Do you publish an e-zine? An e-zine is a web-based newsletter that is more highly designed to take on the appearance of a traditional magazine and it can be a powerful tool for building a list of loyal subscribers. Unlike auto-responder campaigns, your e-zine should be published less frequently, perhaps once or twice each month and should include information on topics beyond your business. This is the perfect format to share a little about your life in order to provide your reader with a chance to get to know you better.

E-zine ad swaps involve trading advertising exposure in your e-zine in exchange for exposure in another e-zine in your niche or a closely related niche. I recommend negotiating a direct swap making this a great free option although if the other publisher has a much larger distribution list, you may be asked to either pay a small premium or perhaps allow the other publisher two issues in your e-zine in exchange of one in theirs.

I recommend setting an objective to have two ad swaps for each issue you publish and closely monitor your opt in results by using a tracking link or promoting different pages in each e-zine. Continue to advertise in the publications that convert to opt-ins or sales and move away from those that do not. If you see traffic and opt-ins peak and begin to fall off assume that you have obtained maximum penetration of this list and begin looking for a replacement.

Focus more on building your brand and delivering value than making a sale. If you write ads that demonstrate your authority in your niche and give away a high value e-book, special report or auto in exchange for a name and email address from the reader. Keep in mind, you will have plenty of time to sell after the subscriber has joined your list, which of course if your objective.

Choosing Your Ad Swap Partners

Research e-zines in your market and trade up, meaning you should seek out better known publishers with larger list than your own.

You should choose a relevant e-zines with authority in sub-categories of your niche to partner with your ad swaps. The publishers should not directly compete with you, but be in a businesses that complement yours. By being strategic you will reach a targeted audience who are already engaged in your niche and ready to buy from you.

Most e-zines are archived online which means that the reach of your ad may grow overtime long after the campaign is complete. As a result, your ad swaps will continue to deliver traffic, build your list, and produce sales with no further financial investment.

There is a psychological key here that you must fully understand. Participating in As Swaps allows you to leverage the trust that your partner has established with his or her list as you are essentially being endorsed by the publisher. From the readers perspective, if you were not a trustworthy authority, the publisher would not be willing to promote you in the e-zine or recommend you to their list.

Trust is the basis of every mutually beneficial business relationship and it is often earned over time. By seeking first to ad value to your ad swap partners and their subscribers, you will develop true loyalty and earn the right to make recommendations of products and services that a large percentage of the list will accept and from that group many will buy.

Be patient in this process but do not wait too long to convert subscribers into buyers. You are continually training your list members with every ad you place and every e-mail you send, be sure to balance out the amount of free content you provide and the monetization offers you make as you grow your list.

How do you get started? I recommend a great set of resources by Charlie Page the editor of “Ezine Traffic Formula” get it free here and the creator of the “Directory of Ezines” membership site. These are both great resources for you to use to maximize this list building strategy. The first step is to make sure that your own e-zine is up to par – Charlie’s free book will help you to accomplish that. Then use his directory to find the best quality e-zines in your niche.

Here is the link you will need to get started:

E-zine Traffic Formula Free Offer

E-zines can really jump start your online business and they are the perfect way for marketers without a large subscriber list to place their marketing or brand message in front of thousands of qualified prospects every month.  If you decide to implement this strategy I would love to hear from you. Feel free to post your question here as a comment so that others may benefit. Likewise, once you have executed on this strategy for a couple of months, come back and let me know how it is working for you.

I am here to help you succeed!

P.S. Charlie’s book normally sells for $47 and your free download is instant!

E-zine Traffic Formula Free Offer

(c) Copyright 2008-2010 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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ThumbVu is a new and innovative manual traffic exchange that was launched in January 2010. If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I recommend using traffic exchanges in your marketing strategy, not to sell but to market your brand and build your list.

ThumbVu is a game changer! John Guanzon and his founding partners Mike Gartner and Austin Hallock have created the most innovative traffic exchange on the Internet and have the potential to breakthrough to mainstream acceptance as a viable branding and social media marketing site.

John Guanzon will be my special guest LIVE on the “Internet Business Blueprint” podcast on Wednesday February 3, 2010 at 1:00 PM EST. I wanted to personally invite you to join us for a lively discussion of the traffic exchange profession, innovation in the social media space and where ThumbVu is heading. We will welcome your questions and comments!

Here are a few quick facts about ThumbVu:

Launch Date: January 5, 2010

Total Members: 6,300 and growing

Total Commission and Prizes Paid January: $5,000

Be sure to tune into the show and the chat room will be open for your participation.

Here is the show page: http://www.JamesHolmesRadio.com

Call In and Guest Line: 1-646-727-3058

Want to get a peek at ThumbVU? Go Here: ThumbVu Tour

I am here to help you succeed in your business!

P.S. I will see if I can twist John’s arm to provide a special traffic credits deal for my podast listeners and blog readers… stay tuned!

(c) Copyright 2008-2010 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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On January 22, 2010 I wrote a post which provided an overview and week one results for a test I have been running on the Prosperity Marketing System. You can read that post including my financial results after the first week here: Week One PMS Test

My objective was to prove that anyone who took action and followed the simple system I have established could successfully promote this self-funded proposal system to enroll new members into the primary program of their choice and monetize a percentage of their prospects even if they did not enroll in the business opportunity. The key is that I did not undertake any special measures in marketing the system, such as PPC, ezines, article writing, video marketing, or any other paid advertising other than on traffic exchanges.

To recap here is were the elements of the system I used during the test:

1.) Your Prosperity Marketing System:

http://YourProsperityMarketingSystem.com

2.) The Method I Used to Drive Traffic:

http://askjamesholmes.com/optimumtrafficformulamodule1.pdf

3.) The Primary Program I Promoted:

http://askjamesholmes.com/gvo

I wanted to conclude the test by sharing my final results after approximately four weeks as I wanted to conclude this phase of my promotion of this system test with the first months full commissions. I wanted to ensure that the commissions that I reported where actually paid in full and that there were no pending charge backs from cancellations.

Here are the final numbers:

Total Test Period Gross Income $588.37

Net Profit for the Month = $496.45

My test with very limited marketing effort produced a meaningful profit and helped to place me #14 on the leader board in GVO for the month of January.  In addition, I converted web surfers into team members or students in the training system adding them to my list. The logical extension of this test would likely yield similar results thereby doubling the income without any additional monthly expenses (the total from month two on will be $64.92) in the second month as the cost are fixed.

In order to remain complient with FTC reguations, the income figures that I am sharing here are my results based on the specific actions I took to promote this program. In should be clearly understood that your results may vary and be higher or lower based on your conversions rates and other factors.

My intention would be to re-invest the profits from this system each month in order to maximize the growth in both programs throughout the year using paid advertising methods with moderate cost. I consider this a best practice although you may decide to take your profits as income, which is perfectly fine.

I am here to help you succeed!

(c) Copyright 2008-2010 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

Note: I am a Affiliate Marketer and it should be assumed that links provided within the content of this blog and individual blog post are affiliate links from which I may be compensated for sales made at the recommended sites. All products and service recommendations are made as a result of my personal experience with the product or service provider.

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

I love to to reward my loyal reader and newsletter subscribers, that is why I created “My Private Vault” where my subscribers have access to over $2,000 value in the form of software, video training, audio mp3 files, e-books, special reports, software and much more. I add new products every month and eventually the vault will be worth tens of thousands of dollars – my subscribers will still have free access!

As a bonus to you regardless if this is your first time visiting my blog or if you are a regular reader, I have something for you.  I wanted to provide you with an excellent short video course on email marketing by Internet Marketer Michael Rasmussen.

The Video Course:

“Email Promos Exposed – How to Write Killer Email Promos that Get Results.”

Michael’s video course will teach you:

A simple way to create an “email blueprint” that practically writes the email for you!

The single biggest mistake people make with subject lines that guarantees your email won’t
get opened.

A simple trick that will keep your readers eyes glued to the screen and force them to read every
word! It involves using the three “magic words.

How to force people to keep reading once they open your email – proven tricks from the world’s

How to create bullets that captures people’s attention, and makes your offer irresistible!

Six mistakes people make when writing promos that hurts their results.

Many other useful and immediately actionable tips to maximize your email marketing.

Click Here To Get FREE Private Access

One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is writing ineffective subject lines which often guarantees your email simply will not be opened. There are simple rules to follow that will result in your reader become highly motivated to take a look and see what is inside your messages.  This course provides you with several key concepts gleaned from several of the top copywriters in the internet marketing niche.

Once inside, your readers have to be compelled to continue reading to understand the message you are trying to convey or the offer you are presenting. This course will teach you how to write compelling copy and high impact bullet points and effectively deliver your message.

Finally, the course details six specific mistakes that marketers make when writing promotional emails that great impact the effectiveness of their promotions – are you making these same errors?

This course is free for you to download and view at your leisure. Simply follow the link provided and accept this as my way of saying thank you for reading my blog.

Go Here To Claim Your Copy: E-Mail Promos Exposed Free!

Be sure to re-tweet or bookmark this post using the tools provided at the end of the post. Invite others to claim there copy of this free course as well. They will thank you for it.

I am here to help you succeed!

(c) Copyright 2008-2010 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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Spam filtering has made it increasingly difficult to ensure email deliver-ability to your opt in subscribers, which is critical to your success in monetizing your list and delivering value to your subscribers consistently. An incorrect spam filter classification can reduce your click through response rates by as much as 20-30% of your total number of messages sent.

Here are are 12 specific actions you can take to ensure your email gets delivered.

#1. Always be CAN-SPAM Compliant

This is RULE NUMBER ONE! The January 2004 Federal CAN-SPAM law introduced a number of rules regarding the delivery of email. It’s important you have your legal counsel review your practices and ensure you are in compliance. The two most important rules include having a valid postal mail address listed in all commercial messages and a working unsubscribe link that is promptly honored to remove the subscriber from future messages.

#2. Get Your Subscribers Permission

Confirming that the people who ask for your information have actually requested to be on your list is the number one step in the battle for deliverability. You should be using a process called confirmed opt-in or verified opt-in to send a unique link to the attempted subscriber when they request information. Before adding the person to your list they must click that unique link verifying that they are indeed the same person that owns the email address and requested to subscribe.

#3. Get Your Subscriber’s Best Email Address

Always ask you new subscribers to opt into your list using their “real or best” email address. Many online marketers and information seekers use a throw away or catch list as a means of sorting through opt in email. Typically this is set up using a free email service such as G-mail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. This means that the address you are mailing to can be easily thrown away or at their capacity, which will result in bouncing email addresses that hurts your delivery statistics.

By confirming an email address that is hosted with the subscribers primary ISP, you develop a higher quality list, dramatically increase your deliverability an achieve higher click through rates.

#4. Maintain Your List and Sort Out the Bad Addresses

Review your campaign stats after every mailing and promptly remove all email addresses that are bouncing. Make note of the address and send a direct private email that request a new email address, advise the subscriber that you had to remove them from your list and provide a simple opt in gift to persuade the subscriber to subscribe back into your list. If this email bounces, move on and do not invest anymore time correcting this problem.

There are times when a bounce is caused by a temporary situation, such as a full email in box or ISP downtime. A less aggressive practice would be to review addresses that return a permanent error more that three times in 30 days should be removed from your list. Keep in mind that ISPs track the number of emails you send to accounts on their servers that are closed and with enough frequency may in turn block you from address as a result.

#5. Use the Multi-part Message Format

For marketers HTML messages provide a powerful opportunity for branding and sending multi-column messages to format newsletters and e-zines. Most auto-responders offer both HTML and text formats for sending your email, the best services for marketers offer a feature known as Text/HTML multi-part mime format, which allows you to create both an HTML and text version of your message and the format delivered will depend on the receivers email client.

AWeber conducted a study in 2004 which determined that plain text messages are undeliverale 1.15% of each mailing and HTML only messages were undeleverable 2.3% of each mailing. consider this, many spam messages are HTML formatted and it can be difficult for spam filters to determine spam from requested email. I personally feel that the brand opportunity is greater than the risk of a small percentage of your messages being filtered out. I always use the multi-part format and so should you.

#6. Write Spam Free Content

Many ISP’s filter messages based on the content that appears within the message text itself in addition to the sender’s email address. Be sure to use an auto responder service that includes a “spam grader” feature that measures the likelihood of your message to be blocked as spam based on your content. The “spam grade” is determined by the frequency of words appearing in your message that are deemed to be spammy such as make money, business opportunity, etc.

Don’t make your messages appear to be spam by using odd character and spacing to disguise spam sensitive key phrases (for example ca$h). If you must use a phrase in your message that results in a high spam grade, try to replace the phase with the same meaning and re-score your message. Repeat this process until you find a phrase that works.

#7. Advertiser’s Website URLs Matter

If you are offering advertising opportunities on your newsletter or e-zine, take care to research potential advertisers before allowing them to place ads in your newsletter issues. If they have used their website URL to send spam, just having their URL appear in your newsletter could cause the entire message to be filtered.

#8. Use Images Selectively

Properly titled images can greatly enhance your SEO results and should be used to enhance your newsletter and e-zines. When it comes to email, I would largely avoid using images or do so sparingly.

#9. Always Use Links and Rarely Use Attachments

With viruses running rampant and spreading thru the usage of malicious email attachments many users are wary of attached documents. It’s often better to link to files via a website URL to reduce recipient fear of attachments and reduce the overall message size.

#10 Monitor and Protect Your Reputation

As you grow your list and begin to deliver a growing volume if email across a growing number of ISPs it become a necessity to monitor, manage and protect your reputation within the ISP community. Many new and experienced marketers alike are unaware that you can take a proactive stance in exposing your good practices to the “Reputation Services” that many ISPs reply upon to identify safe senders.

Take the initiative to become listed with these services and as a result, your messages will be given far less scrutiny or in many cases may no longer be subject to filtering as long as your reputation is maintained.

Here are three reputation services your should consider:

http://www.bondedsender.com

http://www.habeas.com

http://www.isipp.com/iadb.php

#11. Relationships & Whitelisting

Several of the major ISPs including Yahoo and AOL have specific whitelisting programs and postmaster website management tools developed to ensure your email is delivered on the condition that you messages meet their stated policies and procedures. Again, be proactive and advise the major ISP’s and email service providers of your opt in and mailing procedures and policies related to subscriber email.

#12. Always Give Your Reader an Easy Opt Out

No matter how hard you try to ensure the quality of your list, from time to time a subscriber will forget that they opted in or decide that they no longer want to receive your mail. When these circumstances occur you must make it easy for them to opt out, which will decrease the chances of a false spam complaint.

The major email service providers include a subscription management function which places an opt out script at the bottom of your messages by default – verify that this is the case with the provider you use. If not, create a signature to include in all of your email message resulting in a one click opt out function.

Email deliverability is about ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to the intended recipient. While no single tip will enable you to get 100% of your email delivered each one utilized as a group can go a long way to reaching that goal.

By following the advice provided here you can ensure that your email is delivered and that your sender reputation is maintained as a viable asset in your online business. I welcome your comments or questions, so please feel free to leave a comment and if you like what you have read, be sure to re-tweet this post.

I am here to help you succeed!

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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Effective List Building Part 4

As an entrepreneur you are rewarded for two specific outcomes:

1. The Value You Provide

2. The Problems You solve

When it comes to list building the rewards you earn are loyal responsive subscribers who choose to remain on your list and sales of your info products, affiliate programs, business opportunities, and other resources you recommend.  My goal in this post is to help you maximize your list building activities by providing your subscribers with extreme value first, allowing you to create loyalty and solidify your relationship with your list.

Here is my strategy for adding value as a component of  effective list building!

Give Your Subscribers What They Want and Need

Be consistent and targeted with the information you send to your list. Keep in mind that you attracted your subscribers based on a invitation or item of value likely focused on a specific niche. For example, if a subscriber opted into your list for an internet marketing product, they likely will not expect you to email them information about cooking or how to restore a vintage automobile. If you work in a variety of niches, you should build separate list for each niche and only mail across all of your list when the information is relevant to the entire list.

If you email your list with targeted information that provides added value for their lives and helps them grow their businesses, you will develop loyalty and maximize your rightful opportunity to monetize your list. People like to buy from those they know, like and trust – you can develop these three qualities by seeking to add value first and monetize second.

Provide High Value Content and Resources for FREE

I have constructed “My Private Vault” to give high value resources to my list free of charge. The vault includes software, videos, audio MP3s, e-books, marketing systems, training materials and so much more. I offer literally thousands of dollars in value to my list every day in order to help them grow their businesses. You should be doing something very similar to this and then watch your list grow.

In addition to adding value to your subscribers, you can also use free items to “pre-sell” your paid products and services by providing your subscribers with a free sample of a paid product or a complete version of a paid product. By doing this you allow your list to try it before they buy it and in the long term all parties will benefit from this high value sales cycle.

Build a Quality List and Maintain it

From day one set your objective on building a quality list and maintaining your list quality as it grows. The highest quality list is a targeted list of loyal subscribers who choose to remain on your list and are responsive, meaning they choose to open your emails and follow your recommendations.

Here are 10 Key Tips to Get You Started

I have found that presenting your opt in as a “subscription” to a newsletter or inner circle list works best across mmultiple platforms. Keep in mind that you need to identify an opt in gift (example) worthy of attracting subscribers and then take action on the following marketing ideas.

1. Offer a free subscriptions to targeted (by niche) Ning communities
2. Offer a free subscription to popular forum members in your niche
3. Offer a free subscription to members of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter
4. Offer a free subscription through online classified advertising sites
5. Offer a free subscription in your email signature and auto reply from your email service
6. Issue press releases virally to publicize your free newsletter
7. Offer a free subscription on ALL the pages of your blog and website
8. Acquire relevant opt-in e-mail lists and introduce yourself with a free subscription creating a actual opt in
9. Offer a free subscription to members of professional associations in your niche
10. Use a “Tell a Friend” script to encourage your subscribers to spread the word and provide “gift subscriptions” to their friends

Closing Thoughts

Building a subscriber list is essential to the long term viability of your online business and creating a responsive list requires focus and commitment to adding value to your subscribers. If you follow the advice I provide in this series of post on effective list building, you will be well on your way to developing a thriving, responsive list of loyal subscribers.

Be sure to leave a comment and share this post with your friends and members of your social networks. Remember the more value you provide and the greater problems you solve the bigger your reward.

Remember, I am here to help you succeed!

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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Effective List Building Part 3

List Building Doesn’t Have to be Difficult

New and intermediate marketers operate under a false impression that the only way to build a list is to have a visitor opt into a subscriber form on your website or blog. Unfortunately this leads to a lack of action because they get stuck either because they don’t know how to put a web form on their site or they put the form on their site and do nothing more.

The longterm impact on the business of these marketers is a lack of sales. The longer you go without an organized and consistent list building strategy, the more difficult it will be for you to begin making real money online. If you read this blog post carefully and take immediate action, you will be on your way to building a responsive list with relative ease.

Subscription Opt In Forms an Obvious Place to Start

I believe that every serious online marketer should have a blog which services as the hub for their primary online activity. That being said, placing a web form on your blog that offers a free item of extreme value to your visitors for subscribing to your mailing list is the obvious place to start, so this is your first assignment.

Here are a few bullet points detailing how you establish a high converting subscription magnet to encourage your visitors to (join) opt in to your list.

1. Offer a valuable ethical bribe, which can be any item that creates desire from your visitor.

2. Make your form attractive using a template or custom web form. These forms can easily be created using an auto responder service such as Aweber. Refer to this blog post: Aweber Web Form Generator

3. Ensure that your subscriber form (or a subscriber form) appears on every page of your site. Depending on how a page viewer finds your site they may arrive at a page other than your home page. Most standard blog templates present a static sidebar that appears on every page. I would suggest placing your opt in form on the sidebar or in the header of your site.

4. Keep it simple to encourage an opt in by your visitors. It is best to ask for a fist name and email address only – asking for more information will lower your conversion rates with each additional question on the form.

5. Deliver the opt in gift immediate to reward your new subscriber and begin to build your credibility and trust.

Gain Organic Traffic by Creating Content

Dynamic content creation is such a big topic that it requires an entire series of post and cannot be covered here. The bottom line is that you should be posting to your blog weekly, writing articles, bookmark your site, become active in social networks, and re-purpose your content in a variety of ways.

Buying Traffic is a Solution if Your Budget Allows

If you have a sufficient budget, you can purchase traffic or subscribers from a variety of resources. I will cover this specifically in future post, but here are a few ideas. You can use pay per click, e-zine ads, solo ads, classified ads, advertise on other blogs, and purchase subscribers from list providers.

Build Your List with Your Funded Proposal

One of the most powerful ways to build a list is through a self-funded proposal. I use the Prosperity Marketing System as one of my automated funnel in addition to hosted sales pages offering a free e-book or audio mp3 files. In my opinion, having a series of self-funded proposals posted across the internet is the best free or low cost method for building a quality list.

In addition to building your list, a self-funded proposal also develops buyer among your list members allowing you to identify segments within your list most likely to purchase your products and services in the future.

Here is a Golden Nugget

You have likely heard it said that “the money is in the list,” the truth is that the money is in the buyers within your list. So providing your list members with extreme value for free in the beginning builds your trust and credibility. Once established you must convert free opt in subscribers to buyers, even for a small monetary amount such as a seven dollar special report or a paid membership to your site.

Build a Targeted List

It is critical in all aspects of your business to be very specific about your market and develop an effective message to market match. Once a visitor opts into your list, you should consistently provide them with content, products and services within their targeted areas of interest. If your subscribers suddenly find that your content and recommendations no longer fit their needs, they will simply (unsubscribe) opt out.

Recognize the Lifetime value of Your List

Having a large responsive list of loyal subscribers allows you to effectively market on a continual basis as long as you do not abuse the privilege. If you use care to market relevant products and services while consistently rewarding the loyalty of your subscribers with free reports and other bonuses, you will secure the long term viability of your business.

Be sure to provide me with feedback concerning this post and your own thoughts on effective list building. Be sure to follow this entire series and share you have discovered with your friends.

I am here to help you succeed!

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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I received an email last week as a member of Joel Comm’s affiliate program stating that I was being given permission to give away four of Joel’s most popular e-books including the wildly successful “AdSense Secrets” which sells for $97 absolutely FREE. My conclusion was that the flying monkeys on staff over at Info Media (Joel Comm’s business) must be running things, so who am I to argue.

I have added all four titles to “My Private Vault” located here:

My Private Vault Log In

If you do not have a password for “My Private Vault” go here:

Request Your Private Vault Password and enter your name and valid email address and you will be sent a password immediately. My Private Vault contains over $1,400 worth of products for free and immediate download and I add new products every month for subscribed members of this site.

If you are interested in using AdSense in your business you must read “Adsense Secrets 4” the information is still very timely and will help you leverage your marketing efforts. I want to kick things off by giving you immediate access below. Keep in mind there are three additional titles available in the vault.

Download Access Here: AdSense Secrets 4

I have known Joel for a while now and I believe his products are first rate and will provide you with exceptional value. Get AdSense Secrets 4 and read it cover to cover. What you learn here could add a consistent revenue stream to your business that is scalable.

I am here to help you succeed!

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

Note: I am a Affiliate Marketer and it should be assumed that links provided within the content of this blog and individual blog post are affiliate links from which I may be compensated for sales made at the recommended sites. All products and service recommendations are made as a result of my personal experience with the product or service provider.

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

Effective List Building Part 2

List building is largely a numbers game but many marketers forget that quality matters when it comes to earning revenue with your list. If you want to monetize your subscriber list you must first provide real value for your members for free and then within your funnel convert those subscribers to buyers.

The basic formula that I teach to achieve our objective is simply offering visitors to your websites and blogsites a high value item free as a reward for opting in, I refer to this as an ethical bribe. Keep in mind that this is a reflection on your brand and for your future customers it is their first sample of the quality and value you provide. As a result you want to give away some of your BEST information. If you give your new subscribers cheap or low value products and information, they have no reason to pay for what they will perceive to be more of the same.

When you provide high value information as a free gift and continue to provide quality content through your auto-responder messages, you begin to build trust by establishing your expertise and you create a desire in your subscriber to obtain more of your content and a willingness to pay for the value they receive.

To recap there are three steps in the funnel:

Step 1. Provide a high value opt in gift

Step 2. Use auto-responders to provide high value content through consistent communications with your list

Step 3. Convert subscribers to buyers based on the value you have provided (give them a reason to buy)

Nurturing Quality Leads

People are attracted to join a subscribers list for a variety of reasons, your online presence, perceived level of success, demonstrated expertise and other qualities you have successfully presented through your self promotion and marketing your sites are all valid reasons for a prospect to opt into your list.

Now that you have gotten the attention of your visitor give them value and trust that the most likely buyers will self select and purchase from you as a result of your actions.

Most professional marketers will tell you that their objective is to earn one dollar per month for every name on their list. So, if you have a 500 subscriber list, you would be earning $500 per month, a 5000 subscriber list would earn for you $5,000 per month and so forth. I have found that these number do tend to be valid as an average and you should make this your goal.

As you put together your front in reward (ethical bribe) and subsequent auto-responder messages be mindful of to attract targeted prospects, so your opt in offer must be focused on the products and services you intend to sell. In addition, your follow up messages must likewise be targeted on your niche and continue to offer high value content associated with a link that leads to an offer. It is essential to provide offers early in the process of your communication.

Maintaining your Subscribers list

When a visitor opts into your list they are giving you permission to communicate and market to them as your relationship evolves. However, be careful not to abuse this privilege by spamming your list. There is a delicate balance between communicating too much and not communicating enough to maintain there interest and evolve your relationship.

I recommend that you send a keyword targeted email to your list two or three times per week and include an offer in each of these communications. There are some marketers who email their list everyday, I think this is too frequent and those who market to me with this frequency tend to get their emails opened less often.

In addition to your weekly email messages, I would also recommend that you publish a monthly or bi-weekly e-zine or newsletter. This is were you can add additional value, make bigger ticket recommendations, author reviews, and summarize information previously sent during the preceding weeks. The e-zine format also lends itself to sharing non-business related aspects of your life to further build a relationship with your list.

Knowing What to Give Away

If you are a newer marketer and have not yet created your own products, there are a variety of ways to obtain high value items to give to your list. One of the best resources is membership in “Viral E-Book Explosion,” which will provide you with a large inventory of e-books and audio MP3 files that you can re-brand and give away to your subscribers.

I will share additional ideas concerning the use of private label rights (PLR) and master resell rights (MRR) later in this series, but for most leveraging Viral E-Book Explosion is a perfect solution.

Get Viral E-Book Free Here: Viral E-Book Explosion Offer

Knowing What Your Subscriber Needs

The most effective marketing always if focused on the needs of your subscribers and customers and your ability to provide solutions for those needs.

• What is your niche?
• Who are your customers?
• What do they need from you?
• Why do they need your products and services?
• What is their tipping point that will cause them to buy from you?

If you keep the needs of your subscribers in mind as your first priority and develop a funnel that addresses those needs effectively, you will build a responsive opt in list over time. Once you have received an opt in subscriber you should treat them like gold and recognize that there is a longterm value for every member of your list.

I am here to help you succeed!

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

Note: I am a Affiliate Marketer and it should be assumed that links provided within the content of this blog and individual blog post are affiliate links from which I may be compensated for sales made at the recommended sites. All products and service recommendations are made as a result of my personal experience with the product or service provider.

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