I’m on the mailing lists of a number of Internet Marketers. Every couple of days or so I’ll hear from one or more of them, and there’s even a select few that e-mail almost daily! 99 times out of 100, these are promotional e-mails, as the guru in question – breathless with excitement – eagerly shares with me  some closely guarded, “just released to the public”, secret that will turn my hard drive into a cash-siphoning machine.

Sadly, very few of these folks are using their lists to build rapport, or to “give something back” to their customers. So many of the newsletters I read contain absolutely no material of merit. There are a few exceptions, of course, but so many contain nothing but blatant “pitches” for one product or another.

Someone told these folks…

“The money is in the list!”

… and they followed it out to the extreme.

Sure, I am subscribed to many lists as a result of some purchase or another. So yes, that qualifies me as …

  • Being receptive to a certain type message.
  • Being open to purchasing online.
  • Having some disposable income.

However, the folks who e-mail me constantly with marketing messages are missing a couple of things.

First of all, the fact that I bought something from you does not instantly establish your credibility with me. Often a sale is a result of an affiliate’s recommendation. Sure, that affiliate partner does transfer some of the trust s/he has established to the merchant in question, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s not the end of the story. Now YOU need to demonstrate your credibility to me.

Second, how seriously do you think I take your promotions when I receive several every week? I have absolutely no problem with being introduced to great products when I know the promoter presenting them is doing so in a genuine effort to address my needs. But when I’m bombarded with promotions on an almost daily basis, it’s hard to believe this is the case. After all, you haven’t taken any time to get to know me, and you have absolutely no idea what my needs are!

Third, when you promote every product under the sun, your recommendations quickly lose impact. They become meaningless and impotent.

Fourth, I get tired of being regarded as nothing more than a potential meal ticket.

Fifth, and most importantly; if you’re not going to provide me with something of value, I will tire of the aggressive marketing. I will stop reading your newsletter, and eventually, I will unsubscribe.

It’s a simple and fundamental tenet of marketing online…

Give, THEN Take.

Give. In the form of high value, useful information. Which, I might add, further establishes your credibility and builds a bond with your subscriber.

Once you’ve done that, only THEN can you…

Take, by presenting me with high value, relevant, in-context recommendations, for which you earn a commission.

This is how you do it.

It ain’t rocket science.

Want to see how its done? Check out Paul Myers’ (from TalkBiz) newsletter and follow his example.

Seriously.

This is the most important lesson to learn for anyone interested in building and effectively monetizing a mailing list.

No related posts.