Welcome to my blog. This blog is about list building. As an internet marketer, MLM marketer or any other marketer, you should be  aware that an autoresponder list is key to making a profit. In this blog I would like to provide you with information on building a list. I would also like to provide some product resources that will make building your list easier.

Yes, there are as many opinions as there are…I think you get my drift…on how to build massive autoresponder lists.  However with that said, I am going to show you how I do it and then you decide if my way is worthy of your efforts.

So, how do you start a list? Well, the first thing you need to do is get people to give you their names and email addresses. We call this “optins” or permission-based email.  This can be done in a number of ways. Probably the easiest way to do this if you are just starting out is to give something away. To give something away you will need a website or blog.

For your blog I would suggest going to www.wordpressdirect.com and signing up for a free account. They make it easy to set up your Wordpress blog so it is optimized for the search engines as well as provide you with automatic content and literally a ton of other automated services too.   You can also set up your blog using static posts like the one you are reading right now.

Second, you will need to provide the reader with something to get for free in order to collect their name and email.  This is called a “lead magnet”.  Click here and download all of my free reports that I use to give away.  A downloadable ebook works great as well as sending them to products that you are selling. In order to give something away you will need an autoresponder. The auto responder I use is www.aweber.com.

Go to AWeber and set up a list. If this seems difficult to do just write to me using the “Contact Us” link on the menu bar above and I will send you my ebook “AWeber For Dummies”.  This ebook provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up a list in AWeber.  Once you set up a list and web form (the web form is the actual info box; see below for an example) you will receive a javascript code for an info box that you can put right on your blog. You can see an example of a box provided for you by AWeber below. Then when people sign up to get your ebook you will receive their name and email. Now you have a list.

There is another way to create a list without using the box and that is by putting a pop up box over the top of any website on the internet. In order to do this you will need a program called www.TopShoppers.tv. With this program you will also need to use AWeber in order to make the info box (web form). What this does is make a pop up info box with a lead magnet to go over the top of any website. You can then provide customized URLs for websites you want to promote and when the visitor goes to the website they will see your pop up box and lead magnet first and give you their name and email. After they give you their name and email then you will send them to the sales page for the product that they are looking at. Below is an example of the pop up box that the visitor would fill out (this is the plain Jane version; there are many designs to choose from).

Here is another example using a pop up info box on my personal blog

http://bit.ly/caMY0k

Using either of these methods will provide you with a list. Please follow the links in the sidebars to the tools you will need to start building your list.

List Building Realities

Everyday I receive at least two dozen emails in my Inbox stating “Do you want to build your list to massive proportions?” or something like that touting the latest list building technologies, statistics that boggle the mind, and generally enough hype to fill the Super Bowl stadium.  And I know you receive the same silly emails daily and candidly if you are like me, I am fed up with the whole lot of them.

Like everything in internet marketing, list building is NOT about doing your best to attract prospects and turn them into buyers but it IS about doing what is required!  The net is changing rapidly and list building is changing just as rapidly too.  For example, long sales letters and overly verbose content is dead.  Customers don’t want to read all the hype and repetitive content.  Video has replaced these hype-filled soliloquies with “just give me the facts” type of delivery coupled with live demos on how the product works.  Squeeze pages are making a slow exit from the internet marketing stage and again being replaced by video and pop-ups.  Free trial offers allow the customer to experience the product and actually see the benefits and features first hand.  With these changes, we as internet marketers are “required” to change too or be left behind as if we have been living under a rock.

Here is the list building realities – not so much as how I do it, but actually the way many successful marketers do it that I discovered by simple observation:

1. Niche Research and Product Selection – Be sure to list the demographics of your niche and product. Use Google Trends and Google Insight to assist you.
2. Keyword Selection – Very Important!
3. Web Presence – the following web pages are essential
a. Video – make a short video to post on YouTube and other video sharing sites using the free service TubeMogul.com or the paid service TrafficGeyser. You can use PowerPoint and Camtasia or go here and buy this little software program that is simple to use and only costs $17!

b. Squeeze Page – make it a video squeeze page or a pop-up info box using an enticing giveaway lead magnet.  Be sure the lead magnet is synergistic with the product.  For example – Don’t offer an ebook on “How to Date Your Mother” on a green earth energy product site. 

Example #1

Example #2

c. Offer Page – Here is where you can write some relevant and sizzling copy!

Example

d. Thank You Page #1 – for subscribing to your list and downloading your squeeze page lead magnet.

e. Thank You Page #2 – for purchasing your product and providing the download instructions.

NOTE: Both Thank You Pages should contain upsell and cross sell items.

IMPORTANT: All sites should have a Privacy Policy, a Purchase Agreement and Term of Use Agreement and if the product is a biz op or moneymaking product then you should also have an earnings disclaimer.

4.  Do not skimp on graphics and content.  Here are some outsourcing companies I use and have some great success with:

http://www.gotlogos.com/
http://minisitefrog.com/
http://www.20dollarbanner.com/
http://www.minisitespot.com/
http://www.lexorsoft.net/
http://www.myminisitegraphic.com/

5.  Traffic – Nothing happens until you sell something so traffic is one of the essential ingredients.  Write to me at support@webezes.com with BlueprintBaby in the subject line and I will send you my two volume set of the exact blueprints I use to get traffic for FREE!

I sincerely hope this helps you to understand the straight skinny of list building.  I welcome your comments.