An ad list is generally a list that you build and send outside ads to without any useful content at all. This is the easily the fastest method of list maintenance of all of the above, and despite a major a downer in unsubscription rates, and the challenge of getting people to subscribe in the first place, is still widely used solely for income from ad sales.
The ad list. Oh this one makes me shudder. It's the bane of my existence, and the totally blatant amateur marketers club, the ad list. Take every example that we've used, and everything that I've shown you so far, from relationship building, to useful content, personal lists, and your reputation, throw it out the window, go fetch it, then throw it out the window all over again.
So, you may be wondering why this is even reviewed if it's so terrible. Well, the reason for me doing so is to show you what your list can turn into if you're not very careful about managing it. If things get out of balance and get out of hand, and your list turns into an ad list long term, you've had it, aside from the cash you're going to bring in through selling ads, which let me assure you, doesn't even compare to what you can earn to selling your own products, Jv’s, or promoting other peoples programs.
So what do you get from an ad list? Well, ads really, that about sums it up. All you're doing here is getting a bunch of people together on a big list, saying 'forget the relationships, forget JVs, forget my own products, forget useful content or anything of the sorts, my aim is to get the biggest list so I can sell ads for the highest price'.
Despite my apparent lack of enthusiasm for this type of list, some people do still seem to insist it's the best way to go about things. Maybe if you didn't know how to create your own products, or how much money is in affiliate promotion (when done correctly) or just didn't have the time or wanted some quick short term income, this is choice of most with these kinds of attitudes. Let’s take a look at why I'm so harsh about this list type. Oh, and don't be offended if you've been running an ad list, or have run one in the past, just let it be known it is not by far the best way to make money from your list.
Unsubscription Rate: * Ouch. One star: On an ad list where your main aim has been to sell ads over and over again to people for the highest price possible, with no other means of communication or content, it's obvious many subscribers will get bored quickly. I would, and I do too. You might argue some want to see the ads, but would you rather see a load of random ads from random people, or see ads from someone that you know for sure knows what they're talking about, what they're promoting, and what they're JV’ing? Start an ad list, and be prepared to have to top up often from the unsubscriptions, that are if your mail even gets read before its deleted or filtered.
Subscription Rate: * One star again: Now I one starred this because in all honesty, telling people all they're going to receive is a bunch of random ads isn't really the easiest way of attracting subscribers. Many of the lists of this type that I've come across don't come from previous customers or valuable affiliates, but purchased leads (which also make me shudder almost as much).
If in all honesty you're telling the subscriber what they get before they subscribe, they probably just aren't going to bother, aside from the odd few who want the freebie. Buying leads still gets the one star from me, because one hundred thousand random subscribers has nothing on one thousand people who know your name, your reputation and speak highly of you. If you go down this route, prepare to either have a really small list that just doesn't care about anything really or a really huge list that costs a lot that really doesn't care either. What is there for them to care about, random ads? I think not.
Ad income: ** Two stars: Not that this makes up for the other huge short comings mind you, but generally the ad income can be ok depending on the size of your list. An ad to a list of a hundred thousand for a hundred dollars can look like a good deal to the entry level online marketer, or someone who hasn't been around and seen the sights yet. Of course we know better though. The response rates tell the story, and when your customers don't see any response to their ads, if they're smart, they won't be coming back to give your their cash ever again, bad news for your long term prospects.
JV Circle: * One star, once again: Unfortunately a list that isn't personal, doesn't have good subscribers, people that have bought from you, willing to spend cash, affiliates, or even populated with people in your target market won't be a hot topic for joint ventures. Try to barter with one of these, and don't expect to get very far unless your JV prospect is inexperienced. And in any case, if they're inexperienced, it's unlikely the joint venture will be profitable to you in any case.
Response Rate Over Time: * One star: If you receive a different ad every day for a year from a list, would your make the effort to open and read? Doubtful, unless you knew the marketer well or were interested in their work. (Some would argue it’s the job of the headline or the skill of the marketer that decides whether or not the mail gets opened. This is the case to an extent, however when you’re building a list for your own personal use, you want the most sales, and the biggest response rate possible, which you can play a big role in not just through your ads, but the way in which your list is built. Looking at things this way, the best ad in the world probably wouldn’t pull as good a response from an ad list compared to one just two thirds of the quality sent to a personal list.) It's a big never-ending roll downhill. The more ads your send, the more people unsubscribe, the less people care, the more you're filtered, blacklisted, and not taken seriously as a marketer. Your response rates will plummet. Fast.
General usefulness: * One star: Unfortunately even general usefulness here is a downer. Again, no one cares what you have to say or about your questions, because they don't know you. They might have known you if they didn't receive a load of ads from different people every day, or every week or whatever, but that isn't the case here. It's unlikely many will be reading, never mind be motivated to answer any questions you might have or research inquiries. And after all, why should they if they're not getting anything out of it too? A daily bunch of random third party ads of varying quality from hundreds of different people don’t count.
Maintenance Time: ***** Yay! Finally, five stars: You receive the ad from your customer, cash lands in your account, paste in the ad, hit send and you're done, the ultimate quick, not-much-to-do list maintenance method. I assure you, though, this will never ever make up for it's shortcomings in other areas. Don't bother if you're looking for a serious online business. It's just not the way to go about things, morally or logically.
Important note here: These are base figures and your exact results may be higher or lower than the above. It's more to give you some insight into aiming your business in the right direction than to give you exact figures and numbers and guaranteed base earnings, response rate, income, number of JV prospects etc.