The Components of List-Building

1. Traffic
2. Squeeze Page
3. Content
4. Monetize

Step 1 – Traffic

It should be readily apparent that in order to build a list you need traffic to your list sign-up form. I’m not going to go in-depth here about how to generate traffic because I’ll be writing a series of articles on this over the next couple weeks. So be on the lookout for that…

Step 2 – Squeeze Page

There are several components to a successful squeeze page:

• Headline
• Sub-headline (optional)
• Bullet Points
• Graphic (optional)
• Bribe
• Call to Action
• Opt-in Form
• Privacy Statement

1. Headline & Bullet points – These must be “benefits-driven”. This means your headline & bullets must convey benefits – not features. Here’s an example: Benefit: Spend more time with your family. VS. Feature: Works faster than the other brand.
2. Graphics - If you use a graphic, it should convey the emotion that your subscribe will feel *after* they subscribe to your list.
3. Bribe – Your “bribe” is the reason that people will give you their email address. You have to give people a good reason to do this, otherwise they simply won’t. Your bribe could be a free report, free training, tools, etc. The key is that it has to be free and it has to have a high perceived value.
4. Call to Action - This is the reason they should subscribe right now. This can be a time-limited or quantity-limited offer.
5. Opt-in Form - You’ll get this and instructions from your autoresponder service. Then you just add it into your squeeze page.
6. Privacy Statement – You need to let your subscribers know that you’re not going to SPAM them or share their info. You can make this statement long or short – again testing will tell you what works best.

Step 3 – Content

Once someone has subscribed to your list your real work begins. First, you have to deliver on the promises you made on your squeeze page. Then you have to over-deliver on your promises. This means giving them more then you promised – surprise bonuses, great content, free tools, free training, quality videos, etc.

At the same time you’re delivering great content you need to be building a relationship with your list. Part of this relationship is you providing value to your readers, which builds their trust in you and makes them feel good about subscribing to your list. In addition, don’t be afraid to let your personality show through. You need your subscribers to feel a connection with you and this connection will be formed by the personal relationship you create through letting your personality show through.

Ongoing followup is the key building this relationship. It’s all about communication. By being in contact with your list regularly they will get to know you, trust you and even come to look forward to your emails. After accomplishing all this, you can . . .

Step 4 – Monetize

After you’ve created this relationship, provided value, built trust and proved yourself, then you can make offers to your list. There are a number of ways to make money from your list:

1. Direct offers for products & services – You can send a “solo ad” to your list endorsing a product. After you’ve built a relationship this can be a successful technique. But if you don’t have the relationship, then this simply will not work.
2. Soft selling – You can make money just by including a PS or “signature” file in your emails. If you’re providing great content to your list and not selling them anything, they will begin to feel like they *want* to buy something from you. So if you provide a link in your signature, your subscribes will naturally click it and buy from you.
3. Pre-selling – Personally, I think this is the most effective method of marketing to your list. The basics of it are that you provide high-quality content and then link to a product from inside the content. I’ll write another article on the art of pre-selling because there’s a lot to it.

Putting it All Together

I know this sounds like a lot – and it is! Believe me, it takes a lot of work, time and effort. And if you want to build your list quickly it can also take a lot of money. But don’t worry, I’m going to be showing you how to free traffic to your squeeze page in the coming articles. And it’s definitely worth the investment of time and money to do this. Having a list is the biggest resource you will ever have.

And if this seems overwhelming, please don’t be discouraged. I actually have a completely automated solution for you. It’s call the Affiliate Silver Bullet System. In this system, I do all of this work for you and you get to receive the benefits of my efforts and experience. It’s a great place to start if everything above seems like too much right now. However, over time you should definitely learn how to do this on your own, which is something you’ll gain from your ASB Membership. I actually teach you, as I do it for you.

In the mean time, I hope this article helps you get a good picture of what it takes to build a list and how to turn that list into cash. If you have questions, please feel free to post them below…