New List Building Challenge For The Traffic-Impaired

 photo credit: pasukaru76 (sry bad internet)

There are some great challenges going on right now, like Alex and Robert (Bam and Boo)'s article writing challenge to bring traffic to their niche sites. I didn't catch  it in time to join so I'm cheering them on from the sidelines. There are a couple interesting ones over at Sheila's blog too.

But I like contests because they help me learn, grow, and succeed. Note – right now I'm challenged by the word – I keep typing it challange

Hmmm… what would really benefit my Internet Marketing business?

Lots of stuff, really. But what can I laser-focus on? What ONE strategy right now? 

Growing my list.

Now there are many ways to do this, and probably my favorite would be:

Offer a brand new opt-in product. This can be something created from scratch or from PLR I've added value to. It should be a killer offer that viewers should really want to get their hands on.

But that would assume I have lots of traffic already, because to get people to opt-in you need to get them to where your opt-in offer is. If not, I would have to do a lot of promoting and other traffic-getting strategies. Honestly, I just don't feel like doing that right now.

Instead, I'm going to try something else, an idea that sprang to mind after reading Ruth's post about it.

I'm only going to use the Warrior Forum.

The list I'm targeting is my PLR list and the offer I already have in my Warrior Forum sig is an ad for free PLR with opt-in. Here's my sig line:

 

 

 

Here are the rules I'm going to try to follow:

1. Starts MONDAY 3/28 and goes through Friday.
2. I will comment on 10 posts a day. If I choose to post my own thread, it will count too.
3. I will try to target the threads where people might be interested in my opt-in offer/ad in my sig, but I'm not limited to that. I like to help where I can (offer quality comments).

Will this listing building strategy work?

I imagine it will work to some degree, I just don't know how well. I'll report back after it's over and let you know. I may also sell products from the other 2 offers in my signature file, and while really great, that's not what this challenge is about.

Feel free to join me in this challenge! You don't have to have an actual ad in your sig line, it can just be the regular text link to your opt-in offer.  

• Is 10 comments in the Warrior Forum too many each day for 5 days?
• What is your prediction as to how many new followers I can get on my list this way?
• Care to do this challenge too?

Internet Marketing Milestones – My Results Writing and Selling PLR

Now that all the 2011 goal-type posts are long gone, I think it's okay to write a milestone post… because it's my anniversary! I've been writing and selling PLR for 3 years and I'd like to share some of my journey.

Prior to the PLR store
 Although I had a website for CookinKids since 2003, I didn't catch the Internet marketing fever until September of 2007. I started by interviewing 11 IMers about how to look after your list of subscribers and build relationships, and turned it into a free optin ebook. That link will take you to the original squeeze page, which I think is pretty good considering I really didn't know what I was doing at the time! 

Then I floundered a bit trying this and that with no clear plan of action. I was working hard and making a little money, but I knew there had to be more. Then I thought about writing and selling PLR. I knew how to set up a website and I'd already become an EZA expert author so I knew how to write articles.

April 2008
I officially opened the doors of AllstarPLR with 9 article packs. A lot went on behind the scenes first – looking at the other top stores and making lots of decisions. I had to decide how to lay out my store, what topics I wanted to have packs on, how much I wanted to charge, etc. It was a lot of work, but very exciting. I knew this was work that had to be done once, and after that I could make money selling my articles.

I can still feel the excitement I felt back then when I first realized what the term "passive income" meant. And that's what I wanted! Having a PLR store made perfect sense – write the article packs once and sell them again and again.

Since I "knew" it was important to have a list, I put an optin form on my site giving away a report I wrote about 51 ways you can use PLR.

I started growing my PLR list by telling all the people I had on my existing list (from the ebook freebie mentioned above) about my new venture. Some of them joined my new list and bought some of my article packs.

Note – I make sure to keep my lists separate. If a list is only regarding PLR, then I only send them info on PLR.

I also did a WSO on the Warrior Forum offering 3 of my bundles at a discount. This did decent sales considering I was an unknown, plus I got some good testimonials. What surprised me was people visited my site via the WSO and I sold more of my other bundles than I did the ones listed in the WSO!

Note – I didn't think to collect my testimonials and keep them all in one place until much later. It would have been easier to do it as they came in, instead of trying to gather them up afterwards!

Rest of 2008
I continued a pattern of writing and as I got done with 3 packs I would list them for sale on the Warrior Forum. I would let my list know too, but with it still in its infancy stage, the Warrior Forum provided a much bigger base of potential customers plus a chance to further grow my list.

I also joined a few Giveaways with my stuff and got more subscribers that way.

Beginning of 2009
I didn't do as many article packs in the beginning of 2009 because I was also growing my other businesses. I wrote and sold some of my own ebooks and reports and worked on a few projects with other people. 2009 was surely my year of massive learning and growth as an Internet marketer. One added benefit to all that growth was now I could really write IM PLR with the voice of experience.

March 2009
Pat Graham and I teamed up for MyNichePLR, a membership site, and started the first membership for Baby Boomer. The software we used delivered 3 new articles every week plus a report once a month. Next we added a Wedding membership, and a few months later added an Internet marketing membership.

Wow, I can't tell you how thrilling it was to wake up every morning and see "You've received a subscription payment" messages in my inbox!

We wrote enough articles to keep these memberships going for 9 months and then decided to cap it. The way the software worked, it didn't matter when someone joined, they would start at week one. That meant we could still welcome new subscribers even as existing memberships ended.

Rest of 2009
I tallied up how many PLR articles I wrote in 2009 and it was 313! One new thing I did at the end of 2009 was create my first full PLR package including ebook, bonuses, salespage, articles, download page, graphics, etc. This was a big money-maker and I vowed I would do more of these in 2010. I started a website for these complete packages at PLR-Packages.

As far as my PLR articles went, I was now making an average of $10-25 per article, and that's just with the initial announcement of new packs. That doesn't count the sales I make over the lifetime of the article – customers come to my site to purchase when they need something, not just when I announce the new stuff.

2010
As my list grew, I really understood it's power. If I send an email to my list, I make money. You hear of that happening, but it is so cool when it happens to you!

Note –  Of course not all my emails are promotional; sometimes they're just informative or asking the subscriber to take some sort of action. 

Pat and I turned MyNichePLR into a non-membership site so that people who don't like the membership part of it could buy the PLR in bundles. We are planning a new branch – Baby.

I'd been writing PLR when it suited me, which is usually when I get in the mood to do it, or realize it's been a while, or I'm in-between other projects.

I really like this business model and I'm happy with how it's going, but I realize it could be so much more. I make a conscious decision in 2010 to quit dividing my time equally between my different income streams and put more, much more, of my time into this one as it's my most successful.

2011
I'd been thinking for quite a while about writing an ebook about starting a PLR business for others who are struggling to make money online and need a sound business model to follow.

I finally wrote it because I had an upcoming interview about PLR with Tristan Higbee of BloggingBookshelf. Some of his blog readers had been asking me questions about selling PLR so I knew Become a PLR Writer would be of interest to at least some of them.

Then I realized I had even more to say about writing PLR after the ebook was done so on the backend I offered a paid subscription newsletter called the Professional PLR Provider newsletter. I just finished writing the 2^nd month and I really enjoy sharing what I've learned about building a list, getting traffic, tips for doing WSOs, package ideas, and marketing the business.

Some lessons learned –

·    Hiding behind your site doesn't make you much money, no matter how good your products are. Be bold and be everywhere!

·    Some people will buy everything you create, so keep creating and don't stop.

·    If Spider Solitaire is installed on your computer, uninstall it.

·    SEO is very, very important.

·    Working on your relationship with your customers and treating them right means customers become friends and supporters. I really like that.

Is my PLR business a success? That depends on how you define success. No, I'm not making a gazillion dollars but I am making money and reaching goals I've set for myself.

There's great satisfaction in setting out to do something and having it really work, even if the path to get there wasn't exactly how I envisioned it!

 

 

5 Tips for Building Professional Online Relationships

This is a GUEST POST from Tom Walker over at CartridgeSave.
It's a different topic than I would write about, which I think is a good thing!

 

5 Tips for Building Professional Online Relationships

Decades ago, professional relationships were built and maintained face-to-face; however, continuously upgrading technology now makes it possible to have a professional relationship across the World Wide Web. While this may seem a bit impersonal to those that do not fully understand it, the internet can actually be a very useful tool when conducting business and maintaining business relationships.

The good thing about the internet is that anything can be done. You never have to meet someone in person in order to buy, sell or exchange a product or service.

The important thing to remember about engaging in professional relationships online is that trust is still a huge factor and has to be supported in everything that you do. Customers and clients alike believe in trust as a foundation of good business; trust is earned, however. How is it possible to establish a successful professional relationship online?

Become interested in your business prospects:
Here's the thing, if you have something to offer, you have to let people know about it. If you excel in a certain service or produce a magnificent product, start getting interested in business prospects with similar goals. You don't have to refer to them as "targets," though it is exactly what they are. You don't know them, they don't know you; you seek out business relationships based on what can be exchanged.

Take the time to get to know your prospects. Before you make any kind of contact with the person or company, it is beneficial to know at least the basics; minor research will do the trick.

Do not be afraid to reach out:
Companies or business prospects are very rarely the first to make contact. If you are seeking them out for a potential project or business deal, it's because you want it. If you want something, you have to initiate the first contact. It's not a huge deal and it doesn't have to be a production from the get-go.

In fact, most companies and business professionals operate on popular social networks. You can find most everyone and everything on either Facebook or Twitter. Facebook is becoming more of a professional playground each year. Don't be shy, reach out to start laying a foundation.

Set the foundation of friendship and trust:
You could just jump into a business deal, but where's the trust in that? What can you say in a Facebook wall post that will make a professional business person want to do business with you? It will take more time than that to develop an online working relationship. There is no face-to-face contact which eliminates some of the nerves of the meet and greet, but it also has its draw backs.

For instance, trust is harder formed online because there is a lack of personalism. It is the main reason why trust has to be established beforehand. Reach out on a level that is aside from professional endeavors; look for an opening to build a personal relationship before moving it to a professional relationship.

Build confidence and enjoy a relationship:
As you correspond over the internet, both parties may feel more comfortable and would prefer a face-to-face meet. This could be over a cup of coffee, or enjoying a hobby that you both share; another great reason to do background research on your prospects. You can highlight your talents at any entry level if you are developing a friendship, and it won't feel or be perceived as being forced. This kind of personal relationship can easily turn into a successful online professional relationship.

Fulfill the need:
Once you know your target and have become personally acquainted, you will feel more comfortable about taking a dive into the professional pool. At this point, you have developed at least a basic level of trust, which can help you succeed at a professional level.

If you are able to grasp a job opportunity, project or business deal, make sure you are able to comply 100 percent. You do not want to make the wrong professional impression after working so hard building up a personal one. If you fulfill the business needs of your contact, you will be asked to share more of the load in the future. Word of mouth is the best business representation, and it will take you places if you put in the effort from the beginning to the end.

Tom writes and is a reviewer on CartridgeSave, an online shop where shoppers can order printer cartridges and cheap ink cartridges.

• What have been your experiences building online professional relationships?
• Do you think it's hard or easy to do?