List Building – Is It Still Relevant On Today’s Web?
Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins
Bizware Magic
http://www.bizwaremagic.com/

Years ago, when I first started in online marketing, all the rage
was something called “list building”. I immediately jumped on
this subject and started gathering every list building technique
one could possibly imagine. It very quickly became one of my most
favorite areas of Internet marketing to explore; so much so, that
when I reached my first goal of getting 1000 subscribers, I was
so pleased with myself, I even wrote an ebook on list building.

But that was then, this is now.

Since that time, online marketing and even the web itself, has
changed tremendously. And we are not talking about small changes
or minor adjustments here – the web has fundamentally changed
from the core up. People simply use the web in a different way
than they used it 10 years ago. It has become so much more of a
user-friendly place, so much so, that marketing on this
friendlier web has become a whole new ballgame.

The question remains: is list building still relevant on today’s
web?

The answer is still a solid “YES”, but the “WAY” lists are
built have almost changed completely. Not too long ago,
traditional list building meant you slapped some sign-ups forms
(provided by your webhost or an autoresponder service) onto your
web pages and you were in business. Subscribers who signed up to
your list or newsletter, would receive follow-up emails from you
or your site.

Anyone could do it since it was so straightforward and so simple,
almost to the point of being idiot-proof. However, the underlying
key to building a successful list was gaining loyalty and forming
a lasting relationship with your subscriber. Successful online
marketers and list builders will tell you, this was really the
hardest part. Communicating effectively with your subscribers
over a long period of time is extremely difficult to do and does
require gaining some skills, especially in the copy writing area.

So what has changed the list building process?

In a couple of words, three to be precise: social networking
sites. These social networking programs and sites have completely
changed how lists are built on the web. Actually, these social
network sites such as FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube… have
made list building as easy as taking your next breath. List
building is integrated into these programs so seamlessly, many
users are unaware they are actually building a list.

Simply by using these social networking sites any webmaster or
marketer can build a list of contacts or subscribers. Call them
friends, fans or followers – they are your subscribers and you
can easily reach them with your next posting, tweet or video.
There are countless teenagers on many of these social networks
who have subscribers that number in the 100′s of thousands, even
in the millions. And the rate at which they build their list of
subscribers, would put many a seasoned marketer to shame.

There are several reasons why this new way of list building is
much more effective than traditional list building methods.
First, building your list of contacts is fully integrated into
these network programs, often it is the main goal or purpose of
the program. Seeing how many followers you can get on Twitter has
become a world-wide sport – just go ask Ashton Kutcher!

However, from a marketing perspective, using these programs
eliminates one of the major drawbacks of marketing on the web -
spam. Actually, contacting your list by email is becoming
troublesome, even with double opt-in, many of your emails never
get through to your legit subscribers because they are blocked by
spam-filters and Internet service providers. Using these social
programs is a way of contacting your subscribers without the
whole issue of spam being considered at all.

Perhaps, an even more important reason to use these social media
sites to build your list, has to do with the tricky problem of
establishing relationships with your subscribers. These sites
make it much more easier to build that long-lasting relationship
with your contacts. In the case of YouTube, it can simply mean
making a video and talking directly to your subscribers.
Communication is direct and immediate. In most cases, there’s no
need to acquire additional skills or techniques. Besides, in most
of these social network sites, the communication is often more
effective because it’s just not one-way, your subscribers can
easily communicate back with you.

Same goes for Twitter, which has become the list building tool of
choice for many webmasters and online marketers. Twitter is an
excellent medium for building your list. It can be used
effectively to get your message out to thousands of like-minded
followers and have that message spread rapidly around the web.
Marketers are now taking advantage of such a system to market
online, but be aware abusing this program will get you banned,
especially if you just use it to send spam. Like any type of
marketing on the web, you shouldn’t have any problems if you
keep all your communications/interactions real and human.

Another element of these programs which can’t be denied, they
are all free. Anyone can use these social network sites to
quickly build their list or lists without having to worry about
paying for it. Actually, in the case of YouTube, you can become a
partner and earn revenue from Google Adsense while building your
list.

There’s also no denying these social network sites have changed
not only list building, but how we use the web. These programs
have a “pooling effect” on all web activity, gathering
like-minded individuals into or around certain “pools” on the
Internet. These concentrated pools of people can be formed around
a certain topic or even around a certain person. These are
excellent areas in which to carry out your list-building
activities and your online marketing efforts since they provide
very targeted prospects. Ones you can easily contact and
communicate with by using these social networking sites.

While the old traditional email list should not be forgotten,
list building, as we know it, has been changed forever by the
introduction of these social networking programs. And as these
network sites become more and more popular, they will play an
even greater role in all your list building efforts. A role that
can’t be ignored or dismissed, especially if you want your list
building to be truly effective.

———————————————————-
If you want to find out more about list building, try this
handy eCourse on: http://www.bizwaremagic.com/opt-in.htm
Or why don’t you simply follow us on Twitter to get
other useful marketing and list building help:
http://www.twitter.com/bizwaremagic
Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins. This article may be
freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=>> AdVantage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Get this excellent list-building tool FREE at:
http://www.esworldmarketing.com/build.html .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=>> Ezines-R-Us Advertisers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~