…you’re leaving way too much money on the table!

Most websites created or maintained by people who are new to online business are missing one important piece of the marketing puzzle. Namely, follow-up!

Of course there are other reasons websites don’t maintain mailing lists, but usually it is a result of an entrepreneur without any marketing experience. Other reasons exist though (and I’m a perpetrator in this regard), even though I’ve been selling, promoting and marketing online for the last 10 years - you’ll still find many of my websites lack a subscription box.

My reasons won’t be yours I assure you! Generally the sites I don’t actively market to via email are sites I’ve created for testing purposes - testing website traffic techniques which I report on, on even more websites. This is truly a case of ‘do what I say, not what I do’.

In the rest of this post we’ll talk about how and why to maintain a mailing list, and the variety of ways you can use an autoresponder account.

Here are a few reasons off the top of my head:

• increases your website’s value should you choose to sell it,
• assists you to make money on demand as you can continue to draw people back to your site with every email you write,
• allows you to ‘automate’ your marketing.

Just mentioning automation of marketing gets me excited about online business.

Why?

Well, once you have a fully automated system of a website in place that turns visitors into income, there’s little for an online business owner to do other than to keep the new traffic flowing or starting all over again with a second website, a second income stream, a second business. (Sounds good right?)

Automation is the key to any successful online business - a business that doesn’t tie the entrepreneur to his/her computer.

Granted some internet marketers have given automation a nasty connotation. The marketers who teach you to scrape other people’s website content and post spam messages to other people’s blogs.

No, not this kind of automation. This type of automated marketing I’m talking about it discontinuing any repetitive action that can be handled by a service or script. And believe me when I tell you, any online business has areas that would benefit from a little automation. The key is to have the right software or service to manage the task.

When I first started my business online I tried a number of products and signed up for a number of services that assisted in automating my business. One shined above all others.

Then, in 2005, I repeated the tests and trials - in a wide variety of price ranges. I had expected different results - after all, so much had changed online in five years - yet I stuck with the same service I’d chosen back in 1999!

There are reasons - which very few people talk about - why one service/software soars above all others tested. Affordability, versatility, deliverability, flexibility - customer support, continuallly upgrading servers and features, continously working in the field to ensure best results for their customers - and on and on. Wait, another big reason - free customer support, fast response.

If you’re lost now and wondering why you’d want to automate your mailing list…

Consider also that you don’t have to stop at a mailing list. Let’s think of some creative uses for automated marketing through auto-responder services.

Your website visitor signs up. Your autoresponder files the email address in your account then:

a) displays a thank you page on your website that could show a special offer for new subscribers. (income)
b) sends out a message to your new subscriber with a special offer… (income)

Also used for:

c) an immediate customer support response. It may take you a day or two to reply personally to a customer, but they will instantly feel as though someone is working on their request for service.
d) frequently asked questions sent to the customer via email.
e) free reports with affiliate links inside.
f) product lists and descriptions, or price lists

Use your own creativity to uncover and implement similar uses and you’ll begin to see your sales increase.

Owning a mailing list is, without a doubt, the most vital and necessary tool for your business.

Dare to be different. Don’t just put a small text link or graphic on your site that reads “subscribe to my mailing list”. That will get you some subscribers, but not nearly as many as you could get with an autoresponder pop up script or exit script.

Be creative to find ways to get potential customers to sign up to your mailing list. Offer a free report, a discount on future offers - as long as it is something of definite value they will subscribe.

Here are some of the ‘enticers’ I’ve used on other websites:

• discount coupons,

• free email course,
• contest entry,
• “Members Only” access to a special area of my website.

Check out my recommended “tried, tested and true” automated marketing, autoresponder service free for 30 days. Get the script for your website and start making money with an email list right away.

Read more about effective mailing list management and email marketing techniques from Smartzville Marketing.

“My website is ready and I’ve spent thousands of dollars on it, but I’m not making any money!”

I’ve heard it a hundred times or more…

Learn How to Start Marketing Your Website - Ask Laura (July 2007)

After spending all that money for a custom designed site, or forking over cash for a turnkey website in a hot market, you realize that just because you’ve built it (or had it built), doesn’t mean they’ll come (the customers).

So now you’re taking the next step which is to learn about marketing and advertising your website or online business…

But let’s just back up here for a minute - so you don’t make the same mistake again. A website or online business is not much different than a business you would start up in your home town. And before any business is launched a business plan should have been created, written, and all aspects (such as advertising and marketing) would have been written into such a plan.

So before you launch your first website, or your next website, consider your marketing strategy, your advertising costs, your plan of attack, for gettting your offer in front of your potential customers.

Let’s talk about how to plan and write that strategy then.

It’s dull work if you’ve never thought of marketing before, but once you’ve created a strategy and you see it starting to work and the sales rolling in, you’ll fall in love with marketing strategies.

Begin by writing a list of daily, weekly, monthly and long range promotional action steps. Post it directly above your desk and act on it daily. Many business owners will tell you that you’re not in the “service” or “product” business - you’re in the marketing business when you own your own company. Every day must see some activity to promoting your brand, your website URL, or your offers.

If your marketing, advertising or promotion strategy is netting any results or sales after a few months it’s perfectly acceptable to rework the plan and seek out different avenues for advertising or promotion.

Below you’ll find some of the techniques other webmasters have success with. Each technique should be investigated fully by reading the advice of top internet marketing trainers before proceeding. As an example of why you want to delve deeper into understanding any strategic move is because many ‘gurus’ will tell you to trade links with other webmasters to gain traffic. This is good advice, old advice, but if you don’t do it right it won’t be one-tenth as effective as it could be.

So…let’s get to some of the promotion techniques for website owners:

• Trade links only other webmasters. (Again, you need to learn how to do this correctly.)
• Offer something of value, for free, on your site. (Read more on viral marketing.)
• Employ an affiliate opportunity. (Amazing how this delivers sales and traffic, but again, learn how to do it inexpensively and correctly first.)
• Add useful content, not just product sales on your site.
• Add interaction to your site. (Learn about forums, comments, help desks - relevant to your offering and target market.)
• Give them a reason and a venue to return - or refer their friends. (Learn about bookmarking, email a friend, subscribers.)
• Run limited-time sales on your offers. (Learn about one time offers and back end selling.)

That’s all for today and enough to get you started in your online marketing and advertising campaign.

Laura Childs

The ‘Ask Laura’ series is published solely to assist you with questions and resolutions to making your online business profitable. Names are never disclosed on this website unless approved or requested.

I’m putting together a series of marketing tips for you which will be included only on this website. These are the tips and tricks that online marketers use all the time to make more sales from their one page websites. Later posts will discuss other advanced marketing tips.

In your sales letters…

Show your website visitors a bargain. If your product can save them money, make them money, or if you’re currently running tests on price points be sure to tell your visitors that with a tangible and honest dollar figure. This is especially true if …read more…

Online marketing and promotion experts will try to sell you anything everything - whether you truly need it or not. When you just start out online you need to keep a sharp focus and one hand around your wallet at all times.

One issue that comes to mind when I first started out was the number of people who were promoting ebook formating software progams, ranging in price from $20-$200. I sat with my book written, formated and ready to go for 3 days while I surfed around for the best deal and reading every review on these programs…

Learn Why You Don’t Need An Ebook Software Program - Ask Laura (May 2007)

An email came in to one of my sites today asking about these formating programs which tells me that marketing trainers and affiliate promotions experts are still pushing these programs on unsuspecting newpreneurs.

“Enough!,” I say.

This is a blantant waste of money and a blatant mis-use of a newpreneur’s trust in a mentor. Formating your content into an ebook does not take any extra software - it can be done, for free, online. …read more…

Here’s another in the question and answer series of Ask Laura regarding Getting Started.

This gentleman wrote me because he wanted to start a side business online and return to a rural lifestyle away from the city. However, he couldn’t think of an idea for his online business!

Although this email is quite old (2004) and has focus on info-products and ebay selling (two areas which are harder to make money at now), the premise still stands. You must have a passion and an interest in your business to really make it online.

‘Making it online’ could be making money, making a name for yourself, or making a website that grows to huge proportion and has an exit strategy.

The conversation begins with defining yourself, your hobbies, your interests and ends with an idea for an online business.

Ideas for Online Business - Ask Laura (August 30, 2004)

Hello Laura:

I am 48 and my wife is 38. We have no kids living with us. My wife is from a town of about 15,000 in Indiana, and I grew up in a town about the same size in California. We have lived in *edited* for the last 12 years. The income here is good, and housing can be had for a reasonable percent of your wages.
…read more…

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