How to Create a Powerful Email List

It’s shocking how many businesses fail to appreciate the value of a well-maintained email archive. Even though a company’s visitors’ email addresses are its most valuable online asset, its website doesn’t include any strategies or calls to action to collect these addresses from site users.

Please give this some consideration. This person is looking at what you have to give because they have a problem that you can help them with. Since they are now potentially interested in what you offer, it is best to learn more about them.

I am aware of your current thoughts. You probably get at least fifty irrelevant daily emails from various businesses and individuals. You already spend too much time attempting to locate relevant emails amidst this and the widespread prevalence of spam. I fully sympathize with you and your thoughts regarding the spam email issue. I want to assist you in changing your perspective a little bit and demonstrate how to get people to provide you with their email addresses eagerly.

But first, there are a few items you should know…

Your website’s users could care less about you, your business, and your services. Consider only “What’s in it for me?” with these people.

It’s accurate that most people are entirely focused on themselves, but that doesn’t make it any less harsh. However, if used correctly, this can be a potent weapon. Understanding your potential clients and learning what they value most is essential to amass a sizable email list.

I emphasized what they WANT, not what they NEED, so please remember.

Every day, we all witness individuals who, for various reasons, should cut back on their alcohol consumption, quit smoking, or retreat from the dinner table. No matter how often you assure these customers that you can meet their requirements, they will continue making the same decisions.

On the other hand, the same person sitting in the casino smoking a cigarette while playing a slot machine with their unemployment money responds immediately to the Marlboro sign in the gift shop because he desires it. Everyone can see that the individual in this example is acting in a way that is motivated by their wants rather than their needs.

To promote a weight loss product, for instance, you shouldn’t stress the product’s health benefits but rather the user’s improved physical attractiveness due to using the product. I’m not saying they wouldn’t appreciate the chance to improve their health, but if they were serious about it, they’d get some exercise and wouldn’t be struggling with their weight in the first place.

Showing before and after pictures of attractive individuals can be very persuasive because the viewer will want to achieve the same results as the model in the after shot. Unfortunately, the believability of the images is of no consequence. Their desire is so intense that it causes them to disregard their disbelief.

It would be best to find exactly what your guests want and provide them with a “give away” that satisfies that desire.

You should devise a deal that benefits the other party more than your own.

Create a report, eBook, film, or other information product that will assist your visitor in fulfilling their deepest desire.

A few months ago, I led a workshop in which we dove deep into a discussion forum to demonstrate how to learn more about your target audience by going to the places they frequent and reading the material they’ve produced themselves.

A couple of hours old, the post was discovered during this practice.

Someone requested a spreadsheet to facilitate computation. Within the first two hours after its creation, that specific post had been viewed sixty-eight times. A guy who witnessed this said he, too, kept such a spreadsheet.

We quickly devised a strategy to make it easy for website visitors to sign up for his email list in return for access to this report. He could take it a step further by doing quick keyword research using the EXACT question in the forum to determine how often that question is searched each month. If the numbers were high enough, he could make an optimized entry on his site and draw in many qualified visitors.

To succeed, your offering must be of much higher value than the email address you are asking for in exchange. The visitor will weigh the benefits of receiving additional spam in trade for the item with the fact that they are already inundated with it.

If you betray the confidence of your visitors, they will not return.

I’ve seen businesses providing these “give to get” reports, which are awful. This makes no sense to me at all. You’ve put in a lot of time and effort to attract visitors to your site; you’ve taken the time to learn what their most critical WANT is; you’ve taken steps to provide them with a solution to that WANT in exchange for their email address; and now you’ve hastily produced something that’s not nearly as valuable as you advertised. Is it realistic to expect this guest to return? Not in my opinion!

Second, remember that people who visited your site debated whether your offer was worth the potential downside of getting spam. Make sure they don’t come to lament sharing their details with you. Their interest in your “how to raise perfect children who never did anything other than what you told them to do” report would quickly wane if they were inundated with sales emails. Relationship building with site users is essential, so use the internet. Don’t forget that the first few months of any new romance are spent wondering if things are worth investing in further. Follow these guidelines to create a robust mailing list…

Learn as much as possible about your target market and its profound desires.
Make it a “no-brainer” for your visitor to provide their email address by offering a highly valuable freebie.
Third, keep providing value in your follow-up correspondence with them after delivery; don’t just attempt to sell to them again.

If you follow these three rules to the letter, you’ll soon have what could be your most valuable internet asset. What a great mailing list!

Mindscape at Hanon McKendry, where Pete Brand is a co-founder (http://www.mindscape-hm.com/)

Pete Brand developed the Mindshare Process, which, if followed, ensures business success in cyberspace. The steps in this guide can help your business build a website that turns visitors into raving fans of your company or product from the moment you recognize you need one.
The Mindshare Online Marketing Guide is available for free distribution right now.

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