How to Build a Thriving Email List
Personaluseonly! Youdonothaveresalerightstothisproduct.
ByMatthewDeYoung
www.InboundImpact.com www.InboundImpact.com
Copyright©201210-SpacesConsulting,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Permissionisgranted Copyright©201210-SpacesConsulting,Inc.Allrightsres erved.Permissionisgrantedto to copyorreprintportionsforanynoncommerc copyorreprintportions foranynoncommercialuse,excepttheymaynotb ialuse,excepttheymaynotbeposted eposted onlinewithoutpermission.
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Personaluseonly! Youdonothaveresalerightstothisproduct.
ByMatthewDeYoung
www.InboundImpact.com www.InboundImpact.com
Copyright©201210-SpacesConsulting,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Permissionisgranted Copyright©201210-SpacesConsulting,Inc.Allrightsres erved.Permissionisgrantedto to copyorreprintportionsforanynoncommerc copyorreprintportions foranynoncommercialuse,excepttheymaynotb ialuse,excepttheymaynotbeposted eposted onlinewithoutpermission.
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
TableofContents Inthisreport…. 1) Debunkingthemythsandchallengesofemaillistbuilding 2) 7StepstoTHRIVE™inemaillistbuilding 3) Creatinganattractiondevicetogetemailopt-ins 4) Buildinga“simpleemailmachine”
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Welcome,andthanksfordownloadingmyreport!
WhatyourabouttolearnismyTHRIVE™Processforbuildinganemaillist.(Icallit THRIVEbecauseithelpedmetransformmyresultsfromsurvivingtothriving). Inordertosucceedincreatingapremier,profitableonlinebrand,therearetwokey thingsyouneedtodofirst(readon,Iexplainbelow). Mostpeoplestrugglewiththeseinitialsteps.Theygetstuckbeforetheygetstarted. Theytrytoavoidthesestepsthinkingthere’sabetterway.Sadly,theynevergettheir ideasofftheground,ortheynevergetprofitable,ortheycan’tfigureouthowto competeinamarket. The#1reasonthishappensis… THEYDON’TKNOWHOWTOBUILDALIST,OREVENGETTRAFFICTOGETALIST. Ifyouputtraffic-gettingandemaillistbuildingfirst,yourbrandmovesforward.Skipit, andyou’lljustberunningincircles.You’llbedestinedtoREPEATtosteps1and2: buildingandconvertingtraffictoanemaillist.It’sasimple,yetpowerfullesson! Intotalthereare7stepstoTHRIVE™atemaillistbuilding.Thisreportfocusesonthe firsttwostepsmostmarketerstrytoskip. Believeme,Iusedtostrugglewiththisstufftoo(I’vebeenatthissince1998,soI’vehad plentyoftimetomakeallthemistakes). Aftertryingtomarketmyownproductsandservices,aswellasforpayingclients,I neededtocomeupwithasystem;asystemthatcouldworkregardlessofwhatproduct, service,ormarket.AllthestrategiesI’vefound—andused--areinthisquickreport. IhopemyTHRIVE™processhelpsyouovercomethetypicalstartupchallengesby puttingalltheindividualstepsintomyTHRIVE™process. TheTHRIVE™processcanhelpyougetunstuck.Belowaretheexactstepsyouneedto startbuildingorgrowingyouremaillist. Thisreportisespeciallyhelpfulifyou’rea… Businessowner Onlinemarketer • •
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• •
Solo-preneur Expert(consultant/author/seminarleader)
SomeofthemostcommonphrasesIhearclientssaythatpreventthemfrombuildinga premierbrandprofitablyonlineare… “Idon’tknowhowtobuildalist.” OR “Idon’thaveenoughtraffic.” OR “Idon’thavetimeormoneyformarketing”
(Dothosesoundfamiliar?)Let’sgetsomemindsetstuffoutoftheway… Thesearen’tREALobstacles.They’rejustto-doitemstobecrossedoffyourlist. Notknowinghowisnolongeranissue.Thisreportshowsyouthestrategiesyou’llneed tomakelist-buildingwork. Gettingaffordabletrafficisn’taproblem.Cheaptrafficisstillavailable.Youjusthaveto knowhowtofindit.Ifyou’rewillingtofocusonbuildingafewrelationships,there’sstill afloodoftraffictobefound.Whowould’vethoughtInternetmarketingwouldlargely beaboutrelationshipbuilding!(Don’tworryaboutthispart…it’seasierthanyouthink withtheTHRIVE™process.) Asforhavingtoolittletime,toomuchtodo…Flipthataround.Havingtoomuchtimeis adisadvantagewhenitcomestoemaillistbuilding.Youcanoverwork.Simplyworking hardisnotaguaranteeofsuccess.Instead,thesecretsauceisworkinghardonsimple things,whichcanbeleveragedandrepurposedlater. Havingverylittle(ifnotzero)moneyisanon-issuetoo.Yourenergyandtimearethe mostvaluableresourceshere.Havingtherightrelationshipswillhelpyougetpastthis obstacle.
Barelysurvivingtothrivingwith20,000emailsubscribers Mostinboundmarketerssay,havinganemaillistiseverything.And,youknow what…they’reright.But,whydotheysaythat? Havinganemaillistputsyouincontrol.Alistgivesyoufreedom.Itgivesyouleverage. Bestofall,itdrivesprofits.
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IlearnedthisfirsthandwhenIbuilta20,000+emaillisttomarketaphysicalproductin thesupplementmarket. Iwasabletotaketheproductfromzerotoheroinjustafewmonths. Wasithardwork?Yes.But,onlyupfront. Doingtheupfrontworkwasworthwhile.Forme,emaillistbuildingwasresponsiblefor over$1.8Minsalesonasingleproduct. Keepinmind,Ididthiswithoutaknownbrand,orlargemarketingbudget,andIdiditin aspacethatwascompetitive,expensiveandgovernmentregulated.(Veteranmarketers inthesupplementindustryhavetoldmemyresultswerenearlyimpossible.And,I’ve watchedotherstryandfailsince…becausetheycouldseethesimplesteps). DoyouwanttoknowhowIdidit?Let’slookattheexactprocessIused.
7easystepstoTHRIVE™inemaillistbuilding. IcreatedaprocesscalledTHRIVE™.It’sasequenceofsevensteps.Theorderofthese stepstakestheguessworkout.And,eachstepsbuildsthesuccessofthenext. 1.GetAttractionDeviceî 2.GetSimpleEmailMachineî 3.GetTrafficUsingIF+P+P+V+Gî 4.GetIncreaseOpt-inRatesî 5.GetSurfaceSequenceî 6.GetSubterraneanSequenceî 7.GetMoreEyeballsUsingDOMap™î Chunkedinto7majorsteps,andsettoyourtimeline,theTHRIVE™Processisavirtual roadmaptorapidlaunchyourtrafficandemaillistingbuildingcampaigns.
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Ifyoudon’tovercomplicatethesteps,youcandothisin90days. Let’squicklybreakdownwhateachstepisabout…
Step1-Getanattractiondevice: Createanattractiondeviceinvolvesintersectingwhatyouknow,withaveryspecific problem,foraveryspecificaudience,andturningthisintotraining.Aspecialreportor videoisusedtoattracttheprospectsontoyourlist.Withoutit,they’reuninterested.
Step2-Getthetoolstocreateasimpleemailmachine: Usefreeorlow-costtoolsyoucancreatelandingpages,opt-informs,andmarketing automation.Tobootstrapandautomate,blendallthesetoolstogetherandyouhavea simpleemail-buildingmachine:afunnelwithpre-sequencedstepstogetconsistentlistbuildingresults.
Step3-GettrafficusingIF+P+P+V+Gstrategy: Usethismnemonictorememberhowtosequenceyourtraffictechniquestogetherto getmore“bangforyourbuck.”Thepowerisinsequencingthesestrategiesend-to-end. IF+P+P+V+Gstandsfor… (IF)-InstantFeedbackTraffic:Gettrafficfromdayonewhileboostingthe attractivenessofyouroffer.UselasertargetedPayPerClickcampaignstoget started.Leveragethekeywordsthatconvertedinthenextstep.
(P)-PartnerTraffic:Promoteyourattractiondevicetorelatedbusinessesusing yourcontent.Foryourtargetkeywords,findhigh-rankingpartners.Shareyour attractiondevicewiththeiraudience.
(P)-PromoterTraffic:Getotherstopromoteyourattractiondevice.Let affiliatesprofitfromyourattractiondevicetogrowyourexposure.
(V)-ViralTraffic:Growtrafficgeometricallywithasocialmediahook.Offer backendincentivestogetyourlisttopromoteyourattractiondevice.
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(G)-“Guest-ing”Traffic:Buildtrafficandcredibilityatthesametime.Create contentthathelpsotherblogsgrowtheiraudienceandpromotesyourattraction deviceatthesametime.
Step4-Gethigheropt-inrates: Focusonimprovingafewkeyelementstointhisorderofprioritytogetmoreopt-ins fromthesameamountoftraffic:offer,headline,filteringyourkeywords,re-segmenting yourtraffic,andsimplifyingyourlandingpagelayout.
Step5-Getasurfacemarketingsequence: Boostfrontendandbackendsaleswithdrippedoutemailsequences.Createmore opportunitiestoincreasethenumberofactivesubscribersthesamedaytheysignup, upsellingandcross-sellingwhilenewopt-insarein“yesmode”.(Studiesshowthistip alonecouldincreaseconversions10%to20%.)
Step6-Getasubterraneanmarketingsequence: Increaseresponsestoyouroffers,whileloweringyourunsubscriberatesbyusing segmentandsub-listmarketingtocreatea“trunkandroot”systemforemailmarketing. Putsub-listsandsegmentsintonewsequencestocreateonethedeepest,hard-tocompete-withbusinesses.
Step7-GetmoreeyeballsusingDOMap™: Youneedtogetmoretrafficatthetopofyourfunnel.Leverageyourattractiondevice andsimpleemailmachinebyrepurposingitintonewareas.UsingtheDecision OrientationMap™,orDOMap™forkeywordresearch,youcanidentifyatleast12new targetaudiencestoexpandyourtrafficsourcesexponentially. Sonowyoucanseeeverythinginvolvedinbuildingalist.Tosucceed,you’vegottoget steps1and2oftheTHRIVEprocessright.Thefocusofthisreportwillhelpyouwiththe firsttwostepsintheprocess.And,thisistheparteveryoneoverlooks.]
HowToOvercomeTheTwoMostOverlookedStepsIn EmailListBuilding. Ifyoudon’thavealistyet,therearetworeasonswhy:1)Youdon’thaveanattraction device,or2)Youdon’thaveasimpleemailmachine. Nottoworryifthat’syou.Let’sfixthattoday.Onceyou’redonewiththesetwosteps, you’llbereadytostartgeneratingtraffic.(Yes,it’sexciting,Iknow!)
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Rememberanattractiondeviceiswhatpullsemailsontoyourlist.Asimpleemail machineturnsthemintoravingfansandbuyers.
STEP1toTHRIVE™-CREATINGANATTRACTIONDEVICE First,youneedanattractiondevice,likeareport,oravideo.Initshouldbehow-to training. Thedeviceattractsprospectstosignuptoyouremaillist.Ifyoudon’thavethis,you don’thavealist.It’sthatsimple.Tobuildanattractiondeviceyouneedtofigureout whomyourtargetpersonais,andexactlywhatquestionstheywantanswered(I’ll explainpersonasinaminute). Forthepurposeofthisreport,anattractiondeviceisgoingtobeeithera quickreport (10–20pagePDF,sortoflikethisone),oravideo,oramixtureofboth.(Thereare othermediumsyoucanuseasanattractiondevice,butdon’tworryaboutthatright now.) FigureouttheexactwayyourtargetpersonasearchesontheInternet;thewordsthey use,andwhytheyusethem. Researchiseverything,butintentionallylimityourresearchto3-4hoursofresearch.It’s easytogooverboard.Youneedtocreatelimitedtorapid-publish.Youcanmakeit betterlater. EXPERTTIP:Takingtoolongtoyourcreateyourfirstattractiondeviceisafatal blow.Formostpeopletheprojectdieshere.Don’tmakethesamemistake. Limit yourscopeateachstep. Quickstartchecklistforcreatinganattractiondevice: ü
Makealistofthetop5categoriesofyouprovideinyourbusiness.
ü
Pickonetopiccategoryyouknowthemostabout.
ü
Makealistofthingspeoplewouldwanttoknowateachlevelofmastery(see below)withinthistopiccategory.
ü
Usethe“ListenCampaign”techniquebelowforuncoveringthemostcommon questions/problems.
ü
Choseoneofthequestionstoaddressuncoveredfromyour“Listening Campaign.”
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ü
Writeyourattractiondevicetoyourtargetpersonabyintersectingthelevelof masteryyouchose,withthecommonquestionyouchose.
ü
Digalittledeepertofindoutwhathasandhasn’tworkedforyourpersona.
ü
Pickonequestion/problemyoudiscoveredyoucouldanswer.
ü
Intersectalltheelementstocreatethemostmagneticattractiondevice.
Let’sunpacksomeofthemainsteps… Makealistofthetop5categoriesyouprovideinyourbusiness. Listthetopfivethingsyourbusinessisabout,andputthemincategories. Forexample,Idoinboundmarketing.TheservicesIofferareconsulting,trainingand managementofpaidsearch,SEO,socialmedia,conversionoptimization,andemail marketing.Thesearemybusiness’scategories. Pickonetopicyouknowthemostabout. Next,youneedtojustpickoneareathatyoufeelyouhavethemosttooffer.Fornow, focusonwhereyou’vegottenthemostresultsorandhavethemostexperience. Ipickedemailmarketingforthisreport.I’veresearcheditaton.Ichoseitbecausethe resultsI’vegotteninthisareacouldreallyhelpothersmallbusinessowners. Makealistofthingspeoplewouldwanttoknowateachlevelofmastery(seebelow) withinthistopiccategory. Eachtimeyousetouttolearnsomethingnew,wegothroughthesesteps.Youhaveto pickwhichlevelofmasteryyou’regoingtotarget. 1) Newbie–“Idon'tknowanything—Idon’tknowwhatIdon’tknow.” 2) Beginner–“Showmehowtogetbetter.IknowwhatIneedtoknow,butIdon’t knowhowtodoittherightwaytodoit.“ 3) Intermediate–“IknowwhatIneedtoknow,andknowtherightwaytodoit. HelpmefillinthegapsbecauseI’mstuck.”
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4) Advanced–“I’vebeendoingitforsolong,Idon’teventhinkaboutwhatI’m doing.Ijustdoit.I’mlookingforsomethingIhaven’tthoughtofbefore.I’m lookingfortweaksanddistinctions.”
Pickoneofthefourlevelsofmasteryasyourtarget. Pickone,andonlyone,ofthefourlevelsofmasterytoaddress.Whethernewbie, beginner,intermediateoradvancedyourattractiondevicecanonlybewrittenforone learninglevel. Withoutthisyouwon’tknowhowtobringyourhow-totraininginyourattraction devicetotherightlevel. Mostemaillistbuildingcampaignswillfocusonleveloneortwo,newbieorbeginner. Createa“ListeningCampaign”touncoveringthemostcommonquestions/problems. Therealattractionbetweenyouandyourtargetpersonahappenswhentheycansee youunderstandthem. Startbylisteningtowhatyourtargetpersona,andexpertswhoalreadyhelpyour persona,talkabout.Isuggestmakingaresearchcampaignoutofthis. It’scalleda“ListeningCampaign”becauseyoumakeaconsciousefforttolistentowhat yourpersonaissaying.Thenyouwriteitdowntohelpspeaktheirlanguagelateron. TheInternetisaninvisiblefocusgroup.UsethisinfotounderstandwhatEXACTLYwhat yourprospectswantsyoutotrainthemon. The“ListeningCampaign”isaboutcatalogingeverythingyourtargettalksaboutwhen theymentionthetopicyouchoseearlier.Formyexamplethispeoplewhoarenewto emailmarketing.
10sourcesforyourListeningCampaign: 1) GoogleSERPs(searchengineresultspages)–Whattopicsaregetting websitestorankhigh? 2) SocialMediadiscussions–Whatarepeopletalkingabout? 3) Forumthreadswithhighestviews–Whatdopeopleflockto?
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4) Popularpostsorcommentsonblogs–Whatgeneratesalotofbackand forth? 5) Blogpermalinkstodiscoverrelatedtopics–Whatgetsthemostlinks,what torelatedsitesrightabout? 6) Associations–Whatdoassociationsciteastheirmajorconcernsoftheir members? 7) Conferences–Whatarethetopicsdiscussedattheconferencesaboutyour topic? 8) Amazon.com–Whatarethecommentstalkingaboutonthebestselling booksinyourtopiccategory? 9) ArticleDirectories–Whatarethemosttalkedaboutsubjects? 10) GoogleAnalytics(GA)Stats –WhatarethetopkeywordsinyourGAreports) Next,throwallyourresearchresultsinamindmapusingFreemindlikethis…
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Usingamindmapallowsyoutocatalogallyourresearchwithoutthedistractionof interpretingitonthefly.Afteryou’vegotitallinoneplace,youcanstartorganizingit. Now,startorganizingandgroupingwhatyoulearnedonthemindmap. ChooseoneofthequestionstoaddressfromyourListeningCampaign. You’redoingthissoyoucanisolateonestepofanoverallprocess.Usefulnesstrumps completenesshere.Yourattractiondeviceshouldfocuson“what”before“how.”Going intogreatdetailabout“how”ishurtful.You’lloverwhelmyourprospect. YourgoalhereiswhatIcall“thinslicing.”Takelargesliceofthebroadtopic (marketingàemailmarketing).Then,sliceitagainandagainuntilallthat’sleftisathin slice,oroneaspect,oftheproblem(Forexample,myownthinsliceprocesswouldbe: howtobuildanemaillistà howtobuildasimpleemailmarketingmachine). Createasinglepersonawhowillbeyourmainaudienceforyourattractiondevice Next,youneedtocreateanInternetpersona.AnInternetpersonanarrowsdownyour generalaudiencetooneperson.Thisoneperson’slifestyle,behavior,andsocial interactionscloselyrepresentalargergroup.Yourtargetpersonaisausedtodetermine whichquestionsandproblemsyou’llbeaddressinginyourreportorvideo.(Learnmore aboutpersonacreationfromHiediCohen). Theeasiestwaytocreateapersonaisbyintersectingelementsfromyourresearchthus far. Topiccategory+levelofmastery+thinslicedproblem+exactpersonwho’dbe interested. Digalittledeepertofindoutwhathasandhasn’tworkedforyourtargetpersona. Ifyoureallywanttoattractyourtargetpersonatogetonyourlist,learnabouttheirups anddowns.Findoutwhattheyhavetriedandhaven’ttriedinthecourseofaddressing theirproblem. Youhavetogetbelowthesurfacehere.TheDachisGrouphasareallyneatwayof diggingdeeperwiththeir“EmpathyMap.”Testyourmarketingresearchbyfillingin youranswerstoeachofthesequestions: 1) Whatisyourpersona’smajorpreoccupationtheyarealwaysthinkingabout? 2) Whatareyourpersona’spains:fears,frustrationsandobstacles?
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3) Whatdoesyourpersonawhattogain:wants/needs,measureofsuccess, obstacles? 4) Whatdoesyourpersonaseeinthemarketplacetoday? 5) Whataretheyattractedtowardorawayfrom? 6) Whattypesofthingsdoesyourpersonasayanddo? 7) Whoarethepeopleyourpersonaislisteningtoforhelpworththeirfrustrations andobstacles,andwhatsolutionsarebeingoffered? Now,here’syourtest… Ifyouknowtheanswerstothese5questions,thenyoucanmoveforwardwith confidence.You’rereadytostartwritingyourattractiondevice.Ifyoudon't,gotback anddigalittledeeper. 1) Problem-Whatisyourpersona’sspecificproblemtheywantsolvednow? 2) ThinSlicedProblem-Whatpartoftheproblemdotheywishtheyhada“how toguide”on? 3) Motivation-Whyaretheymotivatedtolearnthis? 4) Hope-Whatdotheyhopetoachievewiththisnewknowledge? 5) Aspiration-Whatcurrentsituationaretheytryingtoriseabove? Youneedtoknowthesefivethings.Theywillbecomethebasisforeverythingyoudo fromhereonout. Writethereport/Createthevideo Finally,writethereportandgetitreadyformarketing. Gobacktoyourmindmap.Organizetheresultsintochunks.Create3-4themes. Onceyou’veorganizedallyourresearchfromyourListeningCampaign,youshouldhave themakingsofareport. Honestly,ifyoudidyouresearchright,andcatalogedtheresultsinamindmap.Your reportshouldbevirtuallywritten. TransfertheresultstoMicrosoftWord,expandalittleoneachpoint,andthereyou go—instantreport.
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Bynow,you’reprobablywonderingwhatreportorvideoshouldsay.Howshouldit flow? Well,hereyago…usethis. TemplateforCreatingReportorVideo Intro -“Hi,I’m____,creatorof____program/book/etc” Statewhatyou’llbeteaching-“Today,I’mgoingtoteachyouhowto____” State3pointsofstruggleyouhaveincommon State3thingsyoutriedtoaddresstheseproblems Turningpoint–mainpointsofthesolutionyoufiguredout Teaching/training–explain1-4thingsthatyouwantthemtodotosolvethe problem CalltoAction(CTA)–say,“IfyoulikedwhatItaughtyoutoday,andyou’dliketo knowmoreabout_____,then_____”. Tellthemexplicitlywhattodo.CTAshould
startwithaverb,thengetinstructions(“Signupforemailtotheright).Explainthe exactsteps,orpathtotaketheaction.Walkthemthrough. Next,let’slookathowtocreateasimpleemailmachinethatcapturesnewemailsand followsupwiththemevenwhileyousleep.
STEP2toTHRIVE™-GETASIMPLEEMAILMACHINE Thereareafewthingsyouneedtostartbuildingyouremaillist: 1) AcontentmanagementsystemtocreatewebpageswithouttouchingHTML code 2) Awaytoquicklycreatelandingpagestocaptureemails 3) Anemailsystemtoautomaticallyfollowupwithnewsubscriberswithmultiple lists,sub-lists,segmentsandautoresponders.
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I’venarroweddownalltheoptionstoafewfree,orlow-costtools.Youcanusetheseto bootstrapyourwaytobuildingasimpleemailmachine. WhatdoImeanby“simpleemailmachine?”IusethewordmachineherebecauseI wantyoutocreateasystem,notjustaone-offemail.Thatwayitworksevenwhen you’resleeping. (Settingupinfrastructureiswheremostnewbiesgetderailed.Thisistheleastimportant partcomparedtohowtobuildanattractiondeviceandgettraffic.Ifyou’rejustgetting startedthisrecipewillsaveyoufrombeingdistractedbysettinguptechnology.Just followthesteps.)
4toolsetsyou’llneedtobuildyoursimpleemailmachine AllthetoolsIrecommendbelowIpersonallyuse,soIknowtheywork.
ToolSet#1 Wordpressformanagingyourcontent First,I’dlikeyoutogogetafreeversionofWordpress(WP)andinstallit.Youwillneed toentertheproseyoucreateforyouropt-inpages. Foryears,I’vebeenadvisingclientstohavetheirowncontentmanagementsystem (CMS).Don’tbotherwithHTMLcodeediting.MyrecommendationistouseWordpress. Wordpressisfree.Youcandownloadthelatestfreeversionathttp://wordpress.org. Clickonthedownloadtab(rightmosttopnavigation),theninstallitonyourserver(I showyouaneveneasierwayattheendofthissection).
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Wordpressissuper-popular,soyoumayhavealreadyheardofit.Don’tdiscountitasa simplebloggingtoolThere’ssomuchmoreyoucandowithit. It’lldoeverythingyouneedtocreateallthecontentandlandingpagesyou’llneedto growyouremaillist;especiallywhenyoucombinewiththenexttoolset. TherearelotsoffeaturesinWordpress.Theonlyyouneedtoknowabouttogetemail opt-inpagessetupisthe“Pages”feature.Usethistoenteryourproseforyouropt-in landingpages. Here’sanexample…
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JusttomakesureyourWordpresssystemnevergoesdown,Irecommendusingthe BackupBuddyplugin.BackupBuddywillcreateautomaticbackupsofbothyourfilesand yourdatabase.Plus,ifyouhavetomove,orifanythinghappens,you’llbeabletodo completelyrestoreyoursite. InstallWordpressnow.Thenyou’llbereadytocreatecontentandstartsettingupyour opt-inlandingpages.
ToolSet#2 OptimizePressforcreatingemailopt-inlandingpages Next,I’dlikeyoutopurchasealicensetoOptimizePress(OP).Thisistheonlythingyou havetopurchaserightnow.Alltheothermust-havetoolsarefreefornow. OptimizePresstransformsWPintoanlistbuildersdream.It’srobustwithfeatures.The mainbenefititoffersyourightnowisaccesstoaworkflowtocreateemailopt-in
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landingpages.Youdon’thavetotouchHTML,orthinkaboutwhatyoufeaturesyour pagesneed. DownloadthisandinstallitviayourWordpressadminpanel. Uploadthezipfilelikethis…
Tobuildanemaillistyou’regoingtoneed3keyelements:1)opt-inform,2)landing page,and3)downloadpage. OptimizePresscandoallofthisforyouwithjustafewclicks. OptimizePresshastobeoneofthegreatestplug-ins/themesthathasbeencreated sinceWordpressitself. WhenyoucombineWordpress’sabilitytocreatecontentandstorelandingpageswith OptimizePressitopensupaworldofpossibilities.I’vetestedtonsoftools,mostofthem awasteofmoney.LetmehelpyouskiptheidiottaxIpaidalready. OptimizePress(OP)isonly$97.That’scheap!YoucanpurchaseanOptimizePresslicense here. Therearehostedsolutionscostingbetween$99-$299monthly.Theonlyothersolution youcanpurchasewithaonetimefeelikeOPcosts$1,997.So,yeah,it’scheap. Andit’sbuiltwithinformationmarketinginmind(buildinganemaillistisinfo marketing). Thereare5criticalOPcandoforyouremaillistbuilding 1) Squeezelandingpages Page 19
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2) 3) 4) 5)
Saleslandingpages Buildasalesfunnel(evergreen,meaningalways-onortime-sensitivefunnels) Blogpages Membershippages
OP’swholefeaturesetshowsupintheleftnavigationofWordpress.Allthemenusare designedwithemaillistbuildinginmind.
WhatmakesOPsopowerfulishowitusesWordpress’sinfrastructuretohandleall aspectsofinformationmarketing. Let’stalkaboutafewOP’sfeaturesrelevanttoemaillistbuilding. OPstandardizesallthesettingsyou’llneed,likeheader,footerlinks,commonsqueeze pageelements.Allofthesettingscanbemadewithinthesystem,includinguploading graphics.
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Eachcontenttypehasit’sownsettings.Squeezepagescanhaveadifferentdesignthan landingpages,includinguniquebackgroundgraphicsandheaders.Thatmeanseachof yourlandingpagescanlookunique,evenifyou’retraffictomorethanoneattraction device(report/video)
OPfixesoneoftheotherthingsthatusedtobearealhassle.Creatinggraphicsandhtml pages.Insteadoffussingwiththatstuff,you’lljustclickanicontopullupyourgraphic shortcuts.
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Thegraphicsarebothhighqualityandcustomizedforinformationmarketing.Fornow, usewhatcomeswithOPanddon’tmesswithanythingelse.Afterall,thisisabout impactandresults,notjustworkinghardandlookingpretty. Pagelayoutandheadlineshortcutsincluded…
Designblockelementsareincludedtohelpyoucalloutcertaincontentonyourlanding page.
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Evenbuttonsareincludedinthepagedesignshortcutoptions.Again,don’treinventthe wheel.Testinghasshownbig,orangebuttonswork.LookatAmazon.com—theybeen usingthiscolor/styleforyears.And,theytesteverything!Clearly,thesedesignswork!
SettingupemailsubscriptionformsonyoursqueezepagewasalsoahasslebeforeOP. Now,allyourhavetodoislogontoyouremailprogram,copythesignupformcode theygiveyouaftercreatinganewlist,andpasteitintothedesignatedbox.OP automaticallyfiguresouthowtointegrateitwiththepagetemplate.Howcoolisthat?!
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Thesamegoesforvideos.JustcopytheembedcodeintotheappropriateOPfieldand you’redone.YourvideosqueezepagewillshowtheVimeo,Youtube,orreallyanyvideo typeyoucanthinkof.There’sevenafieldthathelpsyoumakesurethevideois iPad/iPhonecompatible(That’swherealotofpeoplechoosetowatchwebvideosnow).
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There’sonecriticalthingIalwaysmakecertaintodowithmyemailmarketingefforts: trackwithGoogleAnalytics(GA).YoucansetupGAoneachpage,orgloballyintheOP settings. IalsousethislittleboxtosetupA/BlandingpagetestswithGoogleWebsiteOptimizer. AsyoucanseeOPismorethanhappytohandlethisforyou.
Jumpstartyouremaillist-building.I’vetriedeverything.Thistoolsavesatonoftime.Go getOptimizePressnow.
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ToolSet#3 Mailchimpforcreatingforms,andmanagingandsendingemails Finally,I’dlikeyoutogoovertoMailChimpandsignup.Signupforthefreeaccount here(Assumingyoudon’talreadyhaveanemailsystem.Ifyoudoyoucanskipthis section.)
Now,here’saspecialbootstrappingtip… Choosethe“freeforever”plan.Don’tstartingpayingjustyet.Bootstrapfornow,then upgradewhenit’stime.MailChimpisbeingincrediblygenerouswiththeirfreemium offer. Youcanaddupto2,000emailsubscribersinyourlists.Youcansend12,000emailsa month. Thisismassive! That’s6emailblaststoyourtoyourfulllist.Youwon’tevenneedthatrightnow. Usethefreemiumplantostarttoplantobuildalist. Afteryougeteverythinggoing,upgradetothe$15or$30plan. (Note,itdoestakeapayingaccounttogainaccesstotheautoresponderfeature.Let’s justfocusoncollectingemailsfornow,we’llworryabouttherestinalittlebit.Onceit’s time,youcanupgrade.)
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Here’sthepricingscheme.MailChimpissupercompetitive,evenwiththecheapest alternative,intermsofdollar-per-sent-email.
I’veusedandreviewedeverykindofemailsoftwareoutthere.Someofthemhosted, andsomeofthemSaaS(softwareasservice);Aweber,GetResponse,iContact,Constant Contact,andInterspiretonameafew. Alloftheseservicesaregreat,butMailChimpisthebestbootstrapoption(Aweber’s autorespondersystemisbetter).MailChimpdoesagreatjobofkeepingeverything simpleforthebeginner,andstillprovidingalltheadvancesfeaturesyou’regoingto needtobuildahugelist.Plustheirdeliverabilityisbestinclass. Mailchimpfeaturesyou’regoingtoneedforlistbuilding: • • • • • • •
Creatingmultiplelists Creatingsub-lists Tyingautorespondertoasub-list Sendingcampaignstothefulllist Sendingtosegmentofyourlistsandcampaigns CreatingnewformswithoutHTML HookingformsintoOptimizePresseasily
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Here’saquickexampleofadvancedsegmentationfeaturesMailchimphas.Noticehow youcancreatemultiplerulesandconditions.
Thesefeaturesarecriticaltodoingsteps6and7intheTHRIVE™process(moreonthat later).Segmentationisthehiddensecretofkeepingemailsonyourlist. GoandsignupforMailchimpnow.Createyourfirstlist.Then,createyourfirstform.
ToolSet#4 Boostopt-insforbloggers
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Thisisaspecialsectionforbloggers.Youhaveabuilt-inadvantageifyouhaveablog started.Youalreadyhaveawaytoattracttraffic.Nowallyouneedtodoistoturn trafficintoopt-ins. Thesearefourmust-havetoolsforincreasingyouremailopt-inratesonyourblog(you canusetheseonyourgeneralwebsitetoo,butforthisreportI’llassumeyourblogging andareusingWordpresslikeI’verecommended). I’mgoingtogiveyouatoolfor:newvisitors,topofyourblog,footerofyourblog,and sidebar.Bythetimeyou’redone,yourvisitorswon’tbeabletoescapeyourattraction device. Thisstepalsoassumesyou’vecreatedyourattractiondevice.(Ifyouhaven’t,backand doit.) Thesetoolswillhelpyoupromoteyourattractiondevice,andincreaseyouropt-inrate 10%to20%(that’stheminimumnumberofopt-insyourmissingnow.Youmaywindup gettingamuchbetterresult).Installallfourinvarioussectionofyourblog. SinceI’mrecommendingWordpress,thesetoolsarestrictlyfordesignedforWordpress. Theyarecalledplug-ins. Atleastinstalltwoofthem. Popup/Overlay–POPUPDOMINATIONWordpressPlug-in
First,installPopupdomination.It’saplug-inforWordpress.Afewsecondsafteravisitor arrivestoyourblog,they’llseealittlegraphicoverlay.It’snotaseparatewindow,justa quickoverlay. Installthisonyourbloghomepage(index).Youcancreatedifferentpopupsfor differentsectionstoosoyourvisitorsdon’tgetannoyed.Or,onlyshowitontheirfirst visit.
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Thisforcesvisitorstostopandlookatyourattractiondeviceandmakeachoicetoactor not. Beforeyougetgoingabouthowpopupsarebad.Thisisnotapopup.Secondly,most majorretailersandauthorsareusingthisontheirecommercewebsites.So,thisstrategy hasbecomemainstream.There’snoreasonyoucan’tuseittoo. It’s$77butitpaysforitselfwithlowercostperemailopt-in.Youcanpurchaseithere. Thisplug-insupportsMailChimpspecifically. Oncetheoverlayappears,itwouldlooksomethinglikethis(thankstoAndyJenkinsfor theexample).Thisgraphicandemailformcombowouldhoveroveryourblogcontentin thesamewindow.
Header–AttentionGrabberPlug-inWordpressPlug-in
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Second,considerbuyingthislow-costplug-intopromoteyourattractiondeviceand opt-inofferaboveyourblog’sheader.Thisisaninnocentwaytocallattentiontoyour attractiondeviceonyourblog.It’scalledtheAttentionGrabber. Basically,it’sjustabarthatsitsabovethetop-mostelementonyourhomepage.
AttentionGrabberisonly$12.YoucangetitfromCodeCanyon.net MichaelHyatthasanexampleoveronhisblog.Visitorscanclickonthearrowtomakeit disappear.But,mostpeopledon’t.Itbecomeaconstantremindertocheckoutthe attractiondeviceyoucreated.
EvenCodeCanyon,theAttentionGrabberreseller,usesthisplug-in…
Ifyouthere’sasinglethingI’dliketoseeyoudoonyourblogtoday,it’stoget AttentionGrabberinstalled.It’ssounobtrusive,andeffective.At$12.00,it’sno-brainer. Footer–OptinCrusherWordpressPlug-in
Next,usethisfreeplug-intoaddanopti-informatthebottomofyourvisitor’sbrowser window.Researchshowsyoushouldhaveacalltoactiononthetopandbottomofyour page.Optincrushercanhelpyouwiththis.It’sfreetodownloadfromtheirsite.
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Itcreatesanopt-informinthefooterofyourpage.Actually,ithoversatthebottomof thebrowserwindow.JustlikePopupdomination,it’sagraphiclayeraboveallyourother graphics. Theoverlaywillappearatthebottom-mostportionofthepage.Visitorscanclosethe windowiftheysochoose.
OptincrusherevenhasinstructionsonhowtointegratewithMailchimp.Thisisanother no-brainerinstall. Visitorsmanynotevennoticeyouropt-informifitonlyexistsinoneplace.Havingan opt-informatthetopandbottomofthepagemakescertaintheywilleventuallynotice yourattractiondevice.Hopefully,they’llsignup. Sidebar–CustomGraphic+CSS+Opt-inForm
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Last,I’dlikeyoutohaveanopt-inofferpromointhesidebarofyourblog.Visitorsare sortofconditionedtolookforanofferinthesidebar.Don’treinventthewheel.Gowith it. Admittedly,thisisforadvancedusersonly(I’mstillsearchingforaneasierwaytodo this.Onethatevenbeginnerscouldimplement). Ifyou’rejuststartingout,don’tmesswiththis. Withalittlesmokeandmirrorsyoucanmakeitlookgood. OpenPhotoshop,orthegraphicssoftwareofyourchoice.Createabackgroundgraphic thesamesizeasyourblogsidebar(thisismostlyawidthconstraint). Designthebackground.Somethingliketheexamplebelowwilldo…
Tokeepthingsrelativelysimplefornow,Isuggestyoudotwothings: 1) CreateauseMailChimptocreateasolidcolorbackground 2) CreateacustomgraphicheaderanduploadittoMailChimp. Here’sthesmokeanmirrorpart... Everythingabovetheemailformfieldwouldbeyour“header.”Thiswayyoucankeep thetechnicalsideofthingssimple.It’sahackofwhatMailChimpmeantbyheader,but ittotallyworks.
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
CustomGraphic
MailChimpgeneratedwithsolid colorbackgroundtomatchcustom graphic
Todothis,you’dsimple InMailChimp,gotoListàFormsàDesignItàPageHeader
Next,hoverovertheheader.Click“designheader”whentheoptionappears.
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
Click“uploadaheaderimage”oncethepopupmenuappears.
FinalizeandsaveyourheaderinMailchimp.
Hosting(ifyoudon’thaveone) Ifyou’retrulyatsquareone,andyoudon’thaveawebsitehostyet,herearesomequick suggestions. Thesewerechosenbecausetheyarereliableandcheap.Youshouldonlyhavetobe$10 amonthforagoodplan.Anddomainregistrationshouldneverbemorethan$12/year onthehighend. Bluehost MediaTemple HostGator
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How to Build a Thriving Email List
What’smostimportantabouteachofthesehostsistheofferWordpressoneclick installations.It’slikeasoftwareinstallwizard.Thismeansyouclickabuttonthatsays,“I wanttoinstallWordpress.”Youtellthewizardwheretoinstallit,andyou’redone. IfyoualreadyhaveahostandstillwanttheeaseofaoneclickWordpressinstall,use SimpleScripts.com(oneinstallforfree,afterthatyouhavetoupgradetoapaidaccount).
Congratulations! Ifyou’vemadeittotheendofthisreport,itmeansyou’repreparedtoaddressthetwo mostcommonlist-buildinghurdles:nothavinganattractiondevice,andnothavinga simpleemailmachine. Youalsogotanoverviewofthe7stepsoftheTHRIVEprocess.THRIVEshowedyouthe entireroadmapforlistbuilding,frombeginningtoend. Myexperiencefromfocusingonemaillistbuildingisitcanhelpyougofromsurvivingto thriving.Overtime,Iwasabletobuildupanemaillistofover20,000people.That samelisthelpedmedriveover$1.8Minsalestoasingleproduct.Ididthatwhileon thesamelearningcurveyou’reonhow.IfIcandoit,socanyou. Takeawaysfromthisreport: • •
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Focusoncreatinganattractiondevice. YouCANNOTbuildalistwithoutanattractiondevice—DONOTPASSGO.DO NOTSKIPTHISSTEP.Mostmarketer’seffortsgetkilledhere.Dothesmartwork hereandyou’llsucceed. Attractiondevicesaresimplehow-totrainingputintoaPDFreportorvideo. Mapoutwhatyouknowandcareabouttodeterminewhatwouldbeeasiest trainingforyoutocreate. Createatargetpersona:onepersonthatrepresentsayourlargeraudience. Listentowhatyourtargetpersonawantsusingthe“ListeningCampaign” method. Buildasimpleemailmachineusingthebootstrapmethod Asimpleemailmachineblendsfreeandlowcosttooltogethertocreatean automatedwaytoturntrafficintoopt-ins Getthebasicsofyoursimpleemailmachinereadyandyou’llbepreppedfor traffic-getting.
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