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List Building - Your Bread & Butter

“Bread and Butter!” That is what people say who are walking along and an obstacle comes between them. They release one another?s hand and walk on either side of the obstacle, then rejoin hands and say, “Bread and Butter”. It?s symbolic. Bread and butter belong together.

Another way the term „Bread and Butter? is used is to denote the main substance of an enterprise. “That trick is his „Bread and Butter? trick.” This means that it is the backbone of his act and that he depends on it and relies on it regularly to sustain him.

Both interpretations of the term „Bread and Butter? apply to list building and Internet Marketing. You just can?t have one without the other. You can?t separate the two because they belong together and, likewise; they are the sustaining part of an Internet marketers business.

List building is the first, most important and most constant of all the tasks that Internet marketers engage in. Their lists are their bread and butter and their lists and their businesses belong together. Neither can exist without the other.

You won?t have to wander around the Internet very long before you will find people saying that list building just isn?t important... and that it isn?t even necessary. Don?t you believe one word of that hooey... and that is precisely what it is... hooey!

That is without a doubt the worst Internet marketing advice that is available anywhere on the Internet... and there is lot of useless information out there. There is useless information but the idea of not building a list is just downright dangerous advice to follow. List building isn?t important... it is absolutely vital... it really is your bread and butter. Without a list, you are simply without a business.

The CAN SPAM act of 2003 made is illegal to send bulk marketing emails without the consent of the recipients. That is the law. The penalties for disobeying this law are tough! You can be fined up to $11,000 per unsolicited marketing email that you send!

It wouldn?t take but one to do a lot of damage and if you send hundreds, you?ll never get the fine paid off… at least not in just one lifetime. Do you NEED an opt-in list? YES! Your list is your bread and butter.

Now, let?s discuss ways in which one can go about building that bread and butter opt-in list. There are several ways that have been proven to be very effective list building techniques.

One way to build your bread and butter opt-in list is to write articles and submit them to article banks.

If you weren?t blessed with any writing ability at all or if you simply do not have the time to devote to writing articles, you can have articles written for you by ghostwriters or you can join a PLR site and download articles that will just need some rewriting to prevent them from being identified as duplicate content by search engine spiders. These articles need to be no longer than 300 to 400 words and they need to be keyword rich. Your resource box needs to include your name and a link to your website.

Another proven list building technique is to join and post to blogs and forums that are dedicated to a topic that relates to the products and services that you sell.
You must be careful not to post blatant advertisements on these sites. That’s a big no-no. You will need to post 3 to 5 times each and every week to these sites and you sig tag on your posts needs to be your name and a link to your website.

Exchanging links with websites that sell products and services that are complimentary to but not identical to the products and services that you sell is another way to build your bread and butter list.

Now, some marketers do not believe in link exchanges. They object to the idea of two way traffic and don?t think that a marketer should ever post a link that takes traffic away from his or her website. The key word, however, is TWO way. A link exchange also brings traffic to your website that you might not otherwise ever see and every person who visits your website is a potential customer or, at the very least, a possible addition to that bread and butter opt-in list.

Then there is paid advertising to consider for the purpose of list building.

A PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign is not free, of course, but if your list is greatly increased because of it then it will be money that has been well spent. PPC campaigns are very effective tools for list building... and more especially so if you can give something away for free. People do love „free?. Free reports... free utilities... free E-Books... if it?s free, it adds to your bread and butter opt-in list.

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FREE REPORT!

How often do you see those words as you surf the Internet looking for information? About a bazillion? Everybody seems to be offering a free report about almost any and every subject under the sun now days. The question is, why? Why should anybody go to all of the work, trouble and effort to produce a report that is not going to be sold but be given away for free?

Ah! You see the point in NOT to sell the free report and make a bushel basket full of money from the sales. The entire point of a „free report? is to give people the report in exchange for their names and email addresses. Not that the report isn?t valuable... sometimes a report is and sometimes it?s just a bunch of hooey, but the names and email addresses of those who download these free reports are much more valuable than the report will ever be...even the good ones.

There are exactly two kinds of people who live and work on the Internet. There are those who are marketing gurus and those who are not. The latter number far exceeds the number of the former.

There are a few very, very, VERY savvy marketing gurus out there who know how to put together a „free? report and market it so effectively that it takes on a life of its own and continues to produce the desired results (list building if you haven?t already guessed) for weeks, months or even years after the free report is released.
Free reports are used by many Internet marketers as incentives to encourage people to join a mailing list. That is so common that it has almost become ineffective. These free reports that are offered as incentives to join mailing lists probably contain as much useful information as the kind that are marketed by these marketing geniuses. They just aren?t as effective at producing the desired list building effect.

Let me give you an example:

Mike Filsaime’s “Death of Internet Marketing” is a prime one. “Death of Internet Marketing” was a free report that was launched with a lot of fanfare. Mr. Filsaime PAID $1 for every lead that was produced by his “Death of Internet Marketing”. Yes, that?s what I said...he PAID. Now, if you were an Internet marketer with a list and you received an offer to be paid one dollar for each time a member of your list downloaded a FREE report, wouldn?t you jump on the bandwagon? Of course you would...everybody would...heck, everybody DID!

Now Mike Filsaime has some pretty deep pockets to be sure...we don?t all have those kinds of resources but his strategy was absolutely brilliant. He already had a mailing list of over 300,000 and I wouldn?t even hazard a guess at the number of names and email addresses that are now on his list. Every marketer that had a list that was even remotely interested in the free report sent it out in their newsletters. Don?t even think about the numbers, it?s just too mind boggling.

Actually, Mike Filsaime?s “Death of Internet Marketing” free report contains some very good information. The scare tactics used weren?t very appealing but the information was good. It wasn?t world shaking and it wasn?t anything that was really new. It was a well put together report and it was very well written.
Here is another example:

Rich Schefren’s “Internet Business Manifesto” is another free report that was really well marketed. As a matter of fact, Rich actually marketed the daylights out of his Internet Business Manifesto” And, marketing genius that he is, he later released it in three segments. The last release was called, “Internet Business Manifesto: The Final Chapter”. How is THAT for marketing genius in action?

Rich Schefren?s “Internet Business Manifesto” free report is another example of how to market a free report to gain the maximum desired benefit from it. This report is also well written. It contains plenty of useful information for new Internet marketers, as well as, for some who are well seasoned but there really wasn?t any new, world shaking information in it. Still, it was very effective and the desired result was achieved. He built his list to astounding proportions.

The free report list building technique isn?t limited to Internet marketers. It spills over into brick and mortar marketing as well...or maybe that?s where it started. Who knows? The lines between Internet marketing and Brick and Mortar Marketing have become a bit blurred over the years.

If you don?t believe me, go in search of nothing but „free marketing reports? using your favorite search engine. You?ll find free reports about all kinds of products and services. You will find free reports about marketing beverages, sports, music, B2B marketing and dozens of others. The point of these free reports is the same. The idea is to give valuable (?) information to a potential customer in exchange of his name and address or email address for the purpose of future marketing of products and services to him.

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Chapter 1: Boosting Your Customer Engagement Online

Small businesses will often rely on their website for consumers to find them, so this is your opportunity to make a good impression with potential leads or returning customers. Therefore, you want to make sure that site keeps your visitors engaged and interested.

There are few brands that aren’t aware of the importance of being engaging on the web, but smaller companies often don’t believe they have the resources or time to be updating their websites on a more continuous basis with fresh and new content.

So what many small businesses do is create a Facebook page and forgo the website. There is no question that Facebook and other social media outlets are an excellent place to begin but if you want to gain the trust of your customer you need a website – it really is that important, because it shows that you have a company that is established.

You want to make sure that your website experience will match your customer service experience. We live in a world that is increasingly mobile and so consumers expect the same shopping experience online as they would get in your store. Therefore, it is a good idea to offer a seamless customer experience such as providing in-depth details on your products/services, purchasing information, easy contact, and a way for customers to quickly reach you such as live chat.

You should also personalize your site in a way that works for your business. Enhance your customer experience by tailoring your site to their needs. Don’t use flashy gimmicks. Use big data analytics to learn what it is your customer is looking for when they arrive at your site and then create an experience that pleases them.
Make sure you are using social media as a tool to communicate and engage with your customers online. Social media’s role has changed a lot in the last few years. Not only is it a way to share and promote your content from your site, it can be an extension in your customer service – a quick and easy way for your customers to contact and connect with you. You can also reach your customers quickly and in a very cost effective way, that costs only pennies per customer.

Engaging your customers online is no longer a novelty – something you can think about offering. It is what consumers want and if you aren’t providing it, you need to expect that they will look elsewhere.

Chapter 2: Customer Engagement – Why it is Important?

Customer engagement focuses on you encouraging your customers to share and interact with your company staff. It encouraged them to share their experiences and in return, what you create from them is your brand. When you execute this well, you will develop a solid customer engagement strategy that will promote loyalty and growth.

Those companies that focus on customer engagement focus on value creation rather than on extracting revenue. These companies are well aware of how to engage their customers online. They know how to provide them with real value whether they offer an superior end to end experience for their customer, exceptional content on their website, the best possible customer support and service, what they are doing is making sure they deliver more than just your typical sell. Incorporating these customer engagement strategies can be healthy for your business.

Remember Happy Customers are the Life of Your Business Obsess over your customers! It’s necessary to success! It begins with the culture you establish for your company and making sure that your support team is at the frontlines to make sure your customers are happy and their needs are addressed. Your entire company from top to bottom needs to share that providing an amazing customer experience is necessary for the key to your company’s success.

Think about how your company model can service your customers in the best way possible. What is it your customers need from you and when do your customers need you. What hours should you be available? Do you offer a seamless process for your customers?

Your customer experience allows you to offer you a way to increase your customer satisfaction and loyalty, which in turn leads to them advocating for you. Your company grows because you have happy customers. Companies that miss this may stick around for awhile but they will eventually falter.

It is much more difficult to continue to build new customers than it is to keep your current customers engaged and happy, and wanting to return to buy more products from you. Companies that actually value their customers and work hard at engaging them are wise companies and they are far more likely to be here a decade or two from now.

Your customer is the lifeblood of your business and it is important to ensure that all of your employees treat the customer with the importance that they deserve. What an interesting and engaging relationship one can build with their employees.