Expert or not, having your own email list is key to succeeding in the affiliate marketing business.
People who sign up for your mailing list are essentially saying: “Hey! I want to know what you’re up to.”
What’s so great about an email list?
The truth is that email marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote affiliate products.
Not only will you have the chance to sell your stuff, but you’ll also be able to build a rapport and cultivate a relationship with these potential customers.
Plus, this allows you to remain in touch with your audience by sending out newsletters that you can use for sales, promotions, or even informative purposes (like announcing a new product or service).
If you don’t already have an email list, then these steps will get you started:
Note: some of these methods are more time-consuming than others. Before you start, decide which are worth your time and resources –- based on what kind of business you’re
trying to get off the ground.
1. Choose a topic that people will find interesting and enticing
After all, the goal is to build your list through attraction rather than promotion. That means that you’ll need to read up on topics like internet marketing or eCommerce in order to determine the best angle for your list.
2. Create a lead magnet: that will serve as an opt-in point for your email list
This can be a simple template with a form, but also make sure that it’s interesting and enticing so that people want to join your list. You’ll need this in order to make money, so don’t discount this step!
3. Create the landing page
After you’ve determined what your angle is and put together an opt-in form, you still need to create a quality landing page. Beyond just having an interesting offer, there are hundreds of other factors that go into creating a landing page that converts well.
Your primary goal when gathering names for your email list is to create something that’s “opt-in.” That means than others but if you’re serious about making money online and building a business, then these steps are worth taking.
One way to build an email list is to use a landing page or blog post. You write something like “Subscribe here to receive my free newsletter about Amazon FBA success.” After offering the opt-in (subscribe), you should then describe what people will get in return for signing up and why they might want that benefit.
4. Start driving free traffic to the landing page
This is really an ongoing process that will depend on the platform you choose to use, but driving traffic is essential for growing your email list.
Here you’ll find out some of the best free traffic sources for affiliate marketing
5. Leverage paid traffic to build your list
An excellent way to get an audience is through paid advertising. This doesn’t have to be done immediately, but you will want to start laying the groundwork at this point in your research. The earlier you can get started with these steps, the better off you’ll be in the long run. Paid advertising allows you to work towards getting many people to opt-in when you have something that’s worth their time.
6. Create valuable content for your subscribers
(a newsletter or emails)
Create and send emails to your subscribers on a regular basis. Your value increases based on what you’re sending them; give something to your readers and take time to share with them some benefits if they sign up for your email list.
What should you send them? Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Updates on how the business is doing and what you’re working on now–why not share that info with others who might be interested?
- Interviews with other successful people in the industry
- A case study of how somebody else built their business and is succeeding now
- You could share your journey with students and contacts from your Mastermind group (you’re doing that right?), or with family
members.
Whatever it is, try to send some value in your email.
7. Follow up
When you send out an email, try to follow up with it one or two times more. This is one of the keys to building your list because people will take notice if they’ve signed up for your newsletter and then don’t hear from you again.
If they haven’t seen much value yet (and you’re still trying to build your brand), they might think that “this isn’t worth it” and stop following up. This is a delicate balance because you want to follow up enough so that people see the value, but not so much that they get annoyed with the number of emails they’re getting and unsubscribe from the list.
8. Give away something free
As you continue to build your list, there are some ways that we’ve seen others do this. Be ready for these freebies! Make sure the platform you’re using can handle a lot of users getting a freebie (you’ll need to have the resources and time available).
Another way to begin building your email list is to use social media to promote your landing page. You could create a Facebook group that sends traffic to your page Use Twitter and other outlets as well but be careful about how you’re approaching people because not everyone wants to be marketed to. Using social media is a delicate balance!
Conclusion
Building a list is probably the single most important thing you can do when trying to start an affiliate marketing business. It’s the best way to connect with people and share information, all while driving traffic back to your business. Even if it doesn’t convert right away, if you’re committed to building something long-term, then building an email list will be a huge part of your success.
