5 Practical Ways To Build Your Email List - Starting Today

List Building Method #1: How to Get New

Subscribers With SEO Articles

Your articles serve many purposes, such as establishing you as an expert, pre-selling products and even helping to build relationships with your prospects. But you can also use them to drive traffic to your site when you optimize them for the search engines.

Here’s the 3S Strategy for creating and distributing optimized articles:

S – Search

S – Sprinkle

S – Share

Read on for the details…

Step #1: Search

Your first step is to search for the keywords your market is already using to find information in your niche. You do this by using a keyword tool (such as Google’s keyword planner, WordTracker.com or even Market Samurai).

All you have to do is enter in a broad niche-relevant search term like “homeschooling,” “organic gardening” or “golf.” The tool will then offer you suggestions for related search terms which you can use to expand your list of keywords. In most cases, you’ll generate a list of hundreds if not thousands of possible keywords.

What you’re searching for are longtail keywords – these are phrases that are typically four or more words long. The key is that they have very little competition in the search engines, which means you can rank well for them.

Tip: Many keyword tools check the competition for you. For example, WordTracker offers a KEI (keyword effectiveness index) value, which looks at the number of searches against how many other websites are indexed for that keyword. The higher the KEI value, the better chance you have of ranking well. Look for words that have a KEI value of at least 100 – but the higher the better.

Step #2: Sprinkle

Once you’ve compiled a list of longtail keywords, your next step is to create content around these keywords. You can optimize each article for two keyword phrases if you like, but generally it’s easier to optimize for just one.

The key is to not stuff your article with your keywords, otherwise the search engines may rank it lower (rather than higher). As such, include your keyword in the title of your article as well as about two to three times for every 100 words of content.

Example: Let’s say your keyword is “hydroponic vegetable gardening indoors.” Your article might look like this:

Title: “Tips and Tricks for Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening Indoors”

Intro: include keyword at least once.

Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening Indoors Tip #1: explain tip and include keyword once more.

Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening Indoors Tip #2: explain tip and include keyword once more.

Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening Indoors Tip #3: explain tip and include keyword once more.

In short, summarize article and include keyword once more.

Step #3: Share

Once your article is complete, it’s time to share it by distributing it as widely as possible. You do this by:

=> Posting the article on your blog.

=> Offering it as a guest post on your JV partner’s blog (or newsletter).

=> Create a Tumblr.com or HubPages.com page around it.

=> Post it on social networking sites like your blog or Facebook.com page.

=> Submit it to article directories such as EzineArticles.com, IdeaMarketers.com, ArticleValley.com, GoArticles.com and Buzzle.com.

That’s it! You too can get your articles to pull in search engine traffic for you when you use the Search, Sprinkle and Share system.

Your next step is easy – take action by searching for your keywords!

List Building Method #2: How to Get New Subscribers With Joint Ventures

When you think of JV (joint venture) partners, you usually think of partners endorsing each other’s products for a commission. However, you can also use joint ventures to get new subscribers.

Here are five list-building JV ideas…

Endorse each other.

Here’s the most straightforward way to use JVs to build your list. Simply endorse your partner’s newsletter in your newsletter or on your blog, and your partner does the same for you.

You may post each other’s squeeze page links:

=> In your newsletters.

=> On your blogs.

=> On your product thank you pages.

=> On your subscription confirmation pages.

=> In your autoresponder series.

=> On postcards that you send out with physical shipments.

Trade bonus products or subscriber freebies.

Another way to use JVs to build your list is to create a unique and exclusive product for your partner that he or she can use as a bonus product or as a free gift for subscribers. Naturally, your free product should include links to your newsletter squeeze page.

Tip: To encourage your partner to distribute the report or other product, change the links in the report to your partner’s affiliate links. That way he or she gets a chance to earn a backend income while you get to build your list!

Swap blog posts or newsletter articles.

You can build your list simply by trading content. Just agree to be a guest author on each other’s respective blogs or in your newsletters. At the end of your article, create a call to action to drive readers to your newsletter sign-up page.

Example: “To discover ten more ways to get ready for bikini season, visit [your link] – be sure to pick up your free weight loss guide!”

Do a newsletter co-op.

You can do this one with one or more JV partners. On your newsletter sign up page, give your new subscribers a chance to join your partner’s newsletter as well. Likewise, your partners give their subscribers the option to co-register for your newsletter with just one click.

Tip: You’ll get more subscriptions if people can subscribe simply by checking a checkbox at the same time that they’re subscribing for the main newsletter. Alternatively, you can swap newsletter endorsements on your confirmation pages or even in your welcoming emails.

Create a product together.

Finally, you can create a product with one or more of your JV partners. This can be a free or paid product, it doesn’t matter – your goal is to include your links in the product as a means of driving traffic to your squeeze page.

Examples:

=> You can write an ebook or report together.

=> You can do a teleseminar together – not only will you be able to sell or give away access to the live call, you’ll also have the recordings to sell or give away.

=> You can create a video together (works best if you live near each other or if you can meet in a hotel room at a niche event).

=> You can put on a niche event together, such as a weekend workshop. Here again you’ll have the recordings to sell or give away.

In summary: Joint ventures are some of the best ways to build your list. And that’s because having an influential third party endorse you and your newsletter is a powerful form of social proof.

You can get started using JVs to build your list using the five strategies you just discovered!

List Building Method #3: How to Get New Subscribers With Viral Reports

If you’re a content marketer, then you already know how to write reports, ebooks, articles and blog posts. But do you know how to turn ordinary content into viral content? That’s what you’re about to discover…

Generally, a viral report is one that sweeps across your niche because readers share it with one another.

In order to be “share worthy,” your report needs to have most of the following characteristics:

Unique content.

Your report may include:

=> Unusual or even controversial ideas or information. If your report includes something that no one else is talking about, people will share it.

=> Entertaining/engaging content. If your writing style is as exciting as burnt toast, then get a ghostwriter to write it for you. Even if you share unusual content, it won’t be share-worthy if it’s boring to read.

Tip: You can liven up your writing by including humor (where applicable), stories, analogies, metaphors and colorful language.

For example, instead of saying, “he left the party quickly,” you might say, “he left quicker than a cat exiting a hot oven.”

See the difference? The second line is simply more colorful and fun to read because it creates a strong visual impression.

=> Extraordinarily useful content. Tip: Give away what others are charging big bucks for. Go to Clickbank.com to find out the top sellers in your niche.

=> Funny content. This doesn’t work in every niche, but it’s effective if you can pull it off. Think of your email – I bet most of your email forwards are jokes.

In other words, ordinary content doesn’t cut it.

Tip: If you want an idea of what kind of content to create, just look at the types of content that arrives in your email every day, forwarded from friends. Think about the content you share with others.

For example, if someone is giving away a report that most others charge for, you’re going to tell your friends.

Or if someone has a report that’s highly controversial – such as one that seems truthful but goes against what the niche experts are saying – you can bet people are going to pass it around.

Or if someone creates a report that crosses over from controversial to even a tiny bit offensive, people on BOTH sides of the issue will share it. Just look to politics as an example of taking a hot button issue and creating content that offends certain parties.

Easy to access.

If you want a report to go viral, don’t put a lot of hoops and obstacles between you and your audience. Ideally, it should be freely available (no subscription required), with the goal of the report being to get people on your list.

Alternatively, you can offer your report to anyone who gives you a valid email address. This works best if you’re paying affiliates per lead (or if you’re paying commissions on a backend offer).

Which brings us to our next point…

There’s an incentive to share it.

Content that has the above characteristics (e.g., it’s funny or controversial) naturally get passed around the niche. However, you can give people an incentive to share it by allowing readers to change the links in the report to their affiliate links before sharing it.

Tip: Use a PDF branding tool to create rebrandable reports. That way anyone who shares your report has an opportunity to make money on the backend via affiliate commissions.

Summary: What’s Next?

You just discovered what kind of content you need to create in order to turn regular content into viral content. But now that you have your viral report, what do you do with it? Answer: distribute it as widely as possible. This includes:

=> Blogging about it.

=> Giving it to your affiliates and JV partners to share.

=> Telling your list about it.

=> Creating and posting a YouTube video about it.

=> Telling your social media networks about it.

=> Including it in your forum signature files.

The more people who see your report initially, the more likely it is your report will “go viral” in a big way!

List Building Method #4: How to Get New Subscribers With PPC Ads

If you’ve read this entire article series, then you already know about some of the other effective ways to get new subscribers, such as by writing viral reports or doing joint ventures. But these take time – at least a few weeks to get off the ground. If you’re anxious to build your list faster, then pay per click (PPC) marketing is your solution.

If you do a search online, you’ll run into numerous PPC search engines. However, the top service is Google AdWords. You may also consider Bing Ads.

Here’s how to use PPC marketing to build your list…

Step #1: Create a landing page.

Your landing page is your sales page for your newsletter. This is where you tell visitors why they should join your newsletter list. Since it’s a sales letter, it should include the regular parts of a sales letter such as:

Headline.

Example: “Free Reports Shows You How to Improve Your Golf Swing in Three Easy Steps!”

Bulleted list of benefit statements.

Example: “Use this surprisingly simple tweak to add 25 yards to your drive – it’s easy!”

Proof, such as screenshots, pictures, videos and/or testimonials.

A call to action.

Example: “Enter your first name and email address in the form below now and click to submit to discover how to improve your game!”

Typically, you encourage subscriptions by offering a bonus, such as a free:

Niche ebook or report.
Video.
Audio product.
Access to a teleseminar or webinar.
Tools, software or other valuable resources.

Step #2: Choose your campaign keywords.

Next, you need to choose your keywords and how much you’ll “bid” on these keywords.

Tip: Generally, the higher you bid (and the better your ad performs), the higher your ad appears in the search engine results.

When someone clicks on your ad, you pay an amount that’s equal to or less than your bid amount.

The key in choosing keywords is to choose specific, targeted keywords that give you an idea of what the searcher wants.

Example: The keyword “golf” is too general. Instead, you might choose more specific search phrases like “step by step golf swing,” “proper way to swing a golf club” and “improve golf swing”

Step #3: Craft a PPC ad.

Next, you need to craft your PPC ad, which consists of a short headline and two short lines of copy. The goal of your ad is to get people to click on the ad, so you should put forth a benefit and, where applicable, arouse curiosity.

Here’s an example:

Golf Swing Secrets

Free report shows you how to swing like the pros!

www.domainname.com

Tip: Create at least three or four different ads that you can rotate and test.

Once you’ve finished this first three steps, then you can create an account at the PPC service of your choice and start your first campaign. Finally…

Step #4: Check your results.

To get the best results, you need to track and test your campaigns. That means you track your keywords, track your different PPC ads as well as tracking variations of your landing page. In other words, you want to find out how to boost your visitor to subscriber conversion rate so that you can build your list more quickly.

Tip: If you’re using AdWords, look for a link in your account to Google’s free tracking and testing tools.

Summary

Your next step is to action. Indeed, I suggest you get started right now. You could have your campaign up and pulling in new subscribers to your list by later today!

List Building Method #5: How to Get New Subscribers With Affiliates

As you work on getting new subscribers, remember that there are two types of lists you should build:

A prospect list. These are the folks who voluntarily subscribe to your free newsletter list.

A customer list. This is your proven list of buyers, which tends to convert considerably better than your prospect list.

When you use affiliates to get new subscribers, you get to build both types of lists.

Now, there are multiple ways to use affiliates to build your lists, including:

=> Pay per lead. This is where you offer your affiliates 25 cents, 50 cents, a dollar or more for each person they send to your page who joins your list.

=> Viral report with backend sales. This is where you create a viral report(perhaps something controversial) where you sell something on the backend.

Affiliates use their affiliate links to send visitors to download your report, and they make commissions whenever someone takes advantage of your backend offer.

=> Sell a product. This is where your affiliates use their affiliates links to direct visitors to a sales page. When someone buys the product, the affiliate gets a commission and you get to add someone to your customer list.

You may also build a prospect list by including your newsletter subscription form on the sales page or via an exit pop up that appears to those who don’t buy the product.

This last method is one of the most popular ways to build a list, so let’s look at the steps in detail…

Step #1: Create an attractive affiliate offer.

If you’re selling a digital product (such as a downloadable ebook, video or even access to a membership site), then you should offer at least 50% commissions. However, if you’re primarily interested in list building, then you may consider offering up to 100% commissions (especially if your product is priced low). That way, you get the list and your affiliates get the front-end profits.

Step #2: Recruit affiliates.

The passive way to get affiliates is by joining Clickbank.com and adding your product to the marketplace. While you should take that step, that’s not the only step you should take to get affiliates. You should also:

=> Tell your list and your other visitors about your affiliate program.

=> Encourage your customers to join your affiliate program.

=> Look for partners by listing your opportunity in the JV forum at www.warriorforum.com.

=> List your affiliate program in affiliate directories.

=> Ask your existing JV partners to promote.

=> Contact your social media network to look for affiliates.

=> Join a JV list in your niche (such as www.jvnotifypro.com).

=> Seek out new partners, give them access to your product and ask them to promote.

Tip: You can find potential affiliates by going to Clickbank.com and seeing who’s selling products in your niche. Each of these sellers is a potential affiliate. You can also run a search in Google for the names of the top products in your niche, which will help you uncover some of the top affiliates.

Contact these affiliates and ask them to promote your product.

=> You may also hire a JV broker or affiliate manager, which is someone who finds and recruits affiliates for you. Ask on niche forums for recommendations. Choose people who are well-connected (i.e., they know all the other marketers in the niche) and have a history with successful brokering/managing.