Does List Building Really Work?
May 9th, 2009 | Author: admin
Advocates of list building claim that it’s one of the most powerful marketing strategies available. They extol its virtues at every turn, maintaining that everyone who has a foothold in Internet marketing needs to have a list.
But do they?
Does list building always work? The short answer is “yes”. Here’s the explanation.
Some niches and product types are perfect for list building. There are products that naturally lead to up sells and supporting materials. In those cases, there is absolutely no substitute for list building.
Other products are “one off” items that don’t lend themselves to relationship building in the same way. If you’re selling wedding invitations, for instance, the idea trying to make and maintain a long-term connection with those same individuals and marketing to them doesn’t really “click” the way it might in other situations.
So, there are times when list building just isn’t necessary? Not necessarily. There are times when it needs to be approached differently and when it might not be as profitable. It can still be used effectively, however.
List marketing doesn’t need to be an extended process featuring lifelong relationships and multiple product offers. You can organize an email follow up to prospects that focuses purely on logging that first sale. Instead of loading up your auto responder with a year’s worth of messages, you might try to hit your list with a shorter series of messages over a tighter time period. Will that create the kind of situation that advocates of relationship marketing envision? Not quite. But it can still book sales.
In other words, list building works. Period. It may work better in some situations than others, but room exists to make it valuable regardless of the exact situation under considerations. There are times when a marketer will have to take a slightly different approach and may need to draw a few buckets from the creativity well, but overall selling to a list always makes at least a modicum of sense.
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