29/12: Make Money Online - Building A List

At this point in the ongoing make money online series, it's time to talk about building a list of opt-in email leads. Before you switch off and think...."I've heard all that before", I'm going to try and give everyone, from pauper on up, some great tips, tools and ideas to get you started in the world of list building.

Depending on the kind of marketer you are, your options are manifold. I'm going to start, once again, with those who don't really want to make much of an investment in the process. There are numerous choices for you, so I've listed a few below, along with my thoughts on each.

The Freedom List - this system was developed by Tim Brockelhurst and can work really well for those looking to build a list in the simplest way possible. You won't need an autoresponder as you can mail your collected leads direct from a web interface at the membership website.

It's actually a bit unfair to call this a list builder because it's really a whole lot more than that. If you visit the site you'll see that it comprises a whole system to help you start building a profitable online business. It's free to join and it's worth it for the free bonuses and e-course alone. I recommend this wholeheartedly for those just starting out.

Like most things you will need to do some promotion if you want it to work for you, but, as I say, it need cost you nothing or very little to start benefiting from everything at your disposal as a member.

My List Builder is the brainchild of Chad Van Norman and comes with an excellent set of tools to help you get started. Again, it is free, and relies on your ability to effectively promote the service. It works in conjunction with many other free list building services to help you collect leads in a variety of programs. After signing up, you will receive a short email course to help you get the best out of MLB.

Ideally, you will need access to an autoresponder of your own - there are several free autoresponder services available but most serious online marketers prefer the services of someone like Aweber autoresponders for managing their email campaigns and newsletters. They offer a free trial for the curious. The other alternative, claimed to be equally good is an autoresponder account with Getresponse. I personally manage fine with the Supersponder service provided by my hosting company which provides unlimited pro autoresponders with all the bells and whistles I need. A little more involved than the first option but it's still a good lead generation system and well worth a look.

My Viral List is another favorite of mine and if you use the system correctly it is a both a powerful list and profit generating idea. You won't need an autoresponder as mailing is again done through a web interface all hosted by the program itself. You won't end up with an overflowing inbox. The program provides a good selection of easy to implement lead capture templates offering free bonuses to entice people to join your list. All you have to do is get the word out, and if you complete all the steps in the free signup process you'll have the potential to earn some good money too.

There are plenty of free listbuilding programs available online today, all work in various different ways and some are more effective than others. Listed below are some of the better known programs, each of which are designed in slightly different ways. All offer both free and paid options and you will probably find that some work better than others, some will build your list more quickly and some will take a little more time.

It is wise to use an email address specifically for your list programs as some, although not all, will send you a lot of mail.

ListJoe.com - this is one of the better programs in my opinion. It works on a credit system, which means you need to click on links inside the emails from other members to earn the right to send your own mails. The good thing is that you will get to send a lot of emails soon after joining and they stand a good chance of being read as others will want to earn their own mailing credits. It's a bit like a credit based safelist in that respect. There is also a good downline builder at the site to help grow other list building programs of which you are a member.

UPDATE: Conclusion. Basicallya credit based safelist. Set up a specific account for emails as you will get quite a few (around 20 a day). Provided you click the links in your mails you can soon build enough credits as a free member to mail out to 2500 members once a week. At least your advertised site will get seen. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether any of those members will be interested in what you are advertising. Still one of the best of its kind though.

Triple Your List - is another good program although the free membership has its limitations. It's cycling system generates leads quickly though so it's worth a look. Ideally you need an autoresponder to make the most of the leads you collect, but, if you don't have one yet, it's still a good place to start collecting some opt-in subscribers.

UPDATE: Conclusion. Producing leads as promised. Responsiveness still to be determined.

The List Machine - This one provides a web based mailer to send mail out to other list members. In a way this type of system might be easiest for a lot of people but there is always the doubt that any of your mails will actually get read. Many users of these types of program simply divert their list mail to a blackhole or just delete them without ever opening them. Not a bad program but others are better. They don't pay commissions to free members either.

UPDATE: Conclusion. Still a bit early to criticize this one for me, but so far very little success in persuading others to join and still doubtful of its potential.

Your Lucky List - The comments made above, apply to YLL too. It does generate leads, even if you never refer anyone yourself - but mailing from the site mailer is restricted for free members and you don't get to actually see your leads. Each time the matrix is rebuilt your available leads change - up or down in numbers - and many users probably never even see the emails being sent by others. Could be better, but then again, it's free. Results might disappoint, but only giving it a test drive will tell.

UPDATE: Conclusion. Just another safelist. Even though the matrix does allow you to mail a varying number of members eacch week, it's unlikely any of your mail will be seen, let alone opened. No incentives for members to read other member's offerings which basically leaves it dead in the water. A list builder for the program owners, but beyond that, unlikely to provide any results. Sorry YLL. 

ListLotto - This is entirely different and as the name suggests, offers members the chance to "win" a mailing to the entire membership database as well as the tools to gather prospects. It's different, but as to how effective it is, the jury is still out. Worth a free test drive.

UPDATE: Conclusion. Not really sure this is particularly worthwhile. The word Lotto should have been a clue. Chances of developing any meaningful contacts or customers a game of chance at best but at least they don't bombard you with tons of email. I'll give it more time before any praise or criticism.

List Dot Com - another offering that allows members to use a system mailer to contact their leads. Free and paid memberships available as with most of the other programs and of course, upgrading gives you far better features. I've not used this for long enough to truly judge its worth so you'll need to see for yourselves!

UPDATE : Conclusion. ListDotCom is another safe list and little more. Unlikely to produce results as members have no real incentive to read list mails from other members. Too easy to set up a specific email account and bulk delete - I have to say that would be the best idea as my inbox was bombarded with mail from the list, most of it rather amateur and annoying in nature. I have since deleted my account. The most useful list is being built by the program owner(s).  Sorry LDC, but unlikely to produce any worthwhile results for members.

UPDATE: Conclusion. List Bandit is little more than a safelist and consequently suffers from all the associated downfalls. There is little incentive to read member's emails and most savvy users probably divert all list mail to a dump address specifically created for the purpose and either auto trash them or mass delete them with the click of a mouse. Not likely to bring much in the way of results I'm afraid, aside from for the program owner(s) who are building a worthwhile list. Does however offer a reasonable downline builder by way of consolation, but not the best listbuilding solution - Sorry LB.

OK, those account for a pretty large chunk of work so I'll leave it there for the freebies. As I have said, some will be more effective than others, but if you're definitely not prepared to open your wallet I'd make a start with the top four listed above.

Now, just to end on my usual note - building a decent list that is yours to keep is better achieved with your own hosting account and autoresponder tools which will enable you to set up your own squeeze pages/lead capture templates and really have ownership of an opt-in list. If you're just lacking a professional autoresponder, give Aweber a try as it's widely regarded as the very best out there.

If you already have your own hosting but are still struggling with list building, you can now get a free copy of the ListSpawner script which you will find very useful. All you need to do to get a free copy is refer four subscribers and you will be able to download this viral tool.

These programs are all well and good, but there are of course better ways to build opt-in lists - building sites requiring member subscriptions is probably one of the most effective. More about that another time.

There's a lot more to listbuilding, but I hope these ideas will get you started. The series will continue and in 2008 I will be offering regular free marketing tools for download, so please remember to subscribe to my feed and you won't miss any of the many giveaways I have planned.