting.

When you put these tactics into action, you’ll start to see old topics in a new light. And you’ll become more creative—not only in your writing, but in your way of thinking and acting. When your new skills carry over to the way you work on and in your Internet business—and they will—you’ll be amazed at how you constantly see new ways to innovate and improve your business system.

Most marketers never try to write their own information product. To be remarkable at anything in life, you must feel the fear and do it anyway. That goes for Internet marketing, too.

Once you start to write your own information product, it will be easier than you believed possible. You have the power within you to do it, if you will just believe in yourself enough to give it an honest try.

26 Tactics for Rapid-Fire List Building

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
—Will Rogers

Part 2 of this special report will show you how to get the most out of your information products to skyrocket your leads and build a 50,000 list. You’ll learn proven lead-generating tactics in this part of the report to leverage the full potential of your information products. In all, you’ll discover 26 superpower tactics for rapid-fire list building.

Tactic 1: Be sure you have a squeeze page

A squeeze page is one of the most versatile tools in Internet marketing today. It can be integrated into your web site, or it can stand alone as a fully functional one-page site. A squeeze page is simply an e-mail converter: It offers an enticing free product, such as a special report or eCourse, in exchange for the visitor’s e-mail address and permission to follow up.

Your squeeze page must do two things:

Capture e-mails, and

Automatically send a sign-up confirmation and follow-up e-mails.

The key to a successful squeeze page is knowledge of your target market:

What will it take to entice your visitors to opt in?

This squeeze page offers two free gifts in exchange for the visitor’s e-mail address: a free eBook and a free 21-part eCourse.

You only have one opportunity to convince visitors to enter their contact information. It’s vital to give visitors a compelling reason to opt-in.

There are many places on the Worldwide Web to get good auto-responder programs for following up on your new leads. Aweber is a popular program that makes it easy to keep in touch with prospects and customers.

Research shows that it can take as many as seven or more follow-up e-mail messages to convince people to buy your product or service. That’s why it’s so important to have an automated follow-up program built into your squeeze page.

Tactic 2: Offer a free e-consultation on your squeeze page

The offer of a free e-consultation or mini-course is a great way to entice visitors to opt in. People love to buy packaged learning. The offer of a free mini-course is one of the most effective tactics for convincing visitors to leave their contact information.

When you have a new lead in your database, the most effective tool for follow-up is an auto-responder course that’s automatically programmed to be sent to your leads.

Most people don’t have time to take full advantage of all the free offers they sign up for on the Web. Even if your initial offer of a great free product entices visitors to opt in, they may never actually take the time to read it. And if they don’t read it, they won’t remember you.

That’s why it’s vital to follow up with auto-responder e-mails. When you research your target market and know what your customers need and want, you are in a position to take full advantage of auto-responder programs.

Some marketers follow up immediately with a series of seven daily e-mail messages to keep pushing the customer’s hot buttons. Others prefer to send an immediate confirmation of sign-up, and then program the first follow-up e-mail for one week after sign-up.

Your follow-up e-mails are an ideal tool for building your brand. Sharing your knowledge and expertise with prospects is the best way to build trust and establish yourself as an online expert. Offer a series of brief tips in your follow-up e-mails to keep your business, product, or service in the minds of your potential customers.

Always include a clear call to action in your follow-up e-mails. Your resource box is the ideal place for reinforcing your brand and including a call to action. Your resource box is also the best place to embed a link to your sales page. That way your prospects are only a click away from completing the sales cycle.
Tactic 3: Cross-promote through joint venture e-mail campaigns

Successful Internet marketers know how to find ideal joint venture partners for cross-promoting each other. Look for an established company or Internet marketer who sells to a niche market that would be interested in buying what you sell.

When trusted experts and service professionals refer you to their community of buyers, you gain instant credibility in the minds of loyal customers. And associating your business with a successful company or service professional is one of the best ways to establish credibility with your own prospects.

A joint venture e-mail campaign is a very effective viral marketing tactic. Always be sure to include a “Tell-A-Friend” tool in your cross promotions. And make sure you have great information products to show potential joint venture partners.

Tactic 4: Co-registration

Co-registration is a tactic that encourages visitors to opt-in to your list in the process of completing an offer.

A great way to achieve the full potential of co-registration is by promoting a contest on your site. When visitors enter your online contest, they leave their e-mail address and give you permission to contact them. Co-registration can be integrated into offers of free software, eZines, and other online promotions.

When you create valuable information products to build your brand and establish your expertise, you generate opportunities to get listed on high-traffic sites as part of their co-registration offers. When visitors register for a contest or service at an affiliate’s site, they are given the option of checking a box to receive your follow-up information on an area of interest to them.

Tactic 5: How to get the most out of eZines

An electronic newsletter—or eZine—is a powerful list-building tool. Newsletters are easy to deliver by e-mail; they’re a great way to get prospects and customers involved in your business; and they’re ideal tools for staying in touch with loyal customers and prospects.

Identify eZines that serve readers who would want to buy your product or service. Offer your articles to the publishers. By including a link to your web site or squeeze page in the author’s resource box, you can reach thousands of potential customers in just a few hours.

You also need to send out your own newsletter to keep in touch with customers and potential customers. You don’t need any experience in Internet publishing to start writing a newsletter. Follow these simple tips to get started with your own eZine:

Keep it short and simple to start with. Send out an e-mail letter with news and information every 2 to 4 weeks to stay in touch with your target market.

As you get better at writing newsletters, you can start to enrich your publications by adding graphics and stories.

Always be sure to add something of value to your customers’ lives. They may not need you today; but if you stay in touch by offering valuable tips and information, you’ll be the first person they go to when they make a decision to buy.

Tactic 6: Add your information product to a giveaway site

HOT Downloads Vault (www.hotdownloadsvault.com) is a giveaway site that builds a free list for you. You can also get over 100 free Internet marketing products at HOT Downloads Vault.

How HOT Downloads Vault builds your list:
This site allows you to build a free list by adding your own product to the giveaways.
Visitors get your product by signing up for a free membership and joining your opt-in page.

Throughout this special report, we have come back—time after time—to the same place: Creating valuable information products is the best way to generate leads and build your list. And the more information products you create, the more visible you will become on giveaway sites like HOT Downloads Vault.

Visit HOT Downloads Vault to learn more about how this successful giveaway site can skyrocket your signups.

Tactic 7: Be sure you use an exit pop-up

Every successful Internet business must have a window that pops up when visitors abandon your web site or sales page without opting in or buying a product or service. This is a great place to include your photo and a brief audio message, along with just enough text to show visitors how important they are to you.

This is not the place to hard-sell visitors, unless your research tells you that customers in your target market respond to hard-selling. Otherwise, be sure to use your exit pop-up as a chance to get valuable feedback. Ask visitors why they’re leaving without signing up for a free eBook or mini-course. Entering into a dialogue with visitors at this stage of the sales cycle can save the day.

Tactic 8: When to use an index page

If you have a large web site, visitors will need to be guided as quickly as possible to your opt-in page. The value of an index page is its ability to lead visitors to areas they’re most interested in. If you need an index page, be sure to make it easy for visitors to get to your opt-in page by clicking just once.

If you don’t have a web site, many servers will host a simple index page for you. In this case, your index page becomes your lead-capture page. Like a squeeze page, its only purpose is to entice visitors to give you their e-mail address and permission to follow up.

Beware of clutter. An index page should not be full of noise—resist the temptation to fill your index page with text and images that only distract visitors from the real reason they got there. Make it easy for visitors to find what they want, and they will have a compelling reason to opt-in to your list.

Tactic 9: Writing articles

Throughout this course, I have emphasized the importance of creating content-rich information products. Writing web articles is one of the fastest and most powerful ways to generate leads and establish yourself as an expert.

People love to read articles that offer real solutions to real problems. If you take a few moments to search for topics of interest on the Internet, you’ll find a few articles that reward you in some way for the time you take to read them. Yet most content on the Worldwide Web today is poorly written—and painfully boring.

Never underestimate the power of Web articles to generate leads and build a community of loyal customers. The best way to build a list is to write and publish content-rich web articles that add value to people’s lives. Always write about real problems for real people. When you do, your list will skyrocket.
Tactic 10: Harness the power of viral list-builder software

Viral Friend Generator is a powerful viral marketing tool that can take your Internet business to the next level. This software is guaranteed to increase traffic and subscribers to your web site by a whopping 300 percent.

The people behind this product put their money where their mouth is: Viral Friend Generator comes with a double-your-money-back guarantee.

The power of Viral Friend Generator:
Viral Friend Generator uses the same technology that enables companies like Yahoo and Hotmail to generate billions of dollars in revenue.
Viral Friend Generator is a state-of-the-art viral marketing tool designed to help your business achieve the full potential of word-of-mouth advertising.
Viral Friend Generator comes with a double-your-money-back guarantee
Here’s how it works:

Download Viral Friend Generator to your site and try it out. If this software doesn’t increase your traffic and signups by at least 300%, you can get a complete no-questions-asked refund at any time during the first 60 days.

Give it an honest try. Follow the simple instructions for achieving the full potential of this powerful viral marketing tool.

If you still fail to achieve a 300% increase in traffic and subscribers, send your screenshots to prove the software didn’t work as promised and you’ll get double your money back.

Visit www.linkbrander.com to get started with Viral Friend Generator. It’s easy to believe in people who believe in their product enough to offer this kind of guarantee.
Tactic 11: Pay-per-click ads

Pay-per-click ads on search engine pages can be a powerful tool for generating leads and building a list. The downside of pay-per-click is that it can take a lot of trial-and-error testing to get it right. Many Internet marketers find that they need to invest several thousand dollars before they reach their break-even point.

If you decide to give it a try, monitor activity to be sure your web site is converting the traffic that you’re paying for. If your web site has a high conversion ratio, pay-per-click can be a lucrative investment.

Tactic 12: Writing an eBook

Many Internet marketers shy away from writing an eBook because they think they don’t have time. But an eBook doesn’t have to be—and indeed, shouldn’t be—as long as a physical book.

Hard copy and LCD are completely different media. I’m an avid reader, yet I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to read anything longer than about 50 pages on a computer screen.

Even 50 pages is hard work. Most readers don’t have that much time. A good eBook rarely needs to be longer than 25 pages. Cut out the fluff and get to the point. Readers will thank you for it later.

Storytelling is the best way to connect to potential customers and create a bond of trust. Stories let us know each other better through our shared experiences. When you write content for the Worldwide Web, think of yourself as a storyteller first, and as an Internet marketer second.

If you really want to build the kind of list that dreams are made of, master the art of connecting to people through the stories you tell in your web articles, eZines, and eBooks. There is no better way to build a community of loyal customers around your Internet marketing business.

Tactic 13: Press releases and news stories

Many popular web sites are dedicated to user-created web journalism. Learn how to write direct, clear, and powerful press releases to announce your new products and special offers.

Develop an ability to write newsworthy articles that tie into the interests of potential customers in your target market. A link to your web site in the author’s resource box is a powerful tool for generating leads.

Tactic 14: Surveys and polls

Survey and polls are the pulse of your niche market. They let you know what your potential customers want before they know. People are naturally curious. Surveys and opinion polls are an ideal tool for tapping into people’s natural curiosity.

Many online forums and discussion groups will let you start a poll. By posting your link in the resource box, you create the opportunity to drive forum members and guests to your site. When you use surveys and polls to find out what people really think and what they really want, you gather feedback and build your online brand at the same time.

Tactic 15: Promote affiliate items

If you aren’t already promoting affiliate items, the best place to get started is Clickbank.com. You can find thousands of online businesses to promote as an online affiliate at Clickbank.

You may want to get started by promoting a product that enriched your life in some way. Choose a product or service that you’re passionate about. Write an article to tell others how the product or service improved your life. Include a link to your web site or blog, and watch your list and affiliate earnings grow.

Tactic 16: Hold a contest

Holding a contest is one of the best ways to generate buzz and build a community of users around your web site. If you can’t think of what to offer as a prize, you can get started by promoting a contest with prizes contributed by a joint venture partner. Then switch roles the next time—you contribute the prize for your partner’s contest.

Whenever you get together with joint venture partners to cross-promote a contest or other special offer, you create the type of environment that can spark a customer-generated viral marketing campaign.

Tactic 17: Free online courses
People love packaged learning and entertainment. A free mini-course or web seminar is a great way to drive traffic to your web site.

I searched the Internet for “free online course.” Yahoo returned 157 million optimized results. The market is huge. Focus like a laser beam on your niche market and create targeted content for your potential customers: Customers are hungry for a free online course you haven’t created yet. When you get it online, be prepared to watch your list go through the roof.

Tactic 18: Free software

Millions of Internet users search every day for sites that offer free software. Unless you have your own proprietary software to offer, the best place to get started is at Clickbank.com.

We all use software in every area of our lives, so you won’t have any trouble finding products that appeal to potential customers. You can find over 10,000 businesses to promote on Clickbank.

Choose a software product you’d like to promote. Then find a site that offers a free trial—almost all software sellers offer free evaluations. Write a consumer review of the software; publish it on your web site or blog; and submit it to eZines and article directories.

Be sure to include a link to the free download. By promoting your affiliate’s site, you have the opportunity to capture new leads and earn a commission as well.

Tactic 19: Forums

Forums are a powerful tool for establishing your brand. Posting your comments on forums is a great way to create value for potential customers in a niche market you want to target. Make a commitment to join Internet forums and discussion groups in your industry or field.

Never use a forum for direct selling. The place to tell forum members and guests about your product or service is in your resource box. Forums let you include a name, tagline, and link to your web site or blog at the bottom of each post.

People join forums to connect to persons with similar interests, to share experiences, and to find information that can help them solve a problem. The best way to promote yourself on online forums is to share your knowledge and expertise. When people learn to trust you as an expert, they will go to you when they want to buy a product or service that you offer.

As your list grows, you will want to start a forum for your own community of online customers. A forum is a great vehicle for growing a community of loyal customers and customer evangelists for your Internet business.

Tactic 20: Ads and sponsorships

One of the fastest ways to build a list is to recruit joint venture partners to promote your site. Many established Internet marketers have lists of 50,000 to 200,000 subscribers. When your joint venture partners mail their subscribers to announce your new launch or special offer, your list can skyrocket virtually overnight.
Potential joint venture partners will want an attractive incentive—in the form of high affiliate commissions—to promote your site. When your list skyrockets, other site owners will want you to promote their launches to your list of subscribers.
Tactic 21: Podcasts

Podcasting is one of the best ways to connect to visitors and build rapport. It’s easy to get started with a program like AudioAcrobat. All you need to record you audio messages is a telephone. And you can instantly upload messages to your web site.

Search engines make it easy for Internet users to find your podcasts. Simply submit a summary of your audio content to the search engines. Be sure to use the keywords you’ve already targeted for use in your web articles and web site content. That will help the search engines to know what your content is about.

It’s easy for anyone to start podcasting. Go the extra mile to produce rich informational content that adds something of value to customers’ lives, and your podcasts will drive thousands of leads to your website.

Tactic 22: Free audio or video downloads

All successful Internet marketers know that audio podcasts and video casts are powerful engines that have the potential to drive traffic and generate leads. And you don’t need professional broadcast experience to start creating your own audio and video content.

You can create your own video seminars and workshops using a webcam or digital camera. A program like AudioAcrobat makes it easy to upload audio and video content to your site. Be sure to add audio and video testimonials of satisfied customers to your web site.

When you post new audio and video messages, submit written summaries to search engines to make it easy for potential customers to find you.

Tactic 23: Webinars

Web seminars—or Webinars—are wonderful ways to package your knowledge and expertise. And as we have seen throughout this report, the best way to generate leads and skyrocket your conversions is by building your brand through information products.

Be sure to achieve the full potential of Webinars by creating video seminars and video workshops to post on your web site. All you need is a computer and a webcam.

Tactic 24: Blogs

I have talked a great deal about blogs in this special report. That should have alerted you to their enormous potential for creating word of mouth and generating leads. If you aren’t blogging, you need to get started right away.

Always remember: Blogging is one of the best ways to grow a community of satisfied customers around your business. And when satisfied customers are so excited about your solutions that they want to tell the world about you, they become powerful customer evangelists for your Internet marketing business—they generate leads for you.

Tactic 25: Become a Giveaway Guru affiliate

Giveaway Guru (www.giveaway-guru.com) is a membership site that has launched a series of successful giveaway web sites. Each of Giveaway Guru’s launches has built on the popularity of the previous site by doubling the number of new subscribers and sales. When visitors sign up for free membership at any of these sites, they see a one-time upgrade offer, which is where the revenue comes from.

Affiliates benefit from a stream of signups and commissions:

Add thousands of subscribers to your list in just a few days by adding your own product to the giveaway.

Earn thousands of dollars in affiliate commissions when your referrals take advantage of the one-time upgrade offer to purchase full membership.

Why Giveaway Guru is the No. 1 Internet list-building resource

Even if you don’t have products to give away—or if you don’t know how to build a list by capturing subscribers—Giveaway Guru makes it easy to get started by giving you all the tools you need to build a successful squeeze page. And if you don’t have a web site, Giveaway Guru will host your squeeze page so you can start building a list right away.

Viral Marketing Giveaway 2, which launched in August 2006, added over 6,000 subscribers and generated over $4,000 in the first 24 hours.

Unlike other giveaway sites, Giveaway Guru goes on building your list—and generating a revenue stream—month after month.

Tactic 26: eBay

You can promote and sell anything on eBay. Get started and watch your list grow.

Renting and buying lists—a word of caution

Hundreds of web sites rent and sell e-mail addresses. Successful Internet marketers usually don’t endorse buying or renting lists. Renting or buying lists is an expensive—and risky—way to build a database.

When you rent or buy a list, it’s very difficult to be sure you’re getting opt-in e-mail addresses. In most cases lists that are rented and sold are made up of “harvested” e-mails—the addresses have been gathered without the permission of the owners.

Unless you’re sure that a list is made up of opt-in addresses, your best tactic is to stay away from lists that are sold or leased. If you buy or lease a list of harvested addresses, any e-mail you send to these addresses will be considered as spam by the owners.

Make sure your mailing lists are “clean.” Using an opt-in manager program is the best way to be sure that visitors understand that they are signing up for a newsletter or eCourse. Make sure they understand your privacy policy.

Your Internet business must be built on a strong foundation of permission-based e-mailing. Always beware of rented or sold e-mail lists—they may be in violation of federal and state privacy, permission, and anti-spam legislation.

Successful Internet marketers have learned to identify five kinds of people: prospects, customers, loyal customers, former customers, and lost leads.

And all successful marketers know that loyal customers spend the most money.

To be remarkable at your Internet business, always keep in mind these keys to greatness in marketing and sales:
There are only two steps to success: Create something that’s worth selling in the first place. Then spread the word.
Master the art of Customer Relationship Management. It’s cheaper and easier to sell something to a satisfied customer than to a new prospect.

Stop advertising and start innovating. The secret of fulfillment is to set challenges for ourselves, reach our goals, and then set a higher goal.

Start creating information products. Wishing won’t make it happen—write something today. Fulfill your destiny one day at a time.

Start writing your information product today. Add it to a giveaway to generate thousands of new leads. Act on the other action steps in Part 2 of this report. Don’t move on to the next step until you complete the previous one.

Make a commitment to work on your marketing system every day. Stay focused on improving it. When you get serious about building your business system, your list will skyrocket. You’ll start to see visitors turn into friends, and friends turn into customers.

Continue To Chapter 18, Article Marketing...

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