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Marketing your business? You gotta grow your database!

Written by: Lorraine Cohen

Article Overview: Learn some do's and don't to market online that can build or sabotage growing your database.

Marketing your business? You gotta grow your database!

These days, building your email database is a key strategy to growing your business, both online and offline. I don’t mean just focusing on having BIG numbers on your list; what you want to build is a quality database.

How to do that?

Here are three tips:

1. Participate in an affiliate campaign. That means agreeing to offer a bonus product to the launch of someone else’s product (book, eBook, audio CD, program). You agree to promote their product to your email list in exchange for a commission on any sales that come from your list ($ in your pocket) as well as increasing your visibility to prospective buyers thus driving traffic to your website. People come to your website and sign up for your mailing in order to claim your bonus = increase in your database.

2. Are you a good writer? Pick some topics you’re an expert on and offer them to article submission sites such as www.ezinearticles.com and www.ideamarketers.com. There are tons of sites that accept free articles or you can pay to have your articles listed. Be sure to write about content-rich subjects you really know about that offer value to the reader. If you’re serious about having your articles attract traffic, hire a VA to handle this task. There are hundreds (maybe thousands!) of article submission sites and taking on the job single-handed is daunting and costly. I’m talking HOURS and HOURS taken away from your business that could best be invested elsewhere. I chose a VA (virtual assistant, www.justtoobusy.co.uk) to handle this task for me rather than use an article submission service. Why? I’ve heard that spam dramatically increases when using article submission services. No thanks. I’m already deluged by spam.

3. Write a blog. Search engines love blogs. Be sure to offer readers information that is of value. That’s my intent in creating this blog so I hope you are finding information you can use to help you!

A few additional comments on building your database… One thing that drives me NUTS is when I find I’m subscribed to someone’s ezine or email list without permission. This can happen when I meet people at networking events and we exchange cards or I contact someone and they just add my email to a mass mailing list. Often, I mysteriously get emails from people I’ve never heard of who have somehow gotten my email address. You may not realize that on some sites, your email is captured the moment you click on the site.

By assuming people want to become part of your network without gaining their permission to say, “yes”, you might be sabotaging a potential business relationship. To me that’s just another way to spam folks.

To be added to my mailing list or blog, you must either confirm your subscription or be sent a one-time mailing from me with an invitation to join. At the bottom of mailings, be sure you have a link to unsubscribe or change subscriptions so that people remain in charge of whether they wish to hear from you or not.

That’s why I appreciate the emails that request confirmation of agreement to “opt-in” to a mailing list. Even though it’s an extra step, I find that being asked to join with someone gives me choice - something I respect and need. Listen, I have no problem with one-time samples of newsletters or ezines that give me the option to subscribe.

One of the keys to success is developing quality relationships with people whether they are clients, colleagues, friends, prospects or visitors. In my opinion, growing your business and your database means being a person of integrity and treating others with respect - you know The Golden Rule…do unto others.

Bottom line - pick marketing strategies you enjoy and have fun with them!

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Article Tags: article submission service, article submission sites, audio cd, big numbers, bonus product, cd program, database 2, email database, email list, finding information, free articles, launch, one thing, prospective buyers, quality database, search engines, spam, submission services, virtual assistant, visibility



Related Forum Posts
Re: Don't read this unless... you want to help me! - Hi Jamie. I am a business coach as well and I think I can offer some insight. I think there is a wide spectrum of things people are being challenged with. Some of the common ones are Twitter Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Copy writing and personal branding. If you want to build your business you will need to Invest in yourself by reading books, attending courses/seminars. With the type of business you are in you are going to want to make yourself valuable to a wide variety of people with a wide variety of problems. I make an excellent living what I am doing but I never stop growing myself as a person and an entrepreneur so keep growing yourself, and over time your business will grow with you.
Persistence gives live to small business. - While I was reading about the 10th year anniversary of google, I counted back 10 years and what I see was persistent. Every small business can grow big if we will be persistent. Persistent actually brings consistence. There is no business that cannot grow big if the owner will not be too haste to succeed. Hastiness has always been the bane of colapsed small business. Whatever you do as antergreneur keep at it and be innovative about it, you will soon be celebrating growth. To me, there is no business that cannot grow be if persistence is employed.
Re: What would you like to see be invented? - It can start off very innocently. Have to play all night, gotta take something to keep me going. It can be very hard keeping a high level of energy during a six hour set, diet pills is where it often starts at. Then when it's time to get some sleep gotta have a pill or some booze to come down. After a while it takes something stronger to get up and to get back down again. That's where you see these guys get started on heroin, speed and meth. It's a vicious cycle. Tim
Re: Persistence gives live to small business. - [quote="topeyinka":160scfau]While I was reading about the 10th year anniversary of google, I counted back 10 years and what I see was persistent. Every small business can grow big if we will be persistent. Persistent actually brings consistence. There is no business that cannot grow big if the owner will not be too haste to succeed. Hastiness has always been the bane of colapsed small business. Whatever you do as antergreneur keep at it and be innovative about it, you will soon be celebrating growth. To me, there is no business that cannot grow be if persistence is employed.[/quote:160scfau] Thanks for the contributions am real informed better now!
Re: Affiliate Marketing - Open for Discussion - Carol, Mary and David - thanks for your great input and insight on Affiliate Marketing! This is the kind of discussion I was hoping for in this thread. There are pros and cons to Affiliate Marketing, just as there are to any business. As has been suggested, he best policy is to proceed with caution and do some research before jumping in. As Carol has recommended, this topic thread in the EvanCarmichael.com forum is the ideal place to ask questions and seek further input on available Affiliate Marketing programs. If a person is serious about building an online business and is interested in Affiliate Marketing plans, they should approach the process as they would any other form of business. Research, ask questions, compare opportunities, participate in forums on online business and Affiliate Marketing. GT :-]


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