If you're like I was when I first started out in Internet Marketing, you're probably wondering how to be successful. I didn't know much about being online. I had no idea about how to get a web page up and running. I had no idea how to drive traffic to it, once it was up. I had only about $50, and I didn't know anyone--no one at all!
So, what could I do? I went out and tried to find the most successful people online. I needed to understand what made them successful, what about them all made them successful. I studied people like T. Harv Eker, Alex Mandossian, and Jay Abraham, among others, and it dawned on me. The single common thread running through all of their success stories was that they had enormous lists. They had these huge lists of people that they could call, write, or email anytime. They could offer them valuable information or products, and make money, any time they wanted or needed to have it. Well, I realized that if I wanted to have that same kind of success that I'd better start list building, too.
Remember, though, I said I didn't know anyone. I had no idea where I'd get a list, and I'm betting that you don't know where to get one, either. My method was by joint venture, through List Crusade (http://listcrusade.com), which got me tons of subscribers. The secret, though, the most important secret is to always be list building. Even after you have a gigantic list, you should still be list building.
Though some of you undoubtedly already know this secrets, there are probably more of you who don't know where to begin. Where can you find people who will join your list and be excited about your information an offers?
The first step in list building is to define your niche. What's important to you? Are you a parent? A gardener? A crossword puzzle fanatic? What do you do on weekends? Are you into sports? Do you like to watch NASCAR? Or do you just like to shop at the mall? Every one of these activities has the potential for list building. You can find people who have similar interests and those people will be your target market.
So, now you're wondering where to find these people, no doubt. Ten years ago, this wouldn't have been true, but today, we have the Internet. You won't have to go to fifteen garden club meetings to talk to other gardeners. Of course, you can if you're passionate about gardening, and you probably do belong to an offline group or two, but you probably don't stray far from one or two groups of friends. Yet, with the Internet, you have a whole world full of gardeners and people interested in gardening to approach!
The first thing you should do is go to Google Groups (http://groups.google.com) and type in "gardening" or whatever your niche is. A list of different newsgroups available in a part of the Internet, called Usenet, will come up on your screen. You can access them right through Google, or you can use a stand-alone newsreader, like Outlook Express, Forte's Agent, or other software to access them.
So you plug in "gardening," for instance, and the search will provide you with lots of different groups populated by gardeners. If you do this in Google, it will tell you how many people belong to the group and when the last message was posted. I'd opt for joining the discussion in an active and more heavily populated group.
Read through the posts before just jumping in, though. If you post something that's slightly off kilter, Usenet is a no-holds-barred situation and it can get ugly. Find one of the more civilized groups where you have a chance to thrive before posting. In your signature or "sig file" use the URL to your squeeze page. Make some relevant and interesting comments to the group, and if people like what you have to say, they'll probably join your list.
Your offline friends aren't immune, either. Send them to your website. If you're interested in the same things, they'll probably join your list, too. They may not even realize that you write a gardening newsletter. If you're part of an offline group, maybe the moderator could announce your site at a meeting.
Your offline friends aren't immune, either. Send them to your website. If you're interested in the same things, they'll probably join your list, too. They may not even realize that you write a gardening newsletter. If you're part of an offline group, maybe the moderator could announce your site at a meeting.
Whether they're online or off, anyone who is interested in your niche is part of your target audience. Always remember to keep list building. These are the people who will want to be on your list. Don't try to sell bread to people on a diet, right? Find the right people, and you'll not only build a big list, you'll build a responsive one.
List building master, Tellman Knudson, is CEO of OvercomeEverything, Inc. and has built a massive, responsive list in a short time. Learn his "Get a List Quick" system at MyFirstList.com (http://www.myfirstlist.com/).
