25 Of The Best List Building Ideas For A New Business
If you are currently building a business, here are some list building ideas to help you gather more subscribers and, eventually, more customers and profits. These ideas are essentially what are known now as lead magnets.
The most popular and frequently employed of the list building ideas is to offer a free ebook. This will always attract more opt-in fans.
Offering a free e-course is also an excellent way of engaging and signing up more email customers. Don’t have a course? Check out a reputable PLR site for done-for-you email courses.
Free, introductory videos work well. These can be enabled when a visitor stops by your site or by providing a link that requires an email address to get access.
Free trials can be a great way of generating a large, responsive list. It’s somewhat of a gamble but these folks, whether they decide to buy or not, will remain on your list can can change their mind at a later date.
One oldie but goodie in the list building ideas space is to develop a free classified ad campaign. There are many platforms to implement this method. The Craigslist site is a good place to start. But you can expand your reach with with a site like Classified Ads.
Free gifts are a great temptation for online shoppers. Free tote bags with purchase, complimentary perfumes, etc., are good examples. You know have actual customers as well as a list of folks who are likely to buy from you again down the line.
If you have an internet-specific business, you should consider offering free tools for signing up to your list. SEObook, for instance, offers free SEO-related tools with the lure of more sophisticated software for signing up or becoming a premium member.
If you’re in ecommerce, free shipping is a proven winner. Whether its free shipping for purchases over $50 or a holiday promotion, this is a long-standing proven technique that will go a long way in your email list building program.
One neglected method in the internet age is to provide free telephone consulting. With everything so automated now, it’s easy to forget that offering advice or assistance in exchange for an email or purchase is one of the most effective ways of building trust and customer loyalty.
Contests and sweepstakes are a surefire winner, particularly when you run them on Facebook. Random drawings, quizzes, or best photo contests are excellent ways of drawing a crowd and adding to your list.
Selling software? How about offering free lifetime updates? One of my favorite WordPress plugins is WooCommerce. With purchase, they offer a lifetime license with continued support. This is a great way of getting a leg up on the competition and your list of customers are now ripe for upsells like website templates or other addons.
Free gifts are one thing, but gift certificates and coupons are another. These also work wonders in the ecommerce sector. They have the advantage of leaving the choice of gift up to the visitor and/or the possibility of discounts on future purchases. See which ones work best for you.
A free webinar is another excellent way of email list building. Webinars are not something you’ll want to learn on the job, so do some research. The advantage is that even if someone doesn’t show up for the original, you can post a link to the replay. And, of course, you’ll have these listees for future opportunities and promotions.
If you are interested in attracting affiliates, they are certainly more likely to opt-in if you offer a sizable commission. Much of what I’ve learned about internet marketing comes from my relationship with Internet Profits. They offer commissions of 90% on many of their products. Most of their money is made on high ticket upsells and, here too, a 50% takeaway is extremely generous.
Some software marketing firms or appliance dealers promote free installation. This can be seen as a money-saver and will appeal to thrifty shoppers. Again, these customers are likely to remain on your list to receive the latest sales news and promotions.
Don’t forget PPC platforms like Google, Bing/Yahoo, Facebook, or Twitter for list building ideas. I don’t have any statistics in front of me, but this is one of the most widely-used email list building techniques. If you can afford to do this, even in a small way, the rewards can be quite substantial over the long haul.
Offering free resources is a good way to build goodwill and trust. For instance, Tune Core, a fee-based service that promotes the music of independent artists, offers a page listing music blogs, publicists and music marketing tips. If you are a musician, you might be inclined to give these folks your email address, even if you’re not about to sign up with them on the spot.
A lot of marketers offer unlicensed free images in exchange for your email address. If you are into web development or need pictures for your blog articles, this can be a great inducement to come aboard. Value, goodwill and trust. These can go a long way in building profitable relationships.
Ever heard of website evaluation? While there a many bots that can do the fundamentals (evaluating meta tags, etc.), a hands on critique by an experienced developer can be of great value. Offer this kind of free service in exchange for an email address and good vibes will abound. Sales are likely to follow somewhere down the line
A variation of previous list building ideas is to offer free WordPress or HTML website templates. These are fairly easy to come by if you know where to find them ( a PLR site) and these templates can be a great stimulus for those building blogs without much coding experience. If you are selling plugins or more expensive templates, this could be a good email list building technique for you.
Implying scarcity or that time is running out for a particular product, webinar, special deal, etc. is an excellent way to garner more opt-ins. Once again, the fact that someone here does not make a purchase right away should not be seen as a sign of defeat. The ideas is to have these folks on your list and to keep them there for future opportunities in your marketing plan.
I have seen a lot of marketers who are launching a new software product offer a free beta version for those willing to test it out. This has many benefits such as hands-on critiques, feedback and the potential for positive testimonials. They have your new product, you have their email address and, if they like your product, the likelihood that they would purchase upgrades is greatly enhanced.
Another way of attracting new affiliates is to offer them a complete done-for-you marketing package. A good example of this is Michael Cheney’s Commission Machine. Sign-in and look it over, buy now or buy later. Either way Michael has your email address and he has a lot of excellent products that he promotes. Could be your lucky day.
A free 5-day or 2 week trial might add significantly to your list. Your choice but, again, the option of a purchase will always remain on the table as long as the visitor remains on your list.
Lastly, a free content archive can go a long way in building a relationship with a potential customer. Problogger from Darren Rowse offers all sorts of free resources about internet marketing. That’s what makes it one of the go-to sites on the topic of blogging. These free resources are certainly likely to sign up for his mailing list and, in the process purchase his best-selling 31 Days To Build A Better Blog.
We may have revealed just a few of the best list building ideas. You might also like Build An Email List From Scratch With These Simple Strategies.
Have some favorites of your own? We’d love to hear from you!