Tag Archives: List

Segmenting Your List to Keep It Fresh

Why Segmenting Your List is So Important

Segmenting your list is something you do not hear much about, so I will explain what it means. When someone joins your list they have either opted in to a free offer you have set up or they have made a purchase of one of your products or courses. There are other scenarios also possible but in the interest of simplicity we will just discuss these two as examples.

The concept is that they are only interested in receiving emails from you regarding the offer they joined or purchased and do not want to hear about other aspects and parts of your business. There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part this is how it works.

Different autoresponder services are set up to handle this in a variety of ways, but the easiest way is to set it up to remove someone from one or more lists when they opt in or join another part of what you are offering. Are you confused yet? You needn’t be as there are more simple ways to handle these different scenarios.

Imagine that someone joined your list in 2016. They were extremely interested in what you had to offer and over time they made purchases from you and through your affiliate link. Over time their interest wanes, and by 2017 they may have gone down a different path for their business. Then you send out a broadcast email to offer them a new free giveaway on one aspect of your business and they must choose whether or not to continue learning from you. This is a crucial moment in your relationship.

If they do nothing, you will know that their interest has subsided. If they choose to opt in to your new offer you will know they are still very interested. They have segmented themselves from the crowd with this action. Now you know that this new list you have created is fresher and more relevant to your business. These are the people who are your best prospects for what you have to offer right now.

Sometimes I make a new offer available over and over to an existing list through a p.s. at the end of my broadcasts. I also make this same offer at the end of my blog posts to find out who is reading them. Social media is also a place to offer people your latest free giveaway.

Keep the idea of segmenting your list regularly as simple a process as possible. Creating new free giveaways needs to be a part of your business strategy and the fact that it helps you to segment your list is a bonus. The most important takeaway from this is that you must continue to create irresistible reports and other content to keep your prospects and clients happy.

I’m Connie Ragen Green and I work with new online entrepreneurs to help them get into profit as quickly as possible with information products, affiliate marketing, marketing for small businesses, blogging, authorship, and more. Download your Online Entrepreneur Blueprint and get started right away.

Cross Promotion to Build Your List

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Are You Building Your List with Cross Promotion?

Online marketing is similar to the offline, brick and mortar world in that it is a relationship business first and foremost. What I mean by this is that you can grow your online business much more quickly if you are willing to take the time and make the effort to connect with others who do something similar or complimentary to what you have to offer on the internet. This can lead to the opportunity for cross promotion to each other’s lists and communities which will grow both people’s businesses exponentially in a very short time. Expanding your reach in this way is valuable for years to come.

This cross promotion can begin in any of a number of ways, such as with guest posts on the other person’s blog, promotion of each other’s products through an affiliate link, co-hosting a webinar or teleseminar, and including more details of what each of you has to offer within a sequence of emails. Start slowly and build your relationship through this cross promotion strategy.

When I first introduce someone to my list and my community I like to do what I refer to as “seeding” my audience. This means that I will name drop the other person’s name in regards to how we met and what we have in common. The idea is to make sure your community is familiar with the other person well before you do any promotion at all. Once you do promote, even if it is for something that is free, your people will be more open to signing up and downloading something that is being offered by a name they recognize. Telling the story of how you are connected will pay off handsomely over time.

Once you do your initial cross promotion, don’t let too much time pass before doing it again. Repetition is important in our noisy world of online marketing so you want to keep the momentum going once it has begun. And using two or more types of media will also be helpful. I can introduce someone through my writing, but allowing my list to hear their voice will make a difference. You may also wish to use video, such as Facebook Live to share your thoughts and knowledge with others.

And be strategic with your cross promotion for best results. Make sure there is a reason to introduce this person to your community. If it’s a part of the story of how you are connected with them it will make sense to them. For example, if I introduce someone who helps authors write and publish books it makes complete sense if this person has been helpful to me with my authorship over the years. Think about and plan this with the other person before you begin and you will see the results you are hoping for more easily. The final result will be additions to both of your lists, more sales and downloads, and a greater reach to those who will benefit from being a part of your community.

Emailing Your List – My Proven Strategy

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Strategies for Emailing Your List

If you are new to email marketing you may experience some fear around emailing your list too often or at all. This is completely normal and a common feeling based on the belief that if you send out an email the people who have opted in to your list will now unsubscribe. So you find yourself in a catch-22 where you can’t move forward for fear of losing out. The answer is to cast the fear aside and send your emails out regularly. This means that emailing your list two or three times a week is preferable and that if people unsubscribe you have to be alright with letting them go. It typically isn’t anything personal and just has to do with what is going o in their life and business.

Now that you’ve moved past that, what should you write about in your email messages? I recommend to my students that they make it clear exactly who they are, what they do, and how they intend to serve their community. Now you can’t do all of this in every email you write, but if you keep it in mind then you will come across as knowledgeable, in integrity, and willing to help those who stay on your list. Including valuable tips, resources, and pertinent information is a great place to begin.

Another strategy you will want to incorporate into your emails is to take them away from the email message and on to your blog or other site. The beginning strategy for this is to tell them about a blog post you have written and to even include a sentence or two. Then include the link where your subscriber may click to continue reading. This is extremely helpful with your goal of getting people to click on your links.

Emailing your list can become a task you look forward to if you are willing to take some time and create a strategy that works for you. I am sending emails anywhere from seven to ten times each week, and I joke that I only mail on days that end with d-a-y. This works for my niche of online marketing and will vary from niche to niche. And never be afraid to try something new that no one else in your field is doing. You could just be on to something that turns out to be very effective and that others will follow.

I am often asked which day or days of the week are best for emailing your list and at what times of the day. My market tends to be on Eastern Time (ET) so my goal is to send my emails when they are first awake and checking their email in the morning or when they come home from work. This will vary on the weekends, holidays, and during more traditional vacation periods such as a long holiday weekend or during the summer break from school or winter and spring vacations.

And every week or two make sure to give your subscribers a day or even two days off from your email messages. Who know, they might actually miss you!

Be sure to check out my signature training course on email marketing and come aboard if it is right for you.

I’m Connie Ragen Green and I’ve been an online entrepreneur since 2006. If you are ready to get started on your journey to multiple streams of online income, visit my site at Online Entrepreneur Blueprint and download your complimentary training to get started today. If you would like to become an affiliate for my products and courses please visit the Connie Ragen Green Affiliate Center to get started.

Build Your Email List with Coopetition

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You most likely know that the people you want on your list are already on someone else’s list. Instead of thinking about them as the competition I would encourage you to think of them as colleagues. Also, no one can directly compete with us as entrepreneurs because we are all unique in our thinking and approach to life and business. I prefer to use the word “coopetition” where we all cooperatively compete with one another. It’s an abundance mindset where people understand that there will always be enough for everyone.

Reaching out to your colleagues to build your email list can be an excellent way for both of you to grow your businesses. They benefit by having someone to recommend to their community and you benefit from the exposure you have to the other person’s list. Imagine suddenly having thousands of people visit your blog, opt in to your list, and connect with you on social media. Are you ready for that?

You must have a strategy in order to build your email list in this way. Start by making a list of everyone you can think of who is currently serving your target audience. These will be the people whose list you are already on, have written books on your topic, and who are in the public eye in some way. Do not be afraid to add the names of people who have been extremely successful for many years, as we cannot tell the story of what someone is thinking until we approach them individually.

Once you have a list of at least a dozen names you are ready to proceed. Locate the contact information for each person. It may be an address or phone number on their website or at the bottom of their emails, or it may be on social media. The law requires us to have our contact details visible on our blog, website, and at the bottom of our emails in order to be in compliance so this information should not be difficult for you to find. I would caution against contacting someone at their home address or with a personal email address or phone number because this will get you off on the wrong foot with them immediately.

Once you have their contact information, start with a short message where you introduce yourself and include a link to your blog or website so they will be able to take a look. Explain that you are looking for a way to share your information with their community and would like to explore how that could happen. If you have an affiliate program be sure to include the details of how they can become your affiliate. I have several free products a new affiliate is able to recommend so they aren’t asking their list to buy anything right away.

Another way to do this is to ask each person if you may interview them. My podcasts have been an excellent vehicle for reaching out to people who are not familiar with me and this will work for you as well.

You will find that people really do want to help each other and connecting with the right colleagues to build your email list is an example of how this works to benefit everyone involved. And be sure to take a look at my Really Simple List Building training course to get started right away with these and other list building strategies.

I’m Connie Ragen Green and I work with new online entrepreneurs to help them get into profit as quickly as possible. Download your Online Entrepreneur Blueprint and get started right away.

List Building Strategies for Retention and Profits

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Once people join your list you have an even bigger goal; keep them on your list. Lest you think this to be a monumental task, know that you can learn effective list building strategies to not only keep people on your list but to turn them into raving fans who hang on your every written word. It just takes time, and with consistent practice your list can become the asset you want it to be. Here are the steps I recommend to everyone I work with when it comes to list building for retention and profit.

Get into the habit of emailing your list every day. Even if this seems like something you do not want to do, give it a try for a full month before making your decision to go back to the schedule you used previously. Remember that we all want to hear from the people we trust to help us to achieve our goals. Mailing daily can help to get you to this coveted position in your prospect’s mind more readily. Of all the list building strategies I teach, this is the most important one.
Make sure to include at least one clickable link in each of your emails. This tells people right away that you are in business and serious about your niche topic. These links can lead to your blog posts, your products, affiliate products, resources, and other items of importance to them. As long as your links lead to something relevant you are good to go.
Ask people to reply to your email messages. This serves a couple of purposes. First, it helps to build a relationship between you and your prospect and to strengthen a relationship between you and your current clients. Next, it allows you to start and continue a conversation with them that can lead to other sales when you answer their questions and offer your advice and opinion. And finally, asking people to hit “reply” to your emails helps to ensure that your messages to them will seldom, if ever be marked as spam by their email provider.
Use your stories to find commonality with your list and to allow them a peek into your personal life. I share stories and my world travels, my life in two cities (the desert of Santa Clarita, California and the beach in Santa Barbara), my family living in Finland, my pets, and my work with non-profits and other charities. Storytelling is one of those list building strategies that will never go out of style.

By now you can see that keeping people on your list is something that is doable. List building strategies are an important part of your ongoing business and these four steps will get you there. Emailing every day, including clickable links within each email, asking people to reply to you, and telling personal stories are effective list building strategies for your business and will lead to list retention and profits. All of this and more is included in great detail in my Really Simple List Building training program.

I’m Connie Ragen Green and I work with new online entrepreneurs to help them get into profit as quickly as possible. Download your Online Entrepreneur Blueprint and get started right away.

Creating Your Free Giveaway to Build Your List

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Is Your Free Giveaway Complete?

Long ago, before I came online in 2006 it was said that people would opt in to your list just to be on your list. You didn’t have to promise them a newsletter or provide them with a short report or other opt in gift or free giveaway. All of what we now do on the internet was new and exciting and everyone involved looked forward to receiving email messages from people who had information on any of a variety of topics. Those days have gone the way of the dinosaur and you must accept that fact and move on.

There was a short period of time where people would join a list just to receive a newsletter, but these days that typically would only be effective for those who are already well known in their niche. The very first list I joined in 2006 was for a newsletter on being positive in our lives. This newsletter was from Jon Gordon, an author and speaker on the topics of leadership, sales, culture, and teamwork. I eagerly awaited each issue arriving in my inbox and took his valuable information and tips to heart. Jon had become an icon in my mind at that time.

For the rest of you who are not known to the world, you must provide something of value to the visitors whom you hope will opt in to your list. I have found two effective ways for you to make this happen.

There are several names for what you will offer people, including free giveaway, ethical bribe, and opt in gift. I will refer to it here as your free giveaway. Typically this would be a short report on a specific aspect of your overall topic, and could vary in length from five to thirty pages. The preferred length has gone back and forth over the years, and I now recommend that my students offer something that is between fifteen and twenty-five pages. You include a table of contents, an introduction, a resources sections, and information about the author at the end. It’s sort of a mini eBook in that it is self-contained and filled with excellent, helpful information.

At the end of your free giveaway you absolutely must include a call to action. This is what you want your reader to do next after they come to the end of your report. I send people to look at my author page on Amazon to see all of the books I have written, to one of my products or online courses, or to another one of my sites where they can find further information. The idea is to move them through a process that will serve their needs while also allowing you to share more about who you are, what you do, and what you have to offer.

Free giveaways can consist of audios and videos as well, but I would not create them without including a written component as well.

As you can see, there are many things to think about when it comes to creating and distributing your free giveaway to build your list. I offer a training on this called Really Simple List Building that continues to be beneficial to new online entrepreneurs who want to build a list and grow their business.

List Building for Beginners – How to Begin

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List Building for Beginners

It is said that when it comes to online business, the gold is in your list. This is true in the offline world as well, where a company’s database is one of its most valuable assets. List building for beginners is a topic many people discuss, but doing what actually works is much more important than simply discussing the topic on a regular basis.

When I came online more than a decade ago I was like all new entrepreneurs in that I had no list at all. I added a couple of email addresses to my empty list so that it wouldn’t be blank, but these were two alternate emails that belonged to me. Then a few people I knew personally joined my list and I was ready to move forward. This was only a psychological shift, as I really didn’t have a list or even a business at that point.

Now this was before social media, so there were few places to connect with the people who might be your prospects and potential clients. One strategy I started using quite by accident was to introduce myself on teleseminars I was attending. The host would open up the line for a few minutes before that training began, and this gave us all the opportunity to say our name, our city, and our website. You had to be fast or you would miss out and I learned quickly how to say everything without taking a breath. It went something like this:

“I’m Connie Ragen Green from California teaching people how to write and market eBooks at eBook Writing and Marketing Secrets do com”.

And yes, this was an effective way for me to pick up five to ten subscribers every day. But that strategy is not scalable. I soon learned that creating relevant content to distribute on the internet was a much better way to connect with my prospects and clients. I wrote blog posts and articles and then repurposed those into short reports. When people read something that helped them in achieving their goals they were anxious to get on my list.

Soon I began hosting my own teleseminars and allowing people to introduce themselves at the beginning of my calls. This was my way of paying it forward to the next wave on online entrepreneurs. And my content became the basis for information products and books, further reinforcing the importance of creating something that will be available for years to come.

List building for beginners does not have to be a challenge if you approach it properly. Choose your niche carefully, begin blogging and writing on the topics related to your niche that can eventually become books, and begin hosting teleseminars that you can eventually turn into a podcast. All of these methods will work in unison to attract the people who want and need to be on your list. Always remember that business is about serving others and you will be on your way to success as an online entrepreneur.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. And please be sure to check out my Really Simple List Building training course to get started today.

Self Publishing a Book and Building Your List

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Self-Publishing a Book and Building a List: Why This Is So Important

You have a great deal of knowledge to share, and one of the very best ways to share that is with a book. I’ve now written and published more than a dozen bestselling books and am writing here from my experiences. Self publishing a book gives you:

Instant expert status
Opportunities to speak and present to others
Access to an audience you might not otherwise reach
The opportunity to fill your sales funnel with interested, engaged readers

Here’s how:

Start by publishing on Kindle. If you’ve been blogging or creating other content for more than a few weeks, you likely already have everything you need to “write” your book. Simply gather your content, organize it in logical book format, do some light editing to make it flow well, and you’re done! Right now, take some time to see what content you have already created that could be repurposed and used to create your first, or next book.

But before you hit the “publish” button, create an offer just for Kindle readers. This can be a landing page with an opt-in offer of a related checklist, an additional resource guide, or even an audio version of your book. You’ll want to be sure it’s closely related, so downloading it is a true “no brainer” for all your book buyers, and follow up with a relevant autoresponder series.

I highly recommend using Aweber for this, as this service is inexpensive and fairly self explanatory to set up. Their customer service is very good and I am also more than happy to answer questions for you about doing this part successfully.

Pro tip: Add a link to your landing page in the front of your book, so that those who are browsing on Amazon will see it, even if they don’t buy.

Once your landing page is finished and your book is published, you can offer it for free through Kindle’s KDP Select program. Promote it heavily on social media and to your mailing list. The more downloads you generate, the higher your book will climb in the rankings (if temporarily), driving more traffic to your book—and your landing page.

Follow up with a second (and third, and fourth) book to keep the momentum and your list building going strong for years to come.

Podcast: List Building Tips Online

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List Building Tips Online

This month’s podcast is a discussion of list building tips online for internet entrepreneurs. Here are some of the points I explain in great detail during the training call:

The first question is…

Have You Chosen Your Primary Niche?

Before we can start building a highly responsive niche we must be clear about who we are and how we intend to serve those who come to us for information, advice, and recommendations. Answer these questions as carefully as you possibly can…

What are you interested in, have passion for, and experience with?
How will you serve those who come to you for information, recommendations, and guidance?
Are you willing to work diligently in this niche for at least six months?

List Building Tips Online

The above image is one you may remember from middle school mathematics. It is a three circle Venn diagram to help you choose the right niche for your online business. Once you have done this, you are ready to begin building your niche.

How Do You Begin Building A List?

Who are you?
Where will people find you online?
What are you offering in exchange for their name and email address?
How will you follow up with them?
When will you reach out to them in a unique way?

Think about each of these questions, listen to the podcast, and then comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts on these ideas and concepts in regards to how defining and refining your niche and building a responsive list will enable you to be a more successful entrepreneur.

These list building tips online are intended to focus and guide you through the process of building a success online business. If you’d like to download my latest Focus Guide on Repurposing Your Content, click on this link. Feel free to share it with anyone who may benefit from what I am sharing. Also, my Study Guides are available here for many of my recent podcasts.

Are you ready to be surprised? Recently, I have introduced a new feature during these podcast training calls. I will always have the latest course or program, either one of my own or one offered by someone I highly recommend, at my Surprise! link. Check it out today and see what I am recommending this time. If it’s not my own program, product, course, or live event then it’s always from someone I know, trust, and highly recommend as a great value to you as an online entrepreneur.

My most recent book is now available. It’s entitled Doing What It Takes: The Online Entrepreneur’s Playbook and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it by way of a review on Amazon after you read it and implement my suggestions.

Are you already a part my list community and receiving my daily email updates and training? If not, please give me your first name and primary email address in the form on the right-hand side of this site. If you are brand new to my podcasts, you will be interested to know that this specific training call, as well as all of the calls in my podcast series is intended to teach you and other new online entrepreneurs how to take your business to the next level quickly and effectively, and as a way for me to share my exact methods, techniques, Case Studies, secrets, and advice on creating a profitable and lucrative online business using the ‘multiple income streams’ approach. People on six continents have now discovered that starting an Internet business is the very fastest way to achieve both time and financial freedom, as well as to great success in all areas of your life, and you need help to get there quickly. That’s why I started this online marketing tips podcast for my community.

You will see that each podcast session is first recorded live as a teleseminar, and then repurposed into a podcast to extend my reach to the world. Please join my list (opt in on the right) to be included on these calls, and be sure to introduce yourself and share your site for optimal exposure for years to come! Also, check out my Podcast Show Notes site to see how you can subscribe at no cost to both of my podcasts, and please leave me a review on one or both of them if you are so inclined.

If you would like to get started earning income online right away then I recommend affiliate marketing as the stream of income that will allow you to “earn while you learn” You may now pick up my popular training on winning affiliate contests and other online marketing tips for only seven dollars at Affiliate Contest Secrets. This training regularly sells for $27. Use the discount code CONTEST to bring the price down to $7. This training has been completely updated for 2016 with the latest information, strategies, and Case Studies for you to use in your own business.

Please be sure to leave your comments below so that I may get to know you better and to serve you as you continue your journey as an online entrepreneur. Getting started with an online business will change your life forever and my reward is your massive success!