Unique Listbuilding Strategies: Surveys

February 1, 2010 by Shawn Casey
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing News, Affiliate marketing, Internet Marketing, Traffic Tips, affiliate marketing training, listbuilding 

When it comes to listbuilding, you’ll want to think outside the box. Sure, there are many tried and true methods for building your lists, but you need to experiment with other ideas every once in a while to attract more subscribers.

We all know that the majority of the people who land on websites are curiosity seekers or tire kickers. However, you don’t have to give into the majority rule. What if you could find a way to catch their attention, keep them on the page, and build your lists all at the same time?

If you’re looking for ways to super-charge your e-mail marketing, try using surveys to get website visitors to opt-in to your list:

Offer surveys that are relevant to your niche.

There’s something about a survey that piques an individual’s curiosity. This is evident in the number of “just for fun” surveys on sites like Facebook and MySpace. Using a survey is like checking the temperature of your target market. You may think your product or service is the next big thing, but consumers may be looking for something different. This is a great way to test the waters.

Develop surveys that will give you important feedback about your target market. Look for consumer needs and buying trends. Use them to develop new products or enhance existing ones. Most of all, have fun with this process. While some surveys may be serious and critical to the development of your business, try your hand at creating a few surveys just for entertainment value.

Offer a free “how-to” guide.

You should reward people for participating in your survey. Offer a “how-to” guide that solves a problem for them. If you start thinking of yourself as a problem solver instead of a marketer, you’ll find more ways to connect to your target market.

Whenever someone lands on your website, the first question that comes to mind is this one: “What’s in it for me?” Make their trek to your site worth their while. A “how-to” guide should solve an immediate problem.

For instance, if you’re selling diet products, your guide should offer some tips for kick-starting their weight-loss plans. If your customer base is focused on making money, offer a few of your tried and true nuggets of gold for building wealth. Give them just enough to want more information from you later.

Every transaction should be a mutually beneficial exchange between you and the prospect.

Keep in mind that listbuilding isn’t about tricking someone into signing up to your list. It’s about offering something valuable in exchange for someone’s name and e-mail address (and, hopefully, future sales transactions). Even before you make a single sale, your focus must be on making your subscribers happy. Satisfied subscribers to your list are more likely to turn into buying customers. Focus on the end result.

There’s no one-size-fits-all listbuilding strategy. Get creative and focus on the needs of your target market. A good rule of thumb is to make every exchange a mutually beneficial one for both you and the subscribers to your list.

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