Email Marketing -- The Money And The List

They all say the money is in the list. I've been talking about it before in this blog as well.

An Internet Marketer is an Email Marketer. At least all successful Internet Marketers are email marketers.

The Logic

The logic is simple and easy to grasp. If you pay someone to send you traffic, then if you don't capture those people's email addresses, they will be lost to you.

However, if you do capture the addresses, and hopefully their names as well, then you can email them again and again, sending them here and there like a flock of sheep. (I mean, everybody respects their customers, of course. A customer is a friend.)

So all us budding infoneurs, having set up sales pages that actually sell, go "oh, there was that something about email marketing" ...

... We capture some names and email addresses ...

-- and then what?

?

So I went out and bought Charlie Page's "How To Make BIG PROFITS from a small mailing list!"

I've noticed all the times I've actually made some progress in this field, is when I've bought specific information from people who have already been there, done that, and started selling the t-shirt.

Yup, I bought the t-shirt.

And it was so down-to-earth, friendly, and made so much sense, that I also bought the resale rights.

Sidetracked

I got sidetracked, I guess. I was supposed to concentrate on my first product. It is selling nicely, but I want to build a responsive list for that product. So I needed Charlie's info. So I just thought, what the heck...

Anyway, that gives you the chance to read it too, I guess.

You can check it out here:
Small List Big Profits Email Marketing

Love and happiness,
Sten

Trying So Hard Not To Get Side-Tracked

Okay, so I'm sort of getting somewhere. It's not much, I know, but I finally have something to work on. A site where I can use all the methods the gurus and the high priests of internet marketing preach.

The things is... it is still so hard to keep focused! I get tempting emails every day. Maybe this other opportunity is better. Maybe there is more traffic there... maybe it is something people are searching for more. Maybe they buy more of that product...

The things is, there is money everywhere! I cannot jump around from one opportunity to the next. I need to learn how to make money with the site I've got. Only when that site produces a substantial income, should I move on.


So what have I done so far, and what am I doing next?

Well, so far I've created a product -- an eBook. So it's basically nothing more than a pdf-file that people can download. After they pay, of course.

I have a "sales letter" kind of a website, so the first thing people see when they come to my site, is a letter explaining all the fantastic benefits of this book. And then it asks them for their money.

So I have a product and a sales letter ... and a way of collecting money in between. And then there was the traffic part. I started out buying clicks on Google, and that is working out well, so there is no need to stop that traffic.

I've also started writing articles and submitting them, and I'm seeing a trickle of traffic from those articles now. They also create incoming links, which makes Google and Yahoo and MSN understand my site is important, so it ranks better for my main keywords.

Oh, and I implemented an affiliate program and a sales letter for the affiliate program, and an affiliate tips newsletter for my affiliates only. Then I submitted that program to some of the affiliate directories, and I'm starting to see some incoming traffic that way -- but nobody's signed up yet (after 42 pageviews of the affiliate sales letter).

What to do with the incoming traffic?

Now this seems like I'm finally gone crazy. I've just told you what I do with the traffic. I send it to my sales letter, and then they buy.

After they buy, they can opt in to my "customers only" newsletter -- which is the only way they can get upgrades to the book (why not?!) and other offers from me. Fair enough.

The thing is, I'm probably loosing out at the front here. All the king's horses and all the king's men say that your first and holiest goal should be to capture email-addresses. And the logic is simple -- you know they're interested, and now you can market to them again and again.

-- So I tried that, but within several hundred of visitors, only 2 opted in (the late Corey Rudl used to say that you should at least get 20% to opt-in). And it also killed my sales.

Now that's a bomb!

So I'm trying to revise the opt-in thingy. I bought some advice from Charlie Page, and when it arrives and I get to test it, I'll tell you about it.

You've got mail

Here comes another great offer to spend my time doing something completely different. Gotta stay clear. Gotta stayed focused.

See you soon!

Love,
Sten

It's Working! I'm Making Some Real Money

I am ecstatic. After having read about Internet Marketing for 1,5 years; after having bought books, dvds, software, and cds; after receiving 10,8 tonns of "helpful" email messages, I've finally been able to set up a website that is making money.

The Truth

I have read this a thousand places, but I really didn't believe it until I tried it myself. The truth is: it is fine to be an affiliate, but you have to create your own business first. It is after you have created your own business that you can start selling other people's products to your customers.

Okay, let's back up a little. Forget about the affiliate marketing for a while. I have several websites that are purely affiliate-sites -- and they are making some money, maybe $100 - $200 a month -- but that is far from good enough.

It was just so easy, not having my own product, not having my own customers to worry about. But once I got a product, everything changed -- for the better.

You've been told 3,459 times that mini-sites don't work. A mini-site is basically a three-page website. The first page is your sales letter -- the letter that makes your website visitors drool with want for your product. The second page is where they pay. The third is the thank-you-page. It is where they get to download whatever it is you're selling, if you're selling digital stuff (eBook, mp3s), or where they are notified that what they've purchased will be shipped within the next 24 hours.

Well, I finally created my own product -- an eBook (i.e., a pdf-file), set up a mini-site with a sales letter, had ClickBank manage payments (and affiliates -- my affiliates) -- and started buying traffic on Google. Boom! I'm making money!

The Bought Traffic

When you buy traffic (i.e., website visitors) like that, it's easy to loose money. I'm very happy I got a hold of Perry Marshall's course on Google AdWords (he's got some free email lessons as well).

I Want More

Not to be greedy or anything, but the taste of success is damned sweet. I know my website converts (i.e., turns visitors into buyers), so now I need more traffic. As much as I can get. As cheaply as possible.

I'll let you know what happens!

Love,
Sten

More traffic to your site

When you've got a web site that is actually selling something, what you need is more traffic! I'll tell you in a couple of days about three projects I'm running, and why I am currently trying any traffic tool I can get my hands on.

Love,
Sten