Modern Opt-in List Building Through Email (2 of 2)

As stated previously, an opt-in list can be defined as a list or database that contains email addresses of people who consented to receive the list owner’s email messages. The messages come in various forms, such as product and web site updates, or ezines.

Opt-in lists are regarded as the most powerful marketing tool available on the world wide web, because opt-in lists can provide marketers with direct means of communication with potential customers, and gives a chance to promote products and services, plus building a continuing relationship with them by offering good, practical lessons, advice and/or Q&A about the subject of the list.

Marketing through email has become the primary means of many advertisers to reach out to its customers. They are immensely attracted by the fact that email marketing allows them to communicate with their customers directly, with very minimal cost, compared to direct mail marketing.

Of course, it goes without saying that the 3 key’s to a successful opt-in marketing is to acquire a large subscriber base, offer quality content and supieior products that answer the needs of the readers. In setting up the list, you need a tool to capture the leads that allows the potential subscriber to input his/her name and email address. Sometimes just the email address alone in required.

In choosing the software tool or optin script, you need to have a script that is flexable enough to allow various options. The script that most autoresponder companies offer are, generally, ample for the needs of most list marketers.

There are a lot of techniques available for making opt-in lists, and marketers should carefully select what works best for them. The thing is, a marketer should provide a reason why people should subscribe to them. There are lots of subscriptions available on the Internet, and people should be convinced that this particular subscription is worth giving their personal information in exchange for something of interest to them.

Methods/techniques of obtaining subscribers to optin lists:

1. Offering incentives:
Not surprisingly, this is one of the most effective techniques for getting the attention of prospects. Incentives must be something that can be valuable to them, and should be suitable for the target market. It could be an ebook or software download, or a discount on a product that is showcased.

2.Use popup windows:
Popup windows can produce desirable results if used correctly. They should, by no means, irritate prospective customers. The key to utilizing them effectively is to join them with incentives. The popup should contain information about the product or service, and the provided incentive.

3. Submit articles:
Marketers can create their own articles and have them published. Topics features should be those that the marketer is well acquainted with, and should be related to the product or service. These articles can be then published in ezines that are also in line with the offerings of the marketer, and make certain that the publication contains information on how to join the opt-in list.

4. Use alert boxes:
This is a more effective method than popup boxes. Alert boxes are shown through script, and will gather the name and email address of visitors. If they opted to subscribe, they click the box, and they will be added to the database. To maximize the chances, subscription boxes can be placed at every page of a web site.

5. Offer easy options for getting out of the subscription:
It is necessary that options are available for subscribers if they want to discontinue the subscription. The best process to go about it is to automate the procedure right from the very start of the subscription. Members of the list can unsubscribe themselves easily with no hassle for the marketer, usually by clicking a link at the bottom of an email message.

6. Determine the appropriate frequency of mailing the messages:
This will be largely dependent on the kind of newsletter that is being distributed. There are certain kinds of messages that recipients would like to get on a daily basis, such as jokes. Messages should be short and concise to make it easier for the subscribers to read. They don’t like to receive content that is bland and tedious, and will likely delete them without fully reading them.

7. Use text email instead of html:
There are a lot of people who cannot read email done in html. Worse, some people cannot reply to html messages. Marketers must make sure that their emails are in proper format, something that is readable to recipients.

8. Guest books:
The process is simple: personal invitations to join the lists will be given to people who register in guest books provided by sites. Add incentives to the invitation to entice them further.

The worth of a well-developed opt-in list can be never be emphasized enough. Marketers must never refuse an opportunity to encourage business contacts to sign up for the mailing lists. Web site visitors can be increased dramatically by employing the steps described above, and will surely bring results that will satisfy any discriminating marketer.

I hope these lessons for email list marketing are helpful.

-Jim ><>