Eye Popping Proof That Money Is Always In The List

“Take everything I have, just let me keep my list!”

And that’s how important a list to any marketer if they were being robbed under gunpoint.

Because “the list” is internet marketer’s asset which when marketed upon, will drive income into his or her bank account.

And that ladies and gentleman, is what you called push button money.

You see, from the time of direct mailing to digital marketing through emails, social media, e-commerce, and even mobile marketing, one thing remains rock solid: “The Email List”

So, how do you build that money pulling list?

Patience, young Jedi…

Just as how Yoda advice Luke before he was rushing to rescue Han and Leia “If you end your training now… if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did… you will become an agent of evil.”

And yes, there are marketers who gave in to the darkness and live to scam your money but we will look at that in another post.

For now, let’s start from the foundation so that you may continue down the bright path of an ethical internet marketer.

What is “The List”?

“The List” is essentially a cluster of prospects or customers base on their interest to your niche, product and services.

And that goes without saying that it is imperative that you should communicate effectively with each grouping to maximize your earning. So, design your content to resonate with your target audience and you will launch your conversion rates to a new level!

Next, you will want to keep an eye on the quality of your list because not all list is equal.

Simply put, the higher the quality of the list, the more profits you can earn with less invested effort.

A simple example is when you compare Company A which only own one list which contain of customers who previously bought its products or services to Company B with multiple lists of subscribers (those who downloaded reports, eBooks, podcasts and etc.), prospects, customers, subscribers, media contacts, social media influencers, event attendees, investors (including crowdfunding backers) – Company B has literally captured everyone in different phase of the purchase cycle!

Need we say more about the winner?

Of course, the trophy goes to company B!

But how did companies realize the potential of a list?

History of The List

Prior to the glory era of the internet, lists were primarily used for marketing and selling. Often, for the purpose to save cost and marketing materials were only sent to those who showed interest in the products and services. The number of replies will then determine the quality of the list.

Businesses will then base on KPI (key performance indicators) such as the number of purchases, store visits, subscriptions, received phone calls, redeemed coupons, returned surveys or postcards, requested catalogs and mail orders to determine the quality of the list.

The screening seems reasonable but it cuts off the opportunities for businesses to earn future revenue from inactive members.

That’s why the current Email Marketing took a new turn to market to inactive members as well.

The List Today

The wide reach of the internet today has certainly sped up list building and makes email marketing more effective. On top of that, platforms such as CRM, email and marketing automation software has simplified list management.

The KPI mentioned above were trackable with much less effort.

Businesses can easily build relationship with their customers to boost their bottom line. Unlike before, they now have a clear strategy to engage, attract and reward each of their list member.

Psychology of The List

The reasons vary when coming to why people join your list but further engagement with your list will reveal their interest. You will find more effective ways to communicate with them and get them to take action on your offers.

Of course, not all will join the bandwagon.

Lurkers Deserve Your Attention Too

Looking at the chart below, an inactive member was found to be worth 32% of an active subscriber in terms of revenue.

That means, you are losing more than you know when you dismiss inactive members from your list.

The 90 – 9 – 1 Rule

Studies have shown that 90% of social media users only observe, read and share content. They are lurkers who don’t necessarily buy your products instead, they assist to influence others and expand your brand further.

Conclusion? Never underestimate inactive members’ value until they unsubscribe from your list.

Segmented Lists Make Communication More Effective

Still sending 1 same message to all list members? That’s so 60s.

Customers have moved on since then. They demand more personal, tailored content. List members will unsubscribe if they constantly receive irrelevant information from you.

And you just lost a potential client.

The outcome is devastating.

You can only turn this around when you start segmenting your list and provide content targeted to the list members.

List Segmentation is Vital

Now that list members are receiving content targeted to them, you will see a significant increase to the conversion rate.

This is because people having similar interests are more likely to take similar action which based on the element calls ‘Spheres of Influence’.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Members in the same list tend to have similar interest. So, if your message is able to persuade one of them, the same message will be able to persuade all of them (through Spheres of Influence).

List Segmentation Samples aka Spheres of Influence

• Profession
• Education
• Interest and hobbies
• Age
• Favorites (color, foods, designers, TV shows, blogs, magazines, social media network, etc.)
• Referral Source (social media, event, blog, book, referral, etc.)
• Geographic location
• Travel Destinations
• Event(s) attended
• Professional association

…and other possibilities.

Now that you have witnessed the beauty of the sphere of influence, the good news is that it is highly under-utilized.

Even better news is that there is much to earn when you segment your list accordingly. Once that’s done, it is to publish engaging content and promotions to grow your revenue.

List Building Tip #1:

 

Apply a hashtag to each segment or sphere of your list. Search that hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to identify conversations, prospects and influencers related to your brand…

…and grow your list

Examples:

• #finance
• #fitness
• #b2c
• #ecommerce
• #makemoneyonline
• #spheresofinfluence
• #chicago
• #cats
• #bodybuilding

…you get the picture

Never Underestimated the Value of ‘The List’

Another reason why “The List” is so important is because it is more cost saving when come to acquire new customer. It is found through the Cross-Channel Marketing Report that 70% of the survey participants agreed that “it is cheaper to retain than to acquire a new customer”.

Now, ‘customers’ are more than people who made monetary transaction. They include people such as brand influencers, ambassadors, vendors, employees, investors, media and the people they influence. This will then increase list’s value.

List Building Tip #2:

To grow your list exponentially, customize your website content (SEO) and social media so that you can create more brand awareness in search and social media.

Segmentation Impacts the Bottom Line

The chart below summarizes the benefits when you segment your list.

24% increase in greater revenue and 18% increase in greater number of transactions are more than enough proves to start segmenting your list.

The List Delivers

Once you grow your list, your ability to grow your brand, grow market share and earn increase remarkably.

A Quality List Impacts The Bottom Line

My digital firm was nominated for Best Use of Social Media in Search by US Search Awards for creating and leveraging list segmentation across multiple digital channels to achieve the following metrics for a client that had not been building a list – all in just a few short months.

• 1080% Increase in Marketing Campaign Transactions.
• 816% Increase in Campaign-Generated Revenue.
• 133% Increase in Organic Search = 45% Increase in Revenue.
• 53% Increase in Direct Traffic = 22% Increase in Revenue.
• 441% Increase in Referral Traffic (Including Social Media) = 251% Increase in Revenue.
• 758% Increase in Email Traffic = 678% Increase in Revenue.

Outstanding results are achievable for any brand when a solid strategy and ample resources are applied.

List Building Tip #3:

Instead of posting blanket social media updates everyday, you should post one relevant update per sphere of influence/segment per day.

Now that you have pretty good grasp to the list and list segmentation, it still takes time to build the right audiences. That’s the reason you want to build your list ahead of time. This will then help when you launch a new business or marketing campaign.

One of the best ways to do this is to target and engage audiences according to the sphere of influence or segments.

Use Segmentation To Make Marketing More Relevant

So, if you want to be successful marketing online, leverage on your list segments and their “sphere of influence”.