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Build an email list for online success

Deb Kirby's photo
Salt Lake City Internet Business Examiner

The foundation of Internet marketing is to collect email addresses. Without a house list, you have no Build an email list now!way to reach people to actively sell more products or services. You have no way to make money, except to hope people somehow find your site and buy something or do what ever it is you want them to do once they arrive. This is a very random way to build a business.

When I redesign websites for clients, one of my first questions is whether they have a database of email addresses they’ve captured. Invariably, the answer is no or not really. The “not really” clients have email addresses, usually in a free email account like Gmail or Yahoo, but they can’t tell me how most of the names originated.
Here’s a list of ways to start capturing email addresses and building an ongoing relationship with prospects and customers. If you haven’t already done several of the following things to capture email addresses, then pick two and try to implement them soon.
  • Create a free newsletter and have people subscribe on your website. Make the name field mandatory so you can customize emails in the future.
  • Offer free reports or white papers on your website or blog and require prospect to enter an email address and name before they can download the report.
  • Give information away in the form of a webinar or teleseminar. It costs you virtually nothing to set up and all participants must provide an email address in the sign-up process.
  •  Do short one-hour live classes on your topic in your area and have participants sign in with name and email address.
  • Create online forms with a free offer—for a project estimate, a free consultation—anything that makes sense in your business. The form, of course, requires a name and email address.
  •  Develop e-books, audio programs or other products to sell. During the buying process, the customer needs to include an email address.
  • Find others who have successful e-newsletters and offer to write an article with a link to your site.
  • Always include a “forward to a friend” option in e-newsletters and emails.
  • Get your website included in high quality directories that will send prospects to your site.
Everything should at least cost your prospects their email address and first name. Your goal is to find as many creative and natural ways to capture emails on your website and in all your electronic marketing efforts to build your continued success.
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, Salt Lake City Internet Business Examiner

Deb Kirby is a freelance writer and consultant who uses current Web strategies and techniques for SEO copywriting. She works with clients to create strong online strategies, develop optimized Web content, and conducts audits for existing sites to put an improvement plan in place. Follow Deb as...

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