Four Ways to Build a List with No Money

[Rudi Vanhaecke]

ou’ve heard it before – if you want to succeed online you must have a list of your own.

 

Every guru says it. Ever wonder why?

 

Because it’s true!  http://charliepage.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif

 

There is no doubt that the single most valuable asset I own online – more valuable even than owning the Directory of Ezines – are my mailing lists.

 

With them I can build, or rebuild, a business. Without them I’m back at square one.

 

How about you? Do you have a list yet?

 
If not, here are four simple ideas you can use today to start building a list of your own even if you don’t have any money to spend, a website of your own or any traffic!

 

These are all methods I have used, and I still use each of them today.

 

These tactics work for me and have for years. I hope they will work for you too.

 

Idea 1 – Your Email Signature Line

 

Go to your “sent email” folder right now and look at the email you sent today. I’m willing to guess that your email does not include an offer for someone to join your mailing list.

 

But it should!

 

Think about this – If you send only 20 emails a day (including replies) then you are sending over seven thousand emails a year!

 

What if only 1 in 7 people saw your link and joined your list?

 

That’s over 1000 subscribers to your list … free!

 

Idea 2 – Forums

 

Ever visit a forum and ask a question? Many have but they don’t leverage the experience in their favor. Just about every forum out there offers a signature line feature, yet we see thousands of posts with no signature.

 

Don’t make this mistake! If you post on the Warrior Forum or Michael Green’s How To Forum or any other, make sure to include a link where people can join your list.

 

Again, free and very effective. Put time on your side with this one!

 

Idea 3 – Twitter

 

Ah, Twitter – friend or foe? Great marketing tool or time waster?

 

Great marketing tool!

 

Here’s how you can use Twitter today to begin building your list with no money. Start following people you know of and replying to their Tweets. Make sure your reply makes sense and won’t waste people’s time.

 

Fan Tweets – replying to a Tweet with something like “loved your book about ___” are 100% okay and often much appreciated.

 

Once you have been following for a while you will get followers too, and become a recognizable name in your circles. When that happens, send a short Tweet about your new mailing list and where people can join it.

 

Sure, it takes some time and there is software to “automate” this process. But no software in the world can automate the personal touch, and that’s what is needed to build lists.

 

Idea 4 – Your Blog

 

If you don’t have a website you might be thinking “sounds good Charlie but where do I send them to sign up?” Fair question.

 

The answer is your blog. If you don’t have a blog there is simply no reason to wait any longer. Go to Blogger.com and get one now. It’s free, they have templates you can use that look professional.

 

If you can type, you can blog. And you should. Once you get a blog just put a form on it for your list and you are good to go!

 

So there you have it, four ways to begin building a real list of your own with no money and no traffic!

 

1. Your email signature line
2. Forums
3. Twitter
4. Your own blog

 

Begin using these methods today and you will put time on your side. Sooner than you think, you will have a mailing list of your own. And having a powerful mailing list is a beautiful thing indeed!

[Inzey]

Great set of information!!!

[tholmes]

These are good ideas that I can use!

Thanks!

[Lee1390335936]

Hey Rudi,

 

I read your submission relating to how important buildiing a mailing list is and I appreciate all of the tips that you have suggested to build a good list of subscribers. I have used several of those same methods and have had some fairly good success. Also, I currently use SMS technology to build a list of potential business partners, clients, and subscribers which I believe gives you a better targeted list for future connection to promote products or services to as well! I look forward to reviewing more of you articles moving forward and thanks for your suggestions and advice once again.

 

Regards,

 

Lee McCormick

Certified Q-Partner

automatedrecruiter@gmail.com

https://autorecruitingplatform.com/thariches4all

 

Google Hangout:

 

http://arpsystemhangout.com/?id=thariches4all

[paulserban]

It's a long time to have a massive list of leads. But if you have patience, you can built one.

There are much more ways to build a list.

[xiqual]

A 5th one, old timer style:

 

Do the same mentioned on the 2nd method,

only apply it in Yahoo! Groups.

 

Everybody talks about the big G,

almost nobody seems to remember

the big Y! has 700 million visitors per month...

 

Just be sure the Groups are niche-related

and your posts content is decent

[Ted Carter]

Thanks for the great ideas!

[Phyllis Wolfe]

Thanks Rudi for this information.  It's great to get ideas from other marketers. 

What about Fan Pages on Facebook?  Would those people count as a list or would I/you still have to ask them to sign up to your list?

[Darren Olander]

Thanks Rudi for this information.  It's great to get ideas from other marketers. 

What about Fan Pages on Facebook?  Would those people count as a list or would I/you still have to ask them to sign up to your list?

 

Fan pages COULD be considered a list if your posts actually reached them everytime.. unfortunately it is not really because when you make posts only a small percentage of them will actually see your post unless you pay Facebook to boost your posts. You should definitely ask them to sign up for your list.

[Phyllis Wolfe]

Thanks for the response Darren.  As a courtesy to anyone on my list I would want their permission not like all these people who pick up my email address some where and bombard me with false statements about the millions of commissions I am earning lol

[gnana]

Nice post with very valuable points.  As for the blog, I would say it is better to register a domain and make blog posts than using free blogging sites.  Because you should not be blogging at their mercy.

[lusekelo]

great,thank you for sharing 

[enet]

Thanks, im trying to build a list too!

[Len]

Thanks for that, I am using some of these strategies already, I also use social media as well.

[iamherbertflores]

Thanks for sharing Sir Rudi :-)

[celiacoach]

Regarding free blogging sites, I have found that Blogger ranks highly on Google without any effort - suits me!

[lowell78]

I have a free blogging site. It really needs traffic. Maybe it is the age. Let me know where to list. Here is the site.  Thanks

[john566]

Awesome Tips, I'm currently using this to build my list for free.....well you can either pay or earn your premium. So its technically free or paid. 

[topviralbiz]

all essential for building a business.........

[zelleranderic]

Great ideas and I will start implementing them, Oh and really trying not to be dumb but whats the best way of creating an email signature with an optin offer, any ideas or feedback would be really appreciated.

[Shantell]

Great ideas and I will start implementing them, Oh and really trying not to be dumb but whats the best way of creating an email signature with an optin offer, any ideas or feedback would be really appreciated.

 

Hey, zelleranderic.

 

I would just maybe sign of with your name, or describe tip, or perhaps your favorite quote, then link to your optin offer. For example I would do this:

 

Shantell Sweeney

"Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you."-John Wooden

Are you ready get focused? Click Here To Learn More.

 

They key is just linking to some text or an image in your signature to your optin offer. I hope this helps.

[Mbridges]

Agreed! Mailing lists are super important. People don't just buy from complete strangers regardless of what people try to persuade you to believe. Even places we shop on and offline have us on their mailing list and for good reason. They want to nurture the relationship between them and the customer. Even traditional businesses want to keep us updated, offer us special prices, introduce us to something new, and even reach out to us on a personal level at some point. So if you have a list and have for some time you definitely know what you're doing. If you don't have a list it's not too late. Look for a reliable program where you can integrate and autoresponder to collect YOUR OWN LEADS or design your own marketing system and integrate your autoresponder (best option). Great post!