Article Directory :: Internet Marketing/Online Business Articles

10 Quick and Easy Steps To Building A HIGHLY Targeted And Responsive Opt-In List

By Cory Threlfall

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 31Mar2005 Word count: 1556 Viewed: 643 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

We've all heard it that in order to stay in business online you need to build a Targeted 'Opt-In' list.

Well... I truly have to agree with that simply because this is where you'll always have a consistent source of FREE Targeted traffic(also referred to as 'Sticky Traffic') to promote your offers or related information to for years to come.

It just makes sense, wouldn't you say?

And, we all know that 'Email' is where the $MONEY$ is truly made when it comes to marketing your business online because it gives You the ability to Follow-Up your potential customers until they decide to buy from You.

But, the problem that usually takes place is that people don't know where to start when it comes to building there own targeted Opt-In list.

Now, for those of you that are new Internet marketing and don't know what a 'Opt-In' list is, here's a quick definition:

An 'Opt-In' list is simply a database of peoples Names and Email Addresses that have subscribed to an email list via a web form giving that list owner permission to send them periodic emails on the topic they are interested in.

Notice how I said, "giving that list owner permission to send them email".

When they subscribe to your Opt-In list they are giving You permission to send them offers or related information on the topic they are interested in, this is known as 'Permission Email Marketing'.

This is the ABSOLUTE safest form of email marketing where You won't get accused of 'SPAM'.

This is very important that You understand this from the beginning.

So, now that you have a clear idea in your mind of what an Opt-In list is and how it will benefit You and your business, I guess it's time to share with you the simple 'Ten Step Process' that I have put together for you on How-To build your own targeted Opt-In list that you can email your offers to at any given time for $Profit$.


Step #1. Pick your Target market or Niche.

This is a very important step because this is where you need to figure out who your target market is going to be for the Product or Service your going to offer.

So, for example, if I was interested in selling a book related to Internet Marketing, well then, my target market would be Internet Marketing related.

Step #2. Can your Target market or Niche be reach online?

This step is where you need to do a little research on whether or not your particular target market can be reached online.

In order to do this you need to do some keyword research using keywords related to your target market.

You can do this by using the Overture keyword research tool located at the URL I've provided below.

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Simply type in the keywords related to your target market in the form provided.

This will give you a detailed history of how many searches have been made in the last 30 days on the keywords related to your target market.

As a general rule, if your targeted keywords aren't pulling in 15,000 or more searches per month, then this is a market I wouldn't pursue simply because there isn't much demand for it.

Step #3. Are they making money in this Niche?

This is where you need to do some research on your competition to see if people are spending any money in this Niche.

You can do this by going to Google at http://www.google.com and type in your targeted keywords related to your Niche in the form provided.

This will give you a list of search results.

Those results are your competition, but even more important, to the right you'll notice little ads.

These are paid ads offered through Google Adwords.

This means that somebody is willing to pay to advertise and is paying attention to this particular Niche and must be making money if they're willing to pay for advertising.

That's good news for you.

Step #4. Use Forums to find your Target markets problems.

Forums are a great place to find out exactly what your potential customers TOP problems are by simply scanning there posts and looking for the most common threads.

By doing this you'll be able to know right away what your target markets TOP problems are and how you can help solve there problem.

To find Forums related to your Niche simply visit Google http://www.google.com and type in your targeted keywords with '+ forums' after your keyword.(ex. internet marketing + forums)

Step #5. What's keeping them from getting what they want?

This is where you have to figure out whats keeping them from getting what they want in order to fix the problems they are dealing with, meaning, this is where you need to work with them to find a solution to there problems.

Whether its a Product they need or a Service of some sort.

Step #6. What can you offer them to solve there problems?

This is where the money is being spent.

Now, the only thing you need in order to receive your share of the revenue is a Product or Service that will solve your potential customers problem.

If you don't have a Product or Service of your own don't get discouraged.

I'm going to give you two resources where you can find products or services that You can become an affiliate for that are related to any Niche that will pay you a commission for every sale you make by simply referring your traffic to there website.

The two websites to visit are http://www.clickbank.com and http://www.associateprograms.com

Step #7. Set-Up a simple direct response mini-site.

Here is where you Set-Up your lead generating website with a Follow-Up System that your potential customers will come to and Opt-In to your list to start receiving offers or related information on the topic or problem they are having.

This is a very simple process to do and you can view my website as an example of how one would look.

http://www.internetwondersezine.com

If you don't know how to build your own website you can always hire someone to do it for you by going to... http://www.elance.com

Step #8. Get an Auto-Responder account.

This is where you'll be laying the foundation down for your list.

You MUST have an Auto-Responder account Set-Up before you make your mini-site go live because this is where your potential customers are going to come and submit there Name and Email Address so that you can start building a list to send your offers or related information to.

So, do not miss this important step.

Step #9. You need to figure out what 'Bait' to use.

What I mean by 'Bait' is... what are you going to offer them for FREE to get them to subscribe to your Opt-In list.

Here are some examples of what you can use as 'Bait': ebooks, special reports, mini-courses, coupons, etc.

These are the most common. It really depends on who you are targeting, so be creative.

Step #10. Reach out to your target market.

This is the part where you send traffic to your website in order to get subscribers.

I'm going to mention only two methods.

These methods are the most POWERFUL and for good reason, they work.

The first method is Writing Articles.

By Writing Articles your showing your target market that You are someone who knows how to help solve there problem and may have a possible solution for them.

This is the quickest way to build INSTANT credibility in your Niche.

The second method is to send targeted traffic to your mini-site through Pay-Per-Click search engines.

Pay-Per-Click search engines are where you bid on the keywords terms related to your target market and are listed according to the highest bid for that keyword term.

By using PPC search engines, it will get you infront of your target market Instantly.

Writing articles gives you INSTANT credibility and will put you infront of thousands of readers, and Pay-Per-Click search engines send you HIGHLY targeted traffic to your website within minutes depending on which PPC search engine you are using.

The More traffic you send to your website, the More subscribers you'll receive.

It's simply a numbers game.

Well... there you have it, "10 Quick and Easy Steps To Building A HIGHLY Targeted And Responsive Opt-In List".

Now... it's up to you to take the neccessary Action in order to get started with your own targeted Opt-In list.

If you already have an existing web business online simply implement the steps outlined above to your existing website.

These are the 10 basic steps required in order to get your Opt-In listing building started in the Right direction.

Simply follow them and you'll be on your way to receiving your first subscriber in No Time.

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here

More articles by Cory Threlfall

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details