Affiliate Marketing Tips - You Must Have A List

If you haven't heard it, you will. The money is in the list. If a successful Internet Marketer had to start completely over from scratch, and he could only have one tool that he now uses, you can bet it would be his email list.

Building a list is a lot easier than you think. Do not buy subscribers from list building companies. These will not be qualified leads. Instead, build your list with squeeze pages. This is a page that you advertise in Google AdWords, typically giving something away, such as an ebook or a free report that is of interest to your list.

When the visitor arrives at this page, they are presented with a very short page that tells them how this report or ebook will benefit them - using just two or three paragraphs. You don't want the visitor to have to scroll or spend a long time reading. They are in a hurry. Sum it up in two or three paragraphs at the most, and then provide them with an opt-in form to receive the information.

This opt-in form should be attached to your autoresponder, which should send them an email telling them where to receive their free ebook or download, and then adding that name and email address to your opt-in list for future use.

If you do not have a list, you need to contact those who do until you can get one built. Consider joint ventures with list owner's, offering them a percentage of your commissions. Also, try to arrange it so that those list owner's subscribers are going through your squeeze page to help you build your own list.

Respect your list. Never rent, sell, or share their information with others. Never send them spam, and make sure that the content you are sending is actual content, and not just sales letters. Also, back up your list often! If you are using an autoresponder, you should have the ability to export the list to your computer. Do this on a regular basis, then back the list up onto a disk. Put that disk in a fire proof safe in your home, or store it in a safety deposit box at a bank.

After building your list, or as you are building your list, it is vital that you start building a relationship with your readers/subscribers by providing them with content. You cannot simply collect their information and then send them sales letters - this usually will not work.

Instead, provide them with good content or information on a regular basis, regarding your niche. Not only will they appreciate the info, but they will also learn to trust you and to count on your recommendations for products.

Finding and/or producing content for your list isn't difficult at all. First, determine what product you want to promote to your list. Obviously, you can't just write a sales letter and send your list to the order page, unless that is the kind of relationship you have worked to build with your list.

Some people actually do have this type of relationship, but they worked hard for it, and in between sales letters, they are providing content and giving away resources to their list members.

Instead, write an article that pertains to the problem, need, or desire that the product addresses. At the end of the article, recommend the product. You could also provide list members with a review of several different products that relate to this problem, need, or desire.

If you don't write, that is not a problem. You can typically hire a ghost writer to write content for you, and this is much cheaper than you may realize. In fact, there are ghostwriters who will produce newsletters and send them to your list, with your affiliate links in the content, on a regular basis.

In this instance, all you have to do is provide the writer with your list of affiliate links, and they will take care of the rest, sending the content out to your list on a schedule that you specify. Generally, the writer will also need access to your autoresponder to load the email or newsletter into the system for distribution, so make sure that you are working with a writer that you can trust with that information.

Also, work with the writer closely in the beginning so that they can learn how to communicate with your list in the same fashion you would if you were doing it yourself. It is important that the email is from 'you,' and ghostwriters do not take credit for the work that they produce for their clients. The clients name goes on the work as the author.