Tag: business

List-Based Money-Making Methods

Essence of the list

A subscriber list is essential to any website or Web-based company, even if the entity is a small venture specializing in a specific niche or a larger, more established general merchant; because such a list – also referred to as an opt-in list – can make a world of difference in the form of extra income (and profit?) generated for an online business, niche-based entrepreneurship or personal cause, even if that cause is non-profit in nature. In today’s business environment, rarely would you come across an eCommerce site – big or small – that is operated without a subscriber list.

The main purpose of a subscriber list is to allow a company, Web marketer or online merchant to promote websites, products and services to “opt-in” subscribers via a email. Such promotional emails are permitted because the subscribers previously “opted-in” to the list thereby authorizing the business or marketer to send email, newsletters and other promotional materials to their inboxes. The benefit of this arrangement to marketers and businesses is clear: they make money from any purchases. But there is also benefit to the subscribers: they can be kept abreast of latest trends, new product offers and industry news so they are able to make better and more informed decisions.

It is because there is mutual consent between the two parties that any email sent to a given subscriber list is not considered as spam mail, which is obviously illegal and unwanted. Overall, the volume of promotional material that reaches subscribers’ inboxes, successfully opened, and read is enormous; and this material includes catalogs, newsletters and other such promotions. But it is sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up to receive it; meaning that they do want it to be sent to them.

Subscription motivation

While building a subscriber list should be an essential task of any business, it is important to point out that only a small percentage of website visitors actually opt-in to a subscriber list because many people find promotional mails annoying; but if you are a business owner or marketer who wish to build a subscriber list you’ll probably have more success in doing so by providing a high quality newsletter or catalog which, in turn, would demonstrate the time, work and care you put into this material and therefore should work to create interest in, and attract more readers to, your content after which you can watch your list nurtured and grow.

You can also achieve such a list-building goal by having good and interesting content on your website, because if visitors like what they see and read on your site they are more likely than not to want more; and a newsletter would certainly be one way to attract them back to your website. Many businesses utilize little teasers, appetizers (in the case of restaurants) and samples to attract customers and your or entrepreneurship should be no different in its approach to building and maintaining a quality subscriber list.

That having been said, keep in mind that a subscriber list can be used for purposes other than marketing your products and services in the sense that, it can be a powerful tool to enhance an already popular and reputable brand, or build an industry brand and create a credible, sterling reputation when used properly in joint ventures (JVs) and community forums. Of course it would be good to first build a successful list with a huge number of subscribers, because the more subscribers your list is comprised of, the more money you can make and therefore the more of a demand that would be created for your list in JV arrangements.

Ads, affiliations & deal-making

The following paragraphs provide an insight into several ways your business can make money using nothing more than a subscriber list.

Place advertisements – There are many corporations who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would rather place ads with lists boasting a huge subscriber base, and as a result, your newsletter could be selected by these companies and rewarded with many ads, each of which spells money.

Establish affiliations – Affiliations with other companies that have at least a semblance or similarity to your site’s topic and content will encourage other companies to provide links and brief descriptions of what they offer, or their products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This is known as P4P or pay for performance.

Make deals with other companies – By asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list with these companies, every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter would trigger a payment to you by the other company by way of a smal percentage of the sales created via your list. Pursuant to this arrangement, the more members of your list that buy from them, the more money you make.

Woman in a neon triangle

Creative monetization

Products from other sites – A quality, well-maintained list will help you to get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list members via a newsletter, catalog or other email campaign. Simply place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your preferred medium and when list members express interest in a given product – or even place and order – you can get the product from the other site and sell or deliver it to your buyer.

Sell – Selling ebooks and compilations of article content to your list is another way to monetize that list. Manuals and how-to articles are usually in great demand and many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic or given subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an ebook could be offered and sold or used as an incentive.

Create a network out of your list – Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list is, the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.

Selling information

Selling certain types of information – Subscribers are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners. Your list will be the bloodline of your growth and success.

A Newsletter Adds Value to Your Opt-in List

Give it all you got

A thing of value

As the owner or possessor of a given item the one thing you would like to have happen to that item is its appreciation in value, in the same or similar way that your home appreciates in value. Well, consider for a moment that when you subscribe to a list the subscription, in and of itself, is something you in along with other subscribers, and you get an opportunity to increase its value. You would welcome such an opportunity, wouldn’t you? Of course you would.

And although the appreciation here is not in $Thousands as it would be in real estate, but rather, in increased knowledge and helpful information which you might be able to use in your own home or business to increase cash flow, the fact still remains that your subscription would become a more valuable commodity. My point here is this: If you, as a subscription owner, would welcome the opportunity to enhance its value, wouldn’t you also provide such a value enhancer to YOUR subscribers or list members if you had such a list? Of course you would because you know they would benefit from it.

Such a value enhancer to any opt-in list is a newsletter which, when provided to your opt-in list subscribers, provides many benefits, one of which is sharing your expertise and knowledge about a given topic – preferably the one in which you’re most adept – as well as industry news, trends and other informational pieces that may be beneficial to them. Providing such a newsletter will be helpful to you/your business also, since it will give you an opportunity to put your expertise on display, thereby making a positive impression on your list members, who in turn might respond with positive feedback.

Subscriber-to-customer conversion

One benefit you/your business might derive from this entire process is the conversion of your list members from subscribers to actual buying customers; and another is the probability that these newly converted customers will recommend their friends, colleagues and family to you based upon their satisfaction with your knowledge, expertise and other ways they’ve benefited from your newsletter. In fact, all of them could very well be future customers.

But there are indeed other ways in which you/your business could benefit from a newsletter that you publish and send to your subscribers, not the least of which is driving traffic to your website, which often results in boosting the sales and profits of your site and company. It has been said that sending a newsletter to a subscriber list is merely a marketing ploy that will not make a huge dent in the sender’s marketing budget since it does not require many man-hours to develop; but my response is, such an important value enhancer is much more than a mere ploy. It is an integral part of your list maintenance and servicing program.

Ask yourself this question about sending a newsletter: If I could inform the my subscribers – and through them, the public – about my company, products and services, while keep them informed with valuable info, market data and industry trends, would I do it? If you answered yes then you are certainly in agreement with “78 percent of respondents” to a Content Marketing Institute study who said that they used newsletters; and 90 percent of respondents to a Nielsen Norman Group study who, when asked “how they preferred to receive company updates,” cited newsletters.

Theme-specific consistency

Of course it is entirely possible that you are not currently publishing a newsletter or having one sent to your list of subscribers on your behalf; and if this is the case then you may have to start doing a little research so that you can be as well informed as possible about how to have one published, if not publishing it yourself. I must admit that this task is not as easy as it may seem, but if and when you get an idea of what the process entails, the difficulty of such a task will be greatly reduced. So try to take the time to learn what you need to learn and get the work started on a newsletter that will add value for your list members’ subscription and enhance your credibility at the same time.

Contained in the following paragraphs are a few suggestions you can take into consideration when you decide to start your/your company’s newsletter.

First – Make sure that the content of your newsletter pertains to, and is closely associated with, your business or the theme of your website; and even when you divert from your main theme make sure not to stray too far from your field of expertise. Obviously you’ve started a website and your theme for that site will always be a topic you are knowledgeable about, so make your newsletter content based on that topic as consistently as you can, even if you have to include content about your company, your own origin and that of your staff.

Remember that visitors to a given website are there because they are interested in the content offered by that website, and if they sign up for a subscription via an opt-in list or for a newsletter, it should be interpreted and understood by the business/marketer that they want to be updated and informed about the same subject. So be sure that when you publish your newsletter you are providing information that meet the needs, and satisfy the interests of your subscribers.

Professionalism throughout

Second – It is of the utmost importance that you create well written, informative, content rich articles. Articles will be the body (main attraction?) of your newsletter, so they must be written in a clear, concise and – when possible – compelling manner so that your readers can understand and appreciate the content and feel a sense of gratitude to have received them, while they look forward with some excitement to your your next issue. Make sure to fact-check articles and spell-check them for spelling and grammatical errors to keep them looking professional and believable. The trust of your client to you and your newsletter is at stake here.

Third – Make sure to provide fresh, new articles that consist of new information that subscribers can use and appreciate. If you publish stale and rehashed content in a newsletter that your subscribers have probably read and known about already you will lose their interest and they won’t get to read what is most important to you, the offers you are promoting. In most cases they might not open or read any of your subsequent newsletters which will result in erosion of your own credibility in their eyes, and the trust they placed in you, thereby defeating the whole purpose of the newsletter.

Plagiarism is taboo!

Fourth – Avoid plagiarism by never using copyrighted material (content created by others without prior written authorization) such as photos and articles. Engaging in plagiarism will get you into a lot of legal trouble, which often results in financial loss. You can lose your business and get sued over copyright infringement. So if you do not have the time to write your own articles, there are many professional article writers who are ready, willing and able to do it for you at reasonable rates. Such an investment in writing and publishing articles by capable professionals will be well worth it when you see your list-building pursuits paying dividends in increased traffic, profit and value.