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Home » Business And Finance Articles » The Gold Is In The Optin List

The Gold is in the Opt-in List

When I consult with small and home based business owners, more times than not one of the greatest concerns they have is how to increase reach to a targeted market while keeping costs down. Hands down, effectively using the power of the Internet is the cornerstone to achieving this outcome. More times than not, companies are not using their Internet presence as effectively as they can.

I often see a company that has a website that looks great from a design perspective, yet from a marketing and sales perspective the site is not working. Many people are under the mistaken belief that if a potential customer or client visits their site they will be so impressed they will automatically return time and again. Fact is, this is not what happens in the real world of the Internet. Chances are within minutes most visitors have forgotten sites they looked at unless there was something that encouraged them to remember.

People remember based on the value you create and a problem being solved. They also remember by you keeping your name and company fresh in their mind.

One way to do this is to offer visitors the opportunity to opt in to your mailing list. If people have taken the time to visit your site, you need to encourage them to leave their contact information. You do this by offering them something that is incredibly valuable that they sign up for.

It's incredible how many companies, large and small, miss the opportunity to encourage visitors to sign up for something. It is in the signing up you will build a mailing list that is worth more than its weight in gold.

Most people are so overloaded with information that if you don't immediately solve a problem for them they are not going to be interested in signing up for anything. Additionally, once they sign up if your information does not continue to solve their problem they will want off your list.

In today's world of Internet marketing, your job is to look for ways to continually offer value while increasing your distribution list.

Specific Strategies to Increase Your Distribution List

• If you are in the retail industry, every time someone comes to your store, simply ask them if you can add them to your distribution list to keep them updated on specials, events, and unique offers. In most cases if they are attracted to your store, they will gladly give you their information. Make sure to get their email address.
• If you have a current mailing list of clients, conduct a survey and offer an incentive for people to respond. Direct them to your site where they fill out a survey and perhaps receive a free report or eBook.
• If you do any type of presentations as a part of your job, collect contact information from the attendees. Send a follow-up message within 48 hours inviting them to sign up for your Ezine.
• Use your email signature file to encourage people to sign up for an incentive on your website. Put the web link right in your signature.
• Put a sign-up box on every page of your site. Many websites have a sign-up on the main page but have not put one up on other pages of their site. Fact is, a web search for a specific product or service can take people anywhere on your site, not just the main page. Make it easy for them to sign-up for something from every page.
• Write and distribute articles online with a strong byline at the end of the article. A byline is simply an information piece that is usually a few sentences in length. In the byline direct readers back to your website for something of value.
• Offer a free report from your site. Make sure it is compelling enough for people to want to sign up.
• Offer free eBooks to encourage people to leave their contact information in order to download the file.

Opt-in lists are one of the most powerful marketing tools you have in your online and offline marketing. Complemented by a good Ezine, website, consistent focus on driving traffic to your site and gaining visibility, the potential for growing your business is unlimited.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

What Is A Virtual Assistant & Why Do You Need One?

Virtual Assistants (also known as VAs) are home-based entrepreneurs who take pride in providing fellow small business professionals with a wide range of office tasks, from administrative support to web design & maintenance. VAs are able to provide professional, creative assistance without ever having to go into the client's office.

Being small business owners themselves, VAs understand that success comes to entrepreneurs when they provide the best possible customer service. But, great customer service can sometimes be hard to upkeep when you are spending valuable time trying to stay on top of the non-core tasks that are a part of running a business.

A VA works WITH their clients to help alleviate some of these tasks, allowing them to free up some of their time to concentrate on generating revenue and building their businesses.

But, how do you know when you really need the services of a Virtual Assistant?

1. Your inbox pile just seems to be getting higher, and each day you fall farther behind.
2. Your day timer just doesn't seem to be able to keep you organized.
3. The important tasks are getting lost in amongst everything else and, when you do locate them, you find yourself rushing to meet a deadline.
4. You don't feel comfortable taking on an administrative task that requires a specific professional appearance.
5. You find you aren't delivering to your clients as fast as you would like to as you have too many other 'things' on the go.
6. You have a project that you need to get done but you aren't sure how to accomplish it.
7. Your administrative tasks have you so overwhelmed that you just don't seem to have time for anything else.
8. You spend so much time working that your family says it's like living with a stranger.
9. Your business is booming by you have no one to share it with or draw on for support.
10. Your website looks the same as it did two years ago, or
11. Your website is just a figment of your imagination.
12. You dread looking at the piles on your desk and wondering when you will get everything accomplished.
13. Running your business just doesn't have that same fulfillment as it used to because you're spending too much time doing the non-core tasks and not doing what you love the most.
14. You wonder where your 'life' has gone.
15. FREE TIME? ... WHAT'S THAT?

Operating a business should not have you stressed out and wondering how you are going to make it a success when you are so busy doing everything yourself. You started your business because it involves what you love to do. But, the non-core tasks that are involved with running a small business should not be a discouragement.

Virtual Assistants are in business to help you alleviate some of that added pressure by taking some of it off of your shoulders. They want you to succeed and will do everything possible to see that happen.

From general word processing to graphic design to website design. A VA's specialties can be just what you need to allow you to get back to running your business instead of it running you.