The best way to find your target audience that you want to promote products in your area of interest or passion to is to build a list. A list is a group of names and email addresses that you have gathered by having them opt in to your autoresponder series of messages. The list is accumulated by your autoresponder so you can have on-going communication with your subscribers. Your autoresponder keeps track of the list, so you do not need to have a spreadsheet or write them down anywhere. Because people are relationship oriented, marketing is all about how people feel. When people feel good about a spokesperson or mascot representing a product, they are more likely to purchase. You want to build a list in order to glean a targeted market out of general Internet users to build a relationship with them to gain trust and familiarity so they will follow your recommendations about purchasing products or services you are promoting.
Here are some definitions of terms so you have a better understanding of the components of list building:
• An autoresponder is an email marketing tool that sends pre-programmed email messages in a series at pre-determined intervals to a list of subscribers.
• A subscriber is a person who has opted in to an autoresponder series of messages which gives permission to have the messages sent to their email address.
• To “opt-in" means a person gives permission to have an autoresponder series of messages to be sent to their email address.
Subscribers are motivated to opt-in to your list in order to gain some benefit that is appealing to them. This is often accomplished by an offer to give them something at no cost that will be of some value to them if they opt-in, like tips or information in the form of a free report or audio. In order to be effective with list building, you have to have an understanding of what your target audience wants and needs to know what to offer them to entice them to join your list. Although it does not have to be a complete book or video, your free offer does need to have enough value in and of itself to give you credibility you can leverage when you are offering a product or service that does have a cost. You want them to be so thrilled with your free offer that they wonder what they will get if they pay.
The best way to figure out what to offer your target audience is with research. You want to “get inside their head,” so to speak, to figure out what their deepest desires or greatest fears are. You can tell a lot about what people want by what they are purchasing. You can research what products are being sold or what information materials are popular related to your area of interest and research the type of people who are interested in them. Once you have an understanding of what types of tips and information they might find appealing, you can put together a free report to offer to them if they join your list. Ideally, your free report can be broken up into a series of emails they will receive by subscribing to your list. The best way to start with list building in your area of interest or passion is to do some research and then create a free report that appeals to your target audience that you can offer to them for subscribing to your list.
