The List: A Key to Internet Marketing Success

There are a million ways to make money online.

 

You can blog about your hobby, toss up some Adsense and find yourself turning a few bucks.

 

You can take your skill as a coder public and generate income as a freelancer.

 

Combine an informational product with a sales letter and an Ad words campaign

 

-if you did your homework right, you can reap rewards.

 

The options are limitless.

The internet is huge and growing every second. As it grows, previously held reservations about making online purchases are disappearing and options for creating online incomes are exploding.

As with most ways of making money, however, generating an income online does require effort.

Very few win the internet marketing lottery and find themselves rich overnight. Usually, it requires consistent effort and a great deal of work to become a success.

That does not, however, mean that you need to resign yourself to the idea of working sixteen-hour days until you slump over your keyboard, exhausted.

 

You will need to work hard, but your results will be multiplied if you work smart at the same time.

 

One of the smartest ways to market successfully in the long run involves the creation of your own mailing list.

 

“The money is in the list.” You have probably read that sentiment repeatedly if you have investigated Internet marketing at all.

The reason for the saying’s popularity is the kernel of truth it contains. Money is in the list. Having a great list doesn’t guarantee wealth and success, but it’s a lot easier when its there.

Here’s the basic strategy.
Over time, you collect email addresses from individuals interested in your products, services, or information.

You convince these individuals to allow you to mail them occasional announcements, interesting tidbits or outright sales pitches.

 

Over time, you cultivate that list.

 

You provide your list with opportunities and values and develop a level of trust and credibility.

 

Then, when you have something to sell, you tell your list.

 

Predictably, list-members tend to buy your products at a fairly high rate.

 

Everyone is looking for targeted traffic.

 

They spend fortunes on pay per click campaigns or for link placement in areas they think will get them that targeted traffic.

 

Your list is like having a ready base of prequalified buyers to whom you can speak directly without having to persuade them to visit your site.

 

You can get quality buyers in a number of ways, but the easiest is by managing a quality list.

 

If you are marketing and don’t maintain a list, immediately search for ways to start building that collection of prospects.

Treat them well; offer them something of value, and eventually you will be able to rely upon them as a smart way of working hard to make money online. The money isn’t really in the list--but it sure comes to you with a lot less effort because of it.

Can you be Your Own Product?

 

In order to close a successful transaction, you need two things:

 

A product and a buyer.

 

The rest tends to take care of itself.

However, that simple arrangement can be difficult to create. One common problem for many looking to make money online is finding the right product. The best results usually come when one is offering something unique, valuable and about which they know a great deal. That can be hard to find.

Perhaps you are struggling to find a product that is a perfect fit?

 

If so, that great offering may be reading this article right now.

 

You may very well be your own best product. You might prosper by selling yourself.

 

Many marketers have a valuable skill set that they can offer as a commodity.

 

Are you one of them?

 

Can you do any of the following things exceptionally well?

 

Market research
Keyword research
Site or template design
Programming
Article Writing
Copywriting

 

Audio voiceovers or other recordings Graphics design

 

If you answered yes, you might want to consider earning at least part of your living online by offering your skills as a freelancer.

 

Not everyone is equally skilled at doing all things.

As a result, many webmasters and marketers are more than willing to hire someone else to take care of those aspects of their online business at which they don’t excel.

Others may simply not have enough time to do everything they need to do, or they may simply dislike some aspects of their business. Regardless of the motivations, many people are looking for others to help them and are willing to pay for the privilege of outsourcing those tasks to a freelancer.
Freelance work isn’t necessarily easy. It comes with a host of challenges.

One must find work, price it correctly, and make sure they are paid as promised. It can be a somewhat tricky career path.

For some, however, it can be a huge success. Others may market their special talents on a need-only basis, using them as a means of supplementing their income as they improve their marketing systems and strategies.

One nice aspect of the decision to generate online income via freelancing is the fact that you can apply your Internet marketing talents to the task.

You will be marketing yourself, and you can utilize all of the strategies you have picked up while working on other projects to help you build a client base. Many freelancers lack that sales and marketing background, affording you an opportunity to get a head start on much of the competition.

If you are looking for a great product to sell and cannot seem to find the perfect fit, consider freelancing.

 

You may be a great product and you will probably be better able to promote yourself than you can any third party informational package or software project.