BAL 7: Sending to the List
So I’ve covered a variety of topics on list building. You’ve got some technical aspects, and not so technical aspects. So once you have everything setup, it’s time to send to the list.
Sending Frequency
When you send out, you want to send often enough that subscribers still remember who you are the next time you send one. On the flip side, you don’t want to be in their memory as having sent too many! So how much is too much? Well I’d say go for twice a week, and on special occasions more often. For instance the BAL series were sending out every other day. This was because I wanted you to still have it fresh on your mind when you get the next step.
Stay Focused
It’s easy to think of a list as your advertisement bulletin board, or as people who want to know the gritty details of your life. But in reality, most people don’t want to get ads or read your personal journal. Unless of course that is your focus, then go for it. But if you are in the majority, you want to stay on topic. Dipping into other areas is fine, just don’t get too far off topic.
Making Money
The hardest part about a list is making money. You have to know your audience to know what types of products or services will make you money, and you need to know how to make the money. You don’t have to send out a solo ad type email to make money. If you have a blog, you can sell ad space on the blog and the feed. If you are sending out just emails you can have ad boxes, that sort of thing.
The best money makers are usually recommended things. So look at your audience, and come up with some services or products that you like, and would interest them. My big thing is Aweber, you can see an ad in my side bar and a link on my recommended page. Since most of the people reading my blog are beginning marketers, or web developers of some sort, that service will come in handy for them.
Just remember that some niches will give you more opportunities to make money than others. For instance feedback on StartXchange most people said they haven’t started a list because they are tired of receiving ads in their inbox! So that particular crowd will be harder to advertise to because they are ad weary. But if you have a list on cloth diapers, Mom’s might not be so weary of ads and be willing to click/buy.
