Which List Building Strategy Really Works?

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, most people in the internet marketing business know that the dollar tree, the cash cow, the Asset, is the email list he/she possesses. What a highly responsive email list is to a marketer, is what the  Office Suite is to Microsoft, or Adwords is to Google. You can depend on it to generate greenbacks for you.

So it’s no wonder that building a list is a priority for Internet Marketers. And it’s proliferating. When it comes down to it, there’s two ways to go about it: the Quick Way, or the Steady Way.

1. The Quick Way

The quick way is a clever way to get people’s attention. It gives you quick result, but it loses effectiveness quickly also. Easy come, easy go.

Software is one example. When you visit a web site, suddenly a pop-up message shows up. It gets your attention and tells you that you can get some free and very useful information by entering your email. This is done by a pop-up software.

There’s a Damnoen Saduak Floating Market near Bangkok, Thailand, where vendors sell their products on little boats that line the canal. Coconuts, durian, banana, pineapples, vegetables, hats, silk scarves, wood carvings, souvenirs, toys, fans, t-shirts. The sight and sounds and smells are magnets that attract tourists in droves.

So are the many ingenious ways of Internet Marketers. At some marketing forum you can find dozens of quick-result methods: free video tutorial, free pdf guide to opt in list building, tips, systems, secrets, maximizer, accelerator, courses, codes. Here’s an example: “417 email subscribers in 2 days! How I got them with only 15 minutes of work!” That’s a quick way.

I believe they all work — for the original creators. Those who follow and copy the system may not get as good a result. So for this to work, you’ll need to come up with your own unique way. That is to say, find a system that works, and add your own twist or secret sauce to it.

2. The Steady Way

The steady way is the tried-and-true method used by successful Internet Marketers. This method is basically 2 steps that are known to all. One, get traffic to the opt-in page. Two, convert the visitors to opt in.

The steady way takes time to achieve, because it’s the basics of mastering salesmanship. In the old days the apprentices worked and learned for years before they move on to become a guild member. Nowadays there are college degrees for business and marketing. It’s telling that business or salesmanship is not achieved in 2 days. Of course Internet Marketing is not nearly that long drawn out. We just need to focus on one thing.

It’s about focusing on the opt-in page.

A. How to get visitors to come and view your opt-in page.
B. How to write the sales copy in the opt-in page that motivate the viewers.
C. How to provide an incentive that draws the viewers to opt in.
D. How to write follow-up emails that will build a relationship to your subscribers.

That’s the nutshell of the Steady Way. If you like to read more, here’s a small report that provides a blueprint and examples: The Affiliate L.I.S.T. Strategy.

Which way is better, quick or steady? Which way should you take?

Answer: BOTH. Do the steady way for long-term result and the quick-way for short-term result. The order I choose is to do the steady way first. Finish it and forget about it. Let it produce result by itself. Then I do the quick way later. Since there are so many quick ways, I will pick and choose as I go along.