Which Autoresponder Should I Use?
If you’re not interested in paying for dedicated servers or dealing with the hassle of warming up and managing your own email sending with major service providers, it’s better to choose a company that handles all of that for you instead of going the self-hosted route.
Additionally, the specific choice between Aweber and Moosend doesn’t matter too much, so just pick one and get started.
Both platforms offer a free level and are reasonably priced. If you’re willing to invest more for additional features, Getresponse and Drip are also good options.
While there are many other choices available, I can personally vouch for these ones. The key is to make a decision and take action.
Do Solo Ads Still Work?
In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift in’s attitudes towards solo ads.
These ads involve paying individuals with large email lists to send out emails promoting your free offer, with payment based on the number of clicks generated.
The issue with this method lies in its insularity, as many people in the solo ad space build their lists by purchasing solo ads themselves and then sell them to others.
However, if you can connect with reputable sellers, the traffic from solo ads can still be effective.
It is crucial to remember that solo ad traffic is considered “cold traffic” since these individuals are unfamiliar with you.
Therefore, it is essential to provide them with a compelling reason to open your emails.
One way to achieve this is by creating a well-crafted email sequence that aims to “warm them up.”
This becomes even more critical when you consider that these individuals are likely on multiple solo sellers’ lists and receive numerous emails daily.
To stand out in this crowded inbox, you need to make a lasting impression.
One important email You Should Send When List Building
Continuing from the previous point, it is crucial to send a specific email to new subscribers immediately after the Day 0 email that contains the download link and a banner at the footer.
In this email, you introduce yourself to the new subscriber and explain how you differentiate yourself and how you intend to assist them through your newsletter.
It is important to emphasize that you genuinely read and respond to replies, demonstrating that you are a real person actively engaged in the topics you write about.
You should also assure them that you will only recommend products that you are confident will address their specific needs in your niche.
Essentially, you are conveying why they should open and read your emails, assuring them that you will always provide valuable guidance.
If you have an “about me” biography page on your blog, you can direct them to it, or alternatively, include the information in the email itself (which is what I personally do).
This step is another way to establish trust with new subscribers.
Keep Everything Congruent
When it comes to building trust, here’s another helpful tip. As previously mentioned, the initial impression you make is crucial.
It’s essential to avoid any discrepancies or errors in the opt-in process.
To establish a sense of consistency, make sure that the design of your squeeze page aligns with what your audience will see after they opt-in.
It’s important to maintain a cohesive look throughout all your pages, including color schemes, fonts, and graphics.
Even seemingly insignificant details can be noticed by people who are extra cautious due to the prevalence of scams on the internet.
Therefore, it’s crucial not to undermine the trust you’ve gained for no reason at all.
The “Whirlwind” Method
Several years ago I devised a strategy that continues to be effective today.
Initially known as the 1K Whirlwind, this method allows for the rapid addition of 1000 subscribers to a mailing list while earning $1000 in commissions within a short timeframe.
To implement this strategy, it is essential to utilize a platform that employs a funnel starting with a free product, but with a buy button and shopping cart instead of a form.
Suitable platforms for this purpose include WarriorPlus and Thrivecart, although there may be others that also work.
The key concept behind this strategy is that when a subscriber “purchases” the free product and goes through the checkout process (even though the cost is $0), they are presented with upsells.
The person who referred the lead earns affiliate commissions from these upsells. In essence, it allows individuals to profit by directing people to a free offer.
Furthermore, additional monetization is incorporated on the download page, as outlined in the Product Delivery sheet.
A prominent call to action encourages visitors to become affiliates and earn money by recommending the free product.
As a result, they begin sending their own traffic to the offer. This strategy resembles a circular traffic method, which I have been meaning to develop a course on.
Ultimately, a portion of those who obtain the freebie will become affiliates themselves, thereby driving even more traffic to the free offer.
Put Your Freebies Inside People’s Members Areas
An effective strategy to grow your email lists is by offering your freebie as an unexpected bonus within the delivery areas of other people’s products.
This approach works exceptionally well when combined with the previous tip, as it provides an incentive for them to include your bonus.
You can either create a brief video explaining the process or discuss it through a chat.
Essentially, they will receive a valuable bonus to offer their customers, while also earning commissions from any upsells that occur.
To facilitate this, provide them with a selection of banners to choose from and encourage them to obtain their affiliate link for your freebie.
Who wouldn’t want to increase their earnings by offering a complimentary bonus?
Another Tweak on the Whirlwind Method
One effective strategy to encourage widespread promotion of your Whirlwind freebie is by implementing a thoughtful approach and investing time in crafting compelling content.
Although it requires initial effort, this method can be set up once and then largely forgotten, with only occasional adjustments required.
To execute this strategy, you will create a mini Whirlwind funnel and also develop a comprehensive email sequence that highlights and sells your various products from different angles.
These emails will include direct links to the sales pages.
By setting up your Whirlwind offer on platforms like WarriorPlus or Thrivecart, you can grant affiliates approval for all your products and track visitors’ interactions with your first freebie page using cookies.
As the recipients of your email sequence progress through it, any purchases they make will result in commissions for the original referrer.
To present this opportunity, you can describe it as your exclusive affiliate program, where you want individuals to receive credit for any future sales that occur when they send emails.
By employing this approach, not only do I have people promoting my products, but I also generate a steady monthly income from sales that gradually accumulate through the subscribers I have referred.
The Power of Quizzes
This is a method I already use but I have not really exploited to the max yet.
Quizzes are a fun, engaging way to get people to divulge all sorts of information that is useful to you and, at the end of the quiz, you can present something that seems tailor made for their situation.
If they opt-in to get it (and the conversions are much higher than normal) you have a subscriber that is segmented based on the answers they gave during the quiz.
This means you can send them emails highly targeted to their wants and needs so, guess what? You make more sales.
It takes time to construct the quiz. You start by thinking about the segments you want and find a free product that you can offer them according to each segment.
You also write and set up email sequences for each segment. Then design questions and a flow to accommodate those in the quiz.
The tool I would strongly suggest for making these quizzes is ConvertBox. It does so much more too but the quiz functionality and segmenting logic is superb.
Split Testing and the 100 Rule
Testing is an essential step in optimizing your content.
Although it requires continuous adjustments, it provides valuable insights into creating a high-converting page right from the start.
Initially, I was reluctant to engage in split testing my pages.
I would meticulously design a squeeze page, believing it to be perfect, only to be instructed by experts to start over with a page I considered inferior.
However, I had an unexpected revelation one day. The page I had little hope for actually outperformed the one I had placed my confidence in.
As a result, my current approach involves creating two different squeeze page designs before making any adjustments.
I then direct 100 clicks to an A/B split test, allowing me to gauge their respective performance.
It’s important to note that this traffic comes from ads and not from my established audience or an affiliate’s audience.
While I have experimented with higher click volumes, such as 200 or 300, the differences in results have been minimal.
Hence, my rule of thumb is to rely on 100 clicks for testing.
But what if the results are evenly split at 50/50? In such cases, I continue the split test with my own traffic and closely monitor its progress over time.
Use that Viral Traffic
It is important to incorporate viral elements into your list building campaigns.
By incentivizing people to share something they find shareworthy, you can achieve successful results.
For instance, you can offer something of value as a reward for every X number of referrals to your free offer.
This reward could be access to a paid product, a coupon, a $5 Amazon voucher, or even branded merchandise like mugs, key fobs, or T-shirts.
These prizes may not cost much, but people have a strong inclination towards winning things.
When you consider the number of leads you’ll gain, the cost of these prizes is minimal.
To implement this strategy, you can utilize the ProductDyno WOMBAT system to set up evergreen funnels.
Additionally, you can occasionally run viral contests with a specific end date using platforms like Viral Loops or Vyper.
Extra Tip – Content Upgrades
This is probably the most powerful way to build a list from content on a blog. If you are not doing this, you need to start.
A “content upgrade” is a freebie that not only is related to the content but expands upon it.
So, if your content was an article like “10 Tips To Make The Perfect Apple Pie” the upgrade could be a full recipe sheet download with a video showing all of the steps.
This highly targeted approach means that you will get more opt-ins and you will be able to segment them according to their interests very easily.
And where do people opt in? Well not on a pop up that will just interrupt their reading and annoy them.
The best place to offer a content upgrade is in the actual content itself.
To do this you could use Beacon (where you would make and host the content upgrade) or, better still, the king of intelligent opt-in technology – ConvertBox.
