Most people don’t realize how inconvenient it can be when someone attacks your website.
And if you don’t think it will ever happen to you – then think again! At some point, IT WILL! Being hit by a hacker is no fun. However, it also reminds you how strong you are. An essential characteristic for ALL entrepreneurs.
Most people online give up at the first sign of trouble.
Others fight to the death. Work late. Get up early. And that is why they succeed.
Although some of the ‘gurus’ would like you to think you can just hit a few buttons and out pops a successful business. You and I both know it takes hard work and determination.
And once you’ve built a successful business – there are a few steps you need to take to protect that business.
Here are the changes we’ve made to make sure this never happens again…
1. It’s VERY important to change your passwords regularly. Also include capitals, numbers and symbols in your passwords. NEVER use ‘admin’ as the username for your website login area. Vary your password if you have several different sites or accounts.
2. Switch to a 2-step verification that is done via Gmail. This adds a very important extra layer of security to your account.
3. Backup your website on a regular basis. One of the easiest ways to do this is using BackupBuddy.
4. Ensure you are always operating on the most up to date version of WordPress. Also keep any themes you have installed updated too. WordPress is constantly releasing updates to fix any security holes.
5. Improve the security of your WordPress blog using a free plugin like ‘Better WP Security‘. This plugin adds a number
of additional layers of security for your blog. Other options for added security are also Wordfence and Bulletproof Security
6. Add whatever security steps that are available at your domain registrar.
(i.e. Registrar Lock, 2-Step Verification, and WhoIs protection)
7. To avoid revealing your real email in public at any point, you can also use wildcard emails .
It’s easy to get slack about passwords and protecting your site so I would strongly encourage you to put this on your to-do list.
There is no point in being paranoid but you do want to take every step possible to protect the hard work you’ve put into your business.
Fortunately, entrepreneurs are determined ol’ things and we always come back stronger.
THIS IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE SHARE TO SPREAD THE WORD…..
The decision to ask your email subscribers to double opt-in or single opt-into your list has had marketers arguing amongst each other for years.
Let’s explain the lingo first….
When you create an email list inside your email provider such as Aweber, iContact or MailChimp, you will be asked to select whether or not you want your new subscriber to receive a confirmation email before they continue to receive further information for you. If you select ‘yes’ to this option, this is known as ‘double opt-in’. The alternative is that you select ‘no’, in which case once a prospect provides you with an email address, they will automatically receive whatever information it is that you have offered them.
Why Choose Double Opt-in or Single Opt-in?
Statistics clearly show that it is easier to add more subscribers to your list if you have a single opt-in. With a single opt-in there is one less ‘hoop’ for your prospect to jump through before they can receive your information. As a result, the number of subscribers that join your list will be around 7% more than if you choose a double opt-in.
A disadvantage to choosing a double opt-in is that it’s common for the confirmation email your prospect is sent, to land in a their spam folder and never be acted on. This means it’s possible the prospect is lost. Unless …. they are hungry for your information, anxious to locate the confirmation and go searching for it. When a prospect clicks on a confirmation email which does land directly in their inbox, that extra effort is often a sign of someone who is going to prove to be a more loyal follower.
So a single opt-in will most likely give you more subscribers but perhaps a lower quality.
A double opt-in will mean less numbers on your email list, but it’s likely they will be more responsive. There is no right or wrong – it’s your choice …..
Will using double opt-in actually improve the stats that matter: opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes?
Statistically, numbers do show that double opt-in subscribers are more likely to open your emails. It’s also been shown that double opt-in lists have a 114% increase in clicks within your email as compared to single opt-in lists. That’s right, it’s more than double.
There is also evidence to show that double opt-ins will contribute to fewer unsubscribes. Single opt-ins can often simply hit the ‘spam’ button rather than unsubscribing. This can be quite damaging to your reputation with your email service provider.
So, when it all washes up, there is no right or wrong – and the jury is still out on the decision …..
This short video shows you how to set up a new email list, and at what stage in the process you get to make the decision about double opt-in or single opt-in. ** Please allow a few moments to load.
How Your Traffic Source Affects Your Decision to Use Double Opt-in or Single Opt-in
When an opt-in form is being used in front of traffic ‘cold’ traffic, I prefer to use double opt-in. This is because it’s harder to know how interested the prospect is in my information and the need to confirm sets up a bit of a filter to qualify their interest.
Examples of cold traffic are:
Your own webpage
Forms of paid advertising eg: solo ads, Facebook ads.
If people opt-in to a list from ‘warm’ traffic I prefer to use a single opt-in. This is because the prospect has already given some indication of being an ideal subscriber, with a higher level of interest in the product or service.
Examples of warm traffic are:
Joint ventures
When a product is offered as a bonus to someone else’s offer
Someone else is referring prospects to an opt-in offer
An internal promotion
Every solopreneur wants to build a loyal list of followers. In my last post I gave you 7 of the most effective ways to do just that. (Be sure to check it out – it’s awesome!)
As you build your list, your email service provider fees will increase. There is no advantage to having hundreds of subscribers on your list that never open or respond to your information.
It’s a good idea to regularly do a ‘clean sweep’ of your email subscribers and remove those that have been completely non-responsive for a long period of time regardless of whether you choose to use double opt-in or single opt-in.
Ultimately, as an email sender, you have to choose between list size and list quality.
LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL ME WHICH OPT-IN METHOD YOU PREFER…
“Build a subscriber list” is no doubt something you may have heard over and over again as you start to grow your online business. The money is in the list. The money is in the list. The money is in the list.
Your subscriber list IS your most valuable asset. And because of this, it’s important you understand how to build a good relationship with them and provide valuable content. However, before you can build a relationship with anyone – you need to know how you can acquire your list of subscribers in the first place – right?
How To Build A Subscriber List In 7 Different Ways
I’ve gathered together some of the most successful ways to grow your email list. These will work for you no matter whether you are just starting out or even if you’re a seasoned entrepreneur.
Register For A Reliable Email Service
As people become interested in what you have to offer, you need an effective way to gather their contact details so you can continue to build relationships and market to them. Gmail or Outlook is not going to cut it! While these tools might seem ok when you are first starting out, as you build your business you need to have tools in place that are scalable and can be automated. This way you can grow your audience without unnecessarily increasing your workload.
Whilst there are many email service providers out there, my two favourite ones are Aweber and iContact.
Aweberhas long been known for outstanding email deliverability rates and top-notch service. This is the email service I personally use. They have a great video tutorials and customer support if you need them, and their set up is super easy. Loads of templates are provided so you can create great looking optin boxes. You definitely can’t go wrong with Aweber.
iContact has some of the best email deliverability rates in the industry and it’s another great choice for anyone looking for the best autoresponder service.
Both Aweber and iContact both provide great low cost or free trial periods if you want to try them out.
MailChimp is another email service. It is a useful tool for people starting out who want to bootstrap. There are a few catches though. The free version is only applicable while your subscriber list is under 2000 with limited mailings. If you are serious about building your business you may outgrow this limit very very quickly. If at any time you want to transfer your subscriber list over to a higher performing service such as Aweber, they will generally not allow you to export/import your list from MailChimp so you would have to start from scratch anyway.
Giveaway Valuable FREE Content
Gone are the days when people could put an optin box on their website offering to ‘Sign Up For Newsletter”. Now more than ever you need to provide some sort of valuable free information as an ‘ethical bribe’ to get people to join your subscriber list. I like to call this an AFO (Awesome Free Offer). Don’t be afraid of sharing some of your very best content in your AFO. Some ideas for an AFO would be a short report, a series of videos or a recorded interview.
To grow a subscriber list you will need a way for visitors to your site to ‘optin’ to your email list and get this valuable free giveaway. Here are some ideas to help you gather new subscribers:
Add an optin box in the header or sidebar of your website. This can be created through your email provider or you can hire someone to create one for you from somewhere like fiverr.com
Install a pop up box that appears for every new visitor to your site – PopUpDomination is a very popular option here. Or, you can create one for free inside Aweber.
A free install of www.welcomegateapp.com which appears whenever someone visits the home page of your site for the first time.
Add An Opt-In Box To Your Videos
Lots of people have embraced the value of creating good video content to attract their audience. Sadly many people fail to have any effective call to action at the end of their video. Here’s where I love LeadPlayer.
Leadplayer is a tool that allows you to very easily add an optin box straight into your video so as your content finishes, the listener is encouraged to add their name and email address to your list. How awesome is that!
You can see an example of what I mean here….
Facebook Landing Tabs
Social media makes it so much easier for you to reach your audience than ever before. But this modern day advantage is quickly lost if you don’t implement ways to capture some of the fans you work so hard to attract to your page and turn then into subscribers on your email marketing list.
At the top of your Facebook Fanpage you have a few little ‘tabs’. You can add a picture and a title that encourages visitors to your Fanpage to click on (see pic below). This takes them through to a landing page where they enter their name and email address in exchange for some valuable free content.
Facebook is a beast all of it’s own, so anything I have implemented on Facebook to help me build a subscriber list has been what I’ve learned over with Jo Barnes and her
Participating in Giveaway Events is one of the easiest and most successful ways I have experienced to grow my subscriber list ever since I started online.
Giveaway Events work extremely well in the Internet Marketing Niche. If you do a Google search for “giveaway events” you’ll also find lots of events you can join in many other niches as well.
They are an easy and great way to get your information in front of a highly targeted audience and are generally there is no cost to participate. You can often choose to pay around $17 to upgrade so your free offer is more visible, but this isn’t always necessary.
It is possible to add anywhere from 5 to 500 subscribers to your list in just a few days.
Many people are unsure exactly how a Giveaway Event operates, so I’ve done this short video to walk you through how it works.
I am currently participating in Kerry’s Birthday Giveaway and expect big increase to my subscriber list during the event. You can join in too if you like
Free Calls and Webinars
With all the valuable knowledge you have in your head, it would be easy for you to do a free call or webinar for your audience. Simply set up a squeeze page with an optin box and some information on what the call will include. This will add listeners to your subscriber list.
Send traffic to your squeeze page and you will see your list numbers increase.
It’s a great idea to add this method of list building to your regular marketing calendar to keep a constant flow of new subscribers coming into your business. I’ve found Instant Teleseminar one of the most reliable platforms to conduct calls. Your listeners are able to attend via their computer without incurring large call costs to international numbers. You can keep your listeners on mute or interact with them during the call. And after your call, a replay and download link can be made instantly available. After a low cost trial period, there is a small monthly fee to this service, but if you include this as a list building strategy on a regular basis, it is definitely worth it.
You can also use a free service like www.freeconferencecalling.com where your listeners will need to dial a US phone number to participate in the cal. Getting access to a replay is a little more clumsy than with Instant Teleseminar but it’s still a great option.
If you prefer a webinar format or want to present information directly from your computer and show what is on your screen, then GoToWebinar is very trusty although can be slightly hefty in pricing for someone starting out. Alternatively www.anymeeting.com or www.meetingburner.com is a great alternative for those more budget conscious
Forum Marketing
This is a favourite ‘old school method’ of driving traffic to your site. This method of increasing your subscriber list is often overlooked. It’s so very simple and most people under-estimate the power this list building strategy has.
This method puts your directly in front of your target market. Eg: a weight loss forum is full of people who can relate to your product if it is related to health and wellness. Forum marketing allows you to become seen as a reliable source of information on your topic and is also a great place to do market research on your audience by watching what questions are being asked by the participants.
Two methods to locate the biggest and most active forums in your market are:
Google your keyword + forums (or message boards); and www.big-boards.com
Once you’ve found the biggest and most active forums for your audience, you should become an activate participant and post good helpful advice, comments and articles. Include a link in your signature file (check forum rules) which sends readers back to your squeeze page where you can add them to your subscriber list.
Allocating a set amount of time each day and being consistent in this free traffic method will reward you with an increase of traffic to your site, and new subscribers as you build a subscriber list.
Let’s Go Build A Subscriber List….
I’ve given you some of the most powerful, yet simple methods to add new subscribers to your list. Some of them are free list building strategies and others will take a small investment.
The rest is now up to you! Knowledge without action is worth nothing.
Your actions steps are:
Consider where your audience is most likely to be hanging out
Decide which one or two of the above methods suit your skills, appeal to you the most and fit your time and money budget
Allocate a set amount of time every single week to implement;
Enjoy your results as you see new names added as you build a subscriber list each and every day
Would love to hear your thoughts and share your favourite strategies in the comment section. Let’s have some fun with it…
I’m told it’s a good thing when you can face reality and take responsibility….
Well, I’m here to admit that I have finally taken responsibility for wasting time.
Like many people who work from home, I am at my desk for many hours each day being ‘busy’.
With the recent arrival of our lovely new grand daughter Molly, I am having lots of time away from my business. So when I’m ‘at work’, I want to be even more productive.
After reading Jason Fladlien’s Double Your Productivity For Life I decided to track how I was spending my day for a couple of weeks.
Then suddenly it hit me…. for far too long now I’ve allowed myself to get into the habit of starting my day by casually flipping through my phone messages, checking email and then social media for what’s going on. I’ve realized that although I’m at my desk by 8.30 or 9.00am, I haven’t begun to be productive till around 10.30am.
What a waste of time!!!
If this sounds like you too then here’s a few things that I’ve been implementing (thanks to Jason’s advice) and they sure do work:
Reconnect with the reason ‘why’ you are building your business. This will spur you on to take action to get the results you’re after, rather than drifting through day by day.
Find a productivity tool to help you organize your projects and tasks. Some like a simple piece of paper and a ‘To Do’ list. Don’t go to bed before you have created a list of the most important tasks that need completing the following day.
Or, if you’re like me, as your business grows you have many projects all on the go at once and need something a little more robust.
My fabulous Virtual Assistant Ana put me on to an awesome free tool called ‘Trello’. It’s a tool that will organize anything! In one glance, know what’s being worked on, who’s working on a particular task and when it’s due. This super simple system has made life so much easier. I just love it.
Track your time usage for a week or two and see where you are losing momentum and where you seem to be most productive. Everyone has a different body clock and you may find you are most alert and focused at a time of day you least expect. When you recognize this time, you can maximise it. Schedule your ‘big’ tasks for your productive times.
If you have created a bad habit (like I had) that is a time sucker, the first step is to be completely aware of it. Next is to strategically work out a plan to avoid that bad habit. For example, I have set myself up a challenge, sort of like playing a game with myself, to see how many mornings I can get started onto my productive time immediately without even opening up emails or social media at all. I’ve allocated a certain time slot later in them morning where it’s ok to do that stuff. I’ll give myself a reward depending on what ‘score’ I achieve. Seems silly I know, but sometimes you have to really focus and be a bit crazy to get what you want!
The more often I stay with the new habit, the less likely I am to go back to the old.
These days, in my keenness to get out and visit Molly each day I’ve been leaping into my office chair each morning with a fire and vigour to get my daily tasks done like you’ve never seen before.
Regardless of whether you have 40 hours or 4 hours to invest in your business, what is more important is how focused you are with that time. When you are in working mode – work. When you are in freedom mode – enjoy yourself!
I hope this was helpful and Jason has even more great ideas on how to increase your productivity if you need them.
LET’S HEAR FROM YOU BELOW I’M REALLY INTERESTED TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS
This last week was so exciting for me…. We got to welcome into the world our new little grand daughter, Molly. I know that I am biased, but she is absolutely perfect! What do you think?
I’ve spent a lot of time away from my business this week, and fortunately didn’t have to worry about whether or not things were still moving forward. Money is still arriving in my bank account even while I’m getting my ‘nana’ cuddles and I have to say it’s a wonderful feeling!
There’s been lots of time for reflection and I got to thinking about you….
There’s a good old saying “The grass is always greener on the other side.”
It’s this idea that often gives life to your initial desire to want to start your own online business. You start imagining the possibility of being able to keep your own hours and not have to answer to a boss. What a delight it would be to work from home and stay snug in your comfy clothes. No more suits and dresses to go to the office, or fighting daily traffic just to get there. Being able to take holidays or days off whenever you fancy. You can see yourself having the luxury of earning more money and to spend it on ‘wants’ rather than just ‘make do’ with paying for the ‘needs’.
All of these things seem attractive ‘on the other side’. When you put that together with your entrepreneurial spirit, the decision to start your own business, working from home and using the internet can become irresistible.
So let’s assume that you take the plunge. You do start your own online business – and in fact, you are making progress. Yay!!
What does your business model look like? In fact do you even HAVE a business model, or are you simply flying by the seat of your pants?
How do you spend your time each day?
Do you have a list of daily tasks that looks as long as a shopping list for a hungry family?
It’s very easy to have grand ideas of a freedom lifestyle when you run your own online business, but the reality is that many people simply create a ‘prison like’ environment for themselves. It’s easy to suddenly find yourself chained to your desk for longer hours than you would ever have given a boss. And often, for much less return than you had originally hoped for.
This dedication and commitment to your business comes easily when you are passionate about your topic – that doesn’t mean that it’s healthy.
Over the past six months, while we have been waiting for Molly’s arrival I’ve spent time analyzing my business, where my main income is generated and where all my effort is spent.
I’ve been stripping back, restructuring and rebuilding with ONLY what is absolutely necessary for me to reach my goals while at the same time providing YOU with an even higher level of support.
You might be surprised to know that you can actually build a 6 figure online business with just ONE really well constructed sales funnel.
You don’t need six different products. You don’t need 8 different programs and 5 different facebook groups!
I believe I can ‘have it all’ and I know that YOU can too!
A successful online business can be built with SIMPLICITY. The less moving parts there are, the less overwhelm and overheads there is. Most people over complicate things and end up in confusion and exhaustion. Or worst still, going round and round in circles and only wondering ‘what happened’ to the freedom, flexibility and financial abundance they hoped for.
Keep your eyes peeled because in the next few weeks I’ll be revealing to you exactly how you can create a simplified, successful online business that will give you a freedom lifestyle. I know you’re just going to love it!
Creating Your Own Freedom Lifestyle
In the meantime, take the opportunity to really analyse some of the following things:
your business model
your process maps and systems
who you work with
how you reach and support your customers
what are your main money making activities
Perhaps you too can strip away some of the unnecessary, less productive activities. And instead, focus more on refining and tweaking one really awesome sales funnel that converts like crazy and gets your customers awesome results!
I just love hanging out with Molly when I want to!
Leave a comment or drop or email me and let me know how I can help YOU create the freedom lifestyle you need so you get to hang out with whoever is special in your life too!
One of the biggest obstacles I see a person hitting when they start an online business is they don’t see how they could possibly create a product that others would want to buy. “Why would anyone want to buy my product when I’m just starting out myself?” is something I hear a lot. Once this kind of doubt starts to build in their mind then it’s very hard to rise above it. I mean if you’re having doubts before you even get started you’ll probably never get going.
My answer is always the same. As long as your product delivers the results you claim it does, it makes no difference if you’re just starting out or if you are a marketing expert. Actually, in many cases it’s actually an advantage if you are just starting out, especially if you’re teaching something from a start up point of view.
Imagine this scenario….
You have a squeeze page online and you’ve been studying how to drive traffic for about 6 weeks. You’ve even reached the point where you are regularly getting 100+ visitors per day to your squeeze page and as a result you are adding 50+ new subscribers per day to your list. You’ve discovered HOW to do this yourself in just 6 weeks. So you release a product that reveals exactly how you do it?
BTW, It is completely achievable to learn how to drive 100 visitors per day in 6 weeks so there’s an awesome product idea. In fact a great title like, “Newbie Takes The Guess Work Out of List Building”, would sell like hotcakes.
Most beginners would jump on this chance to learn from someone who is just one step ahead of them rather than from a guru with a complex course. The information you reveal will appear and will be more achievable. You have discovered how to achieve a result in 6 weeks and are willing sharing the information with other people. Those who are where you were 6 weeks ago will be champing at the bit to consume your product.
I don’t think my product is good enough
Another common myth is you could think there are better products out there. How can you possibly compete? Yes, there probably ARE better products out there but why should that stop you releasing your product? Provided you deliver awesome content and are sure your product delivers the result you say it does, there is absolutely no reason why you can’t release it.! So just because a guru has released something similar to what you have planned don’t let that stop you.
There are already others in the marketplace….
This is actually a good thing! To start with, it shows that you have entered a market that is likely to be profitable. No point being a ‘first’ in the market place and to discover that the reason there is no one else doing the same thing is that there is no demand. Thinking “somebody else has already done this.” is probably the biggest reason people don’t create a product of their own. So what if your traffic generation product covers methods that you have seen in other products? As I have already said, as long as your product delivers value and results, you have nothing to worry about. So many people try to re-invent the wheel when there’s no need to.
It won’t be original
Yes it will, it will be 100% original as it will be your work. Ideas are rarely unique. Content is rarely unique. However, what is unique – IS YOU! As long as you don’t plagiarize, your product will also be unique! You will have your own perspective on everything you teach. You will have a unique teaching style. As a result, no one else will have a product like yours.
How would I promote my product?
You don’t need to be a big guru to successfully promote your product. Everyone is always looking for quality products. If your product delivers results there are many reliable sources of promotion using paid and free strategies. Affiliates also love to promote products that get good results, even if you are relatively unknown yourself.
My final word of advice is …….
If you have doubts, make excuses and generally think you can’t create a product then you won’t do it, but if you actually go and create something then there’s every chance that people will buy it.
At this funeral, I was sitting just a few rows back – not very far from the actual coffin.
I don’t like funerals… especially when it is for one of my good friends whose been in my life for over 30 years. It was actually not difficult for this funeral to become a true celebration of my friends life.
You know the slow solemn songs that usually get played? None of those! Beautifully selected cheery songs filled the church.
But as they were reading about our deceased friend’s life, and recounting the things she’d done, it got me thinking…
Our time on this planet goes by very, very fast. Nothing makes you appreciate that more than being at a funeral… sitting there in that church, couldn’t help think the entirely obvious thing- ALL of us there in that church, are headed to that same place, and will probably arrive much
faster than we realise.
Time waits for no one…
And the decisions you and I make today, will determine what kind of a life we’re leading in a years, or even a few months from now.
So, let me ask you – where do you plan on being 1 year from now?
Doing the exact same thing? Getting the exact same results in your business?
Struggling with the same stuff?
OR…
Are you going to make some changes? If you don’t already have an offer to present to prospective customers, are you going to create one?
If you don’t know how to generate 100+ leads /day, are you going to learn?
If you can’t convert your traffic, are you going to invest in yourself and find out how from those who are good at it?
Dare to dream about what it would be like if your business was EVERYTHING you wanted it to be…..
Why Do I Need To Learn How to Write Auto responders?
If you don’t know how to write autoresponders this can be an early stumbling block for many people starting to build an online business.
As people visit your website or blog it’s your job to create a way to entice them to give you their email address in exchange for some awesome free content. This will build you a list of loyal followers and subscribers. Building your list should be one of your top priorities in your business building activities.
If you are not building a list of subscribers from your website or blog then you are already failing!
To use the word failing may seem a little harsh. But the reality is, your subscribers are the lifeblood of your business. They are the people who connect with you, recommend you, buy from you, promote you and support you.
What is the biggest mistake most successful internet marketers have made? Most will say they regret not building their list sooner. You must understand that your list is your biggest asset in your online business.
When someone first lands on your web page or blog, you need a way of exchanging some awesome free content for their email address. This exchange triggers an automated message from your email service to your visitor’s email inbox. Within this message you will provide a link to the awesome free content. This process is the start of your Autoresponder Email Sequence.
There are many different email service providers and they all offer different features. It’s fun to play around with them. I like to use Aweber as it is easy, simple, cost effective and has great deliverability.
How to Write Autoresponders That Get A Response
Once you have an active subscriber the carefully created content in your autoresponder email sequence will start to build a strong and trusting relationship with your prospect.
Your autoresponders are a chance for you to connect with your prospect at a deep level. To let them know you understand their pain, and to provide them with a chance to reach out and connect with you. A well planned autoresponder email sequence is also a chance to offer your subscriber a product or service that you feel is most suitable to move them from Point A to Point B.
The Biggest Mistake People Make When Learning How To Write Autoresponders….
is not having an autoresponder email sequence at all!
You may think it’s a good idea to reduce the number of emails your prospect is receiving, but in fact it will leave your subscriber feeling unloved, forgotten and before you know it – you will be lost from their mind and they will go shopping for their solution on someone else’s site!
Here are 5 tips which will help you create a great auto responder sequence and build relationships
1. Don’t build a huge list of offers! The best content for your autoresponders will be valuable, free content. Your subscribers are real people. Never forget this. They don’t need to be hit with offer after offer after offer. Yes you can send offers but not all of the time. Focus on relationship building FIRST and offers later on.
2. Your auto responder sequence should be fresh. It’s easy for time to pass and your content to get out of date. Be sure to check dates attached to any offers you may send out. Be aware of exactly what you are communicating and what you are promoting.
3. Limit your initial autoresponder email sequence to around 6 or 7 messages. Limiting your messages will allow you to email your subscribers without the fear of an auto responder messages going out at the same time. If you are running a busy online business or blog such as this one, and you email your subscribers regularly, you don’t need to have a huge auto responder list. Keep it simple.
4. GIVE first, SELL second. Imagine the scene here. You have just subscribed to my blog or free offer of some kind, then bam I hit you with an offer to buy something! How are you going to feel about this? Yes some people will buy, but 90% will unsubscribe before you even get a chance to send another email or auto responder sequence. We are all real people here, treat your subscribers with respect and build trust. I find it helps to imagine you are emailing yourself when compiling email sequences.
5. Build a relationship with your subscribers. The first 2 or 3 email sequences are very important, so you should always start off with some kind of welcome or information on how to get something for free. When it comes to setting up your auto responder sequence think about communicating and building relationships rather than building your bank balance.
i) Compile a welcome email in your first email with some details of where they can access their awesome free content. Also let them know how to contact you.
ii) In your second email, ask a question which your subscribes can respond to get to know them. Also direct them to your Facebook or Twitter page to get to know them on a social level.
iii) Give something away for free to show your appreciation. People like nothing more than free stuff that helps them improve their business or lifestyle. If you don’t have free content yet, direct them to a previous blog post which provides some really cool info.
iv) When it does come to promoting products, you should always be sure to promote the stuff which works and the products you have used or use. Don’t promote something just because it has a high earning commission.
When it comes to using an auto responder within your business you do need to be mindful about the messages you are sending out to your subscribers. The bottom line is treat them with respect and trust will be earned. Treat them poorly and that respect will be gone as quickly as they subscribed!
What do you think? Do you have a ton of email added to your auto responder sequence? Do have nothing in there at all? How do you communicate with your subscribers?
Have you ever won anything? If you have, even if it was a bingo game or a local raffle, you’ll know that feeling of absolute delight as your name is announced, and you can collect your prize.
How would you like results like these!!
Yesterday this is exactly what happened to me – my name was announced as a Top 10 Leaderboard finalist for affiliate sales on a product I own and also promote. In fact – I ended up in 5th place, amongst some very skilled affiliate marketers so I was super excited!
So not only did I make $3322.29 in affiliate commissions for the month of January, I also won a prize valued $913.00. That’s a whopping total of $4235.29 in addition to my other business activities!!
I can swap the prize for cash, so I think I’ll be taking the cash and re-invest it into my business for advertising and marketing. Boring I know – but much more effective for my business.
In fact, the prize is not really important at all – what is more valuable is the visibility and credibility this adds to my business and continues to confirm that the strategies I use to get customers, sales and conversions flat out WORK!
Here are some of the ways I know people earn their affiliate commissions:
Facebook Paid Advertising
Social Media Marketing
Solo Ads
Blasting their email list
I didn’t use any of these methods to earn $3322.29 in affiliate commissions for the month of January.
Here’s how I did it – and how you can achieve the same results too!
I created some articles with high value content based around keywords and information related to the product.
I optimized each article for SEO just like I describe in my post here.
Then I used the process I explained to you in this post to distribute the articles.
Using these strategies, the traffic that was driven to the articles was enough to provide me with sales that even blew some of the high earning affiliate marketers out of the water.
But the lesson I want you to take away here is that you MUST TAKE ACTION! If you have read these posts previously and not taken action to implement the same strategies, it’s likely you have not had the number of leads, sales or conversions that you wanted this month.
Taking on more information is simply overwhelm, if you are not implementing what you learn. Remember, imperfect action will make you a lot more money than a perfect plan still in the making!
Affiliate marketing may not be your main business model, but it should be part of the income generating strategies at some level. There must be tools, resources or programs that you already recommend to your target market in order to help them achieve their desired results. These are a great place for you to start earning some additional passive income.
Decide on one product or offer (either someone else’s or your own) and use the strategy I describe here and you can set yourself up to have monthly passive income just like I do.
Once you begin your journey into building an online business you very quickly realize there are so many moving parts that go into to creating a profitable online business. There is all the technical stuff; hosting, widgets, sidebars, footers. And then there are things like list building, creating a product, joint ventures, autoresponders, affiliate commissions and so much more. It’s easy to see why so many people give up and never get to realize their dreams.
Can you imagine if you had never learned to drive a car? Imagine all the places you would never have seen. All the things you could never have done if you didn’t have a way to drive yourself around?
I want you to think back to when you were learning to drive a car. Come on, let’s face it – it was hard! There were so many different things that demanded your attention; which peddles to push and when, gear sticks to move at the right time, mirrors to constantly check in. These things didn’t stop you from now being able to drive easily and effortlessly though did they?
The same will happen when you persist with all those little things that seem so demanding of your attention while you build your online business. There will never be a time when you completely stop learning and being outside of your comfort zone, but there will be a time when all those things that seem difficult to you now, will be part of a well oiled system and happen easily and effortlessly.
You can release yourself from your 9-5 job. You cancreate a different future for yourself and your family. No one said building an online business would be easy – but it is simple and it can be done!
I’m here to support and help you all the way.
Think – Believe – Create!
LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT PARTS OF YOUR ONLINE JOURNEY HAVE BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT
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“Revolutionary” New Business Model That Can Make You $10,000 Per Month”
300% Increase In My Business!
“I was blessed to be part of Fay’s Magical Marketing Seminar. I loved the Professional Learning opportunity I was part of. I came away with useful, informative, enlightening, practical and constructive information. It gave me immediate tools that I could use to optimise our web page and online presence. Using just some of Fay's simple marketing strategies, our client bookings have increased by first 100%, then 200% and now by a massive 300%!
Cheers and a great big thank you!!”
Maggie Van Santen
www.hideaway-haven.com.au/
Overnight Results!!
I got instant results - I created a new higher priced package and sold a new client into it OVERNIGHT! This program was worth every cent! Vivienne McDonald
www.TheWebOnWheels.com.au
Securing International Contracts
After implementing the strategies in Fay’s program, in just a few short months, I am now securing major corporate and international contracts for my services.
Fay has taught me how to leverage my time to enable me to multiply my income dramatically.
Thanks Fay, you’ve had such an impact on my business, and I can now see possibilities that I never even new existed!”
Daniel Sharp, Fine Dining Catering
www.sharpinfusion.com.au
Fay Takes The Mystery Away
“Every once in a while someone comes along who connects the dots and takes the mystery out of things … Fay has done that.”
Kahlia Ericson
www.thekeys.com.au
Being hit by a hacker is no fun. However, it also reminds you how strong you are. An essential characteristic for ALL entrepreneurs.
With all the valuable knowledge you have in your head, it would be easy for you to do a free call or webinar for your audience. Simply set up a squeeze page with an optin box and some information on what the call will include. This will add listeners to your subscriber list.
