Affiliate Marketing Specialist

Developing Your Own Opt-In List

I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times: the money is in the list. Well, unlike a lot of conventional wisdom, this is actually true. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of other ways of making affiliate income without your own email list. However, the most profitable and most sustainable way to a large income from affiliate marketing is through the relationship you develop with your list.

A simple fact of marketing is that most people will not buy from you on the first visit to your website. That is why the average conversion rate of even good sales sites is only 1-2%. The only way to get a second shot at those non-buyers is to have them opt-in to your list and then develop a relationship with them. This leads to you being viewed as a credible source of information.

A great way as an affiliate to start this process is through a “Name Capture” page. This is where the main page of your site is basically a salesletter for your list with the sole purpose of getting the prospect to give you their name and email address. They would then be forwarded to your main site, where you can presell them or simply provide information on whatever niche you are targeting.

Some people resist using a “Name Capture” page as they feel that forcing a prospect to opt-in before they can see your site will lower your traffic and thus, your affiliate sales. However, in almost every case I’ve seen, the opposite is actually true. You are pre-qualifying your traffic and therefore have better prospects viewing your site and on your list. Think about this way, if someone won’t give their email, how likely would they be to actually buy something based on your recommendation?

Now, you should still test this out for yourself instead of just taking my word for it, but I think you’ll find the results tremendously satisfying as long as you do a good job of “selling” your email newsletter. Provide lots of benefits and bonuses in order to get that email and you’ve made a great start.

Continue to build your list in as many ways you can, as long as they are profitable. Use methods such as paid advertising (like Pay-Per-Clicks), co-registration, ezine announcement lists, etc.

Once you start getting subscribers, don’t be afraid to send them product offers. You need to also give them good content, so mix it up. But don’t think you will alienate people if you recommend they buy something. As long as you are being genuine and only endorsing things that will bring real value to to your subscribers, most of them will appreciate it. The ones that don’t are welcome to unsubscribe as they aren’t doing you any good anyway.

And finally, whatever you do, do not spam, it’s simply not worth it.
 

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