Well what makes you responsive? What makes you take the advice of others?
If you are like me you respond to people that you trust. People that have always been honest with me and that have only ever given me reliable information. This then is exactly what you must provide to the subscribers to your list.
You do not need a list running into seven figures. Those marketers with enormous lists get there by making outrageous claims and giving deceptive offers. This is no way to prosper. The people on their list will soon see through the lies. They quickly leave and the list owner runs ever faster making more and more false claims to replace them. If there is one word that should signify your list it should be longevity. Work harder to keep your members than you did to get them in the first place.
This leads me to my second point. If your list is responsive and feels that you are trustworthy then they will respond favourably if you ask them to pass your email to their friends and relatives. A note here, do be sure that the email has a link to your site, it’s a good way to get a new member. If on the other hand you have a non-responsive list that does not trust you then you may be sure that they will tell their friends and family to steer clear of you.
I know that some of us have more than one list, in my case I only have a few niches in which I am interested and it seemed reasonable to make the information that I provide specific to each group. In order to keep control, some list owners use a different nom de plume for each list. I don’t see the need for such deceit. Those that do will argue that their list may discover that they are not an expert in one area if they are seen to have varied interests. I hold the opposite view, I am happy to be honest and to be seen as a real person with a few interests that I can be passionate about. How would telling a lie make me more credible?
An excellent piece of marketing involves the use of a teleseminar. If you use a guest that is well known in your niche it is easy to attract large numbers to the meeting, but make it free to your subscribers. Then a week before the seminar, you tell your list to buy or download a certain book that will enable them to get the greatest benefit from the meeting. If you are building a good relationship with your list and the book is truly helpful then the relationship will grow, as will your number of sales further down the line.
You don’t always need to take money while you strengthen the bond with your list. For example when you provide a “things to try” article you should also include a free downloadable checklist. The high number of requests that you get for this free checklist will be echoed in the increase in the buy rates for future products.
If the first thing that you learned on the subject of money was how to make a million then the second lesson has to be how to hold on to it. A responsive list is no different.
You have learned how to build a list of those that trust you and respect your advice. They are, in the words of the salesman, warm prospects. Do not let them go cold. It’s a very short journey to the unsubscribe button. Of course your auto responder will be sending consistently and on a regular basis, but in addition to that you will need to send live broadcasts.
A live broadcast will be more up to date than your auto responder. This will confirm to your reader that you are up to date and helps establish or maintain your position as an authority figure.
Not one of us is infallible and sometimes life makes it difficult to remain fully focused. If by some unprecedented mischance your list has been neglected for a period of time, do not, under any circumstances, steam in with some attention getting but unrelated offer. This is a time for rebuilding that trust and you must do that gradually and sympathetically. Seek out and pass on relevant, good quality, niche specific information. It takes quite long enough to build a list but you do need to nurture it if you are to continue to be held in high regard.
Your list will remain a responsive one if the members feel that they receive value. Obviously a product or information that they have bought and does what it says on the tin represents value. However a recommendation from you where you are not seen to receive any benefit at all can reinforce an already high opinion of your integrity.
For example, you are reviewing a group of products and ultimately you recommend one. As is usual and expected, you have an affiliate link on the recommended product. Now you go one step further and make a recommendation to another source of information for the benefit of your reader but with absolutely no financial benefit to you. The amount of goodwill that has now been generated will stand you in good stead.
Every piece of advice that you have ever sought and every product that you have ever bought has always been advanced when the person bringing it to you has gone that extra mile. If ever you have a choice as to whom you will go to for a product or a service you subconsciously will go to the person that gives you more than you pay for.
It is the same for the people on your list. Their priority, like yours is to find true value.
