Email List Building is perhaps one of the most necessary and continuous activities for internet marketers. The money is in the list because the list is the heart of your business.
It is not so hard to start a new business when you already have a list of customers or potential customers, hot leads.
Opt In Email List does take time to grow. If you haven’t read the 3 posts about List Building Steps on this blog then I strongly encourage you to do so because the most important elements and basics are covered in them. Here are the links:
List Building Steps, Step 1-Get Autoresponder
List Building Steps, Step 2 – Make Free Opt-in Offer
List Building Steps, Step 3 -Get Traffic To Your Opt-in Form
Now that we have the nuts and bolts covered, we can proceed to what this post is all about:
Online Giveaways,
Speed Up The List Building Process
What are giveaways?
As you may or may not know, giveaways are organized events for the specific purpose of getting subscribers to your list at an accelerated pace.
Having an opt in form on your site and driving traffic to it is a good method but it is very gradual and slow. Prospects and potential customers will drip in slowly but surely.
Continual dripping is nothing to sneeze at but sometimes a rain shower can help fill the bucket much more quickly.
If you want to build your list faster, and who doesn’t, then participating in giveaways is a good way to do it.
Giveaways are fairly recent list building method and what is so great about them is that they are virtually free to the contributors of gifts.
They are completely free to those who want to obtain those gifts if they are willing to fill in their name and email address in order to get the gift they want.
What do giveaway contributors need?
Assuming that you want to participate as a contributor to a giveaway event, you’ll need:
1) Your own gift, (I’ll touch on the possible giveaway items later)
2) A good quality autoresponder to pull in the leads into your list.
3) Landing sign up page,
4) Support email address,
5) Gift image
Giveaway items you can use
You want your gift to be attractive and helpful in order for people to want to get it and be willing to give you their name and email address for it.
It is always much better if your gift is your own original product that you have created. You can quickly gain a reputation through these gifts and I bet that you want it to be a good one.
Many events accept giveaway items in digital form
It is the quality of your gift item that matters more than the size of it.
Therefore it is much better to have your own original report of five to ten pages than it is to have a 100 page knock off e-book.
Other good contribution items could be: audio package, video course, your own e-book, membership site pass, software, templates.
You may be able to come up with other gifts, always keeping in mind what people may need or want.
What to do next?
The above is not an exhaustive information on the subject of online giveaways. The purpose of this post was to give you an idea about what they are and how they could speed up your list building.
Leave your comment if the post was helpful to you
and I want your comment if it fell short of your expectations.
Most of all I want you to tell me what else you want to find out about the subject
and your suggestions on subjects you’d like me to write about.
.
Authored by Vance Sova
Subscribe to Vance Sova.com by Email
Filed under: Email List Building, Opt In List
Hi Vance,
Pretty good summation. I have some reservations about the way that some people run their Giveaway events.
I mean, it’s up to each individual but one thing that really irritates me is the upgrade where members can “buy” every gift without opting-in. This, in effect, stabs all the contributors in the back – all for the sake of a quick buck. Short-term thinking in my opinion.
I agree entirely that it is FAR better to author your own product that use some out-of-date, cruddy, error-riddled, poorly written PLR heap of junk. If you use a junk product you build a junk list.
Get the impression that I have NO time whatsoever for PLR? You’d be 100% correct.
Regards
Gary Simpson
TEMPLE
.-= Gary Simpson´s last blog ..Internet Marketing Tips #9 – Gary Simpson =-.
Vance Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Hi Gary,
I was hoping that you’d comment on this subject and you have. Thank you. You know much more about giveaways and I appreciate that you didn’t tear my post to pieces.
I’ve heard both good and not so good things about how different people run the events. I guess it’ll take me a while to be able to see through everything.
I was initially thinking of using PLRs at least on occasion but your aversion to them and also what some other people said made me change my mind on that.
Talk soon,
Vance
Hi Vance,
Giveaways have been around for quite some time. Long enough that they’ve almost reached a saturation point. It seems like there’s two or three new ones a week.
Personally, they are not high on my list. To be effective you need to upgrade, or end up at the end of a list of 200 or more contributors, and that can get expensive at $27 to $97 an upgrade. That’s the range of prices I’ve seen. And what do you have at the end of the day?
A list full of freebie seekers. Some even what I call professional freebie seekers…the ones who have dedicated email accounts just for giveaways. The only emails they open are the confirmations so that they can get their “gift”.
Others will hang around in the hopes of getting another free gift as they know the next trick is Adswaps. Another way to fill your list with freebie seekers.
I’ve seen lots of posts about how good Giveaways and Adswaps are but something I’ve NEVER seen is what percentage of people actually open the emails sent.
Nor have I seen any mention of how many of those people who actually open the emails click on any links.
Which brings us to the most important part. How many of these people BUY anything?
It’s said that every list member is worth one dollar a month. Which I’m sure is true…for a responsive list. Something that I don’t think a list full of freebie hunters qualifies as.
A marketer that I follow made a statement to the effect of…”Don’t do anything until you actually start making sales”…and it makes total sense.
Make sales…then start doing some of the other techniques…like building an effective, responsive list of BUYERS.
Since reading that comment I’ve been focusing solely on making sales. My blinders are firmly in place until such time that I see a steady income coming in…then I’ll look to other avenues. Like list building, product creation, etc., etc.
Since doing so I’ve actually started to see some money come my way from all of this. Nothing to write home about but it’s a start.
Cheers,
Rod
.-= Rod Macbeth´s last blog ..Expanding Short URL’s =-.
Vance Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hi Rod,
I appreciate your input as always. A little bit of controversy never hurts and makes the discussion interesting.
You are one of the people who doesn’t favor giveaways and that’s fine. I need more time and experience to speak strongly one way or the other.
There are a lot of people who love giveaways an participate in two or three every week.
Of course, you are right that not all the leads or subscribers will remain on your list. They always have the option to unsubscribe.
Freebie seekers can be found anywhere, not just in giveaway events.
I suppose that there are some events where the quality is not that great and other events are of very good quality.
I’d say that unless and until a person experiences both their opinion will lean to one side, either good or bad.
Let’s see what other commentators will have to say.
Thanks for commenting.
Vance
Hi Vance,
I appreciate your post on giveaways, I wondered how that worked.
I’m always looking for tips on getting traffic, so naturally I had to read your post.
I’m in the process of compiling information for an eBook so when I’m done that would be one way to promote it.
Thanks,
Jeanette
.-= Jeanette Fitzgerald´s last blog ..Blogs Get Hacked – It Could Happen To You =-.
Vance Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Hi Jeanette,
Thank you for expressing your appreciation of my post. It means a lot for me because I want to bring something of value to my readers.
It’s good that you are working on your e-book and that you are always looking for ways to get traffic. I hope you read my post on getting traffic as well.
I appreciate your comment and look forward to hearing from you again.
Vance
Hi Vance,
I also wasnt keen on Giveaways initially because they were full of junk, but try to find one that I’m NOT in now!!
As Gary said use your own product if possible, that works best for me as it’s unique. I’ve upgraded for quite a few recently and in many cases this gives you the right to place text ads and special offers – my specials sold 2 in a day last week. This could be improved on of course – I’ve only done one offer and it isnt in any way tested or optimised yet.
Same with Adswaps – I wasn’t keen initially but have now done 20 and most of them have resulted in sales.
It’s a way of gaining experience in IM and building relationships with JVs, so I think both Giveaways and adswaps are well worth considering.
Thanks
Keith
.-= Keith Purkiss (Alex Jeffreys Protegee)´s last blog ..The Most Innovative Website of The Year is HERE =-.
Vance Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Hi Keith,
Thanks for your perspective on giveaways and how they are worth it for the most part.
I guess the key is not to give up on them just because the first one or two aren’t the best.
I may ask you more detailed questions about your experiences later.
As for ad swaps that is another step after being well versed in and comfortable with giveaways.
I will post about them at some later point.
Talk soon,
Vance
Hi Vance,
I was slow at getting on the Giveaways, but once I got my butt into gear and submitted a gift in a few, the subscribers started to trickle in.
I’ve since slowed down on it again in order to concentrate on writing my book, but now I’ve got that done I’m going to getting on top of these Giveaway Events for sure! Especailly as I’ve got my own unique gift now. 😉
I think you summed everything up pretty well in this post, and it certainly didn’t fall short of my expectations from reading the title.
Regards,
Paul.
.-= Paul Lear´s last blog ..Announcing: Traffic Guide For Newbies !! =-.
Vance Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Hi Paul,
Thank you so much for your approving comment. Giveaways are not the favorite of everybody but your opinion is important to me.
It’s great that you have finished your e-book by now and will be able to use it.
I look forward to reading it.
You missed the opportunity to take advantage of my keyword luv plug in so make sure you use it the next time you comment.
Talk soon,
Vance
Thanks Vance,
I’ve decided to post some of my stats on my blog, and I’ve also added the comment luv plugin that you mentioned (I got rid of the nofollow a few months ago as well). Hopefully it will all help getting people to comment…
Keith
.-= Keith Purkiss´s last blog ..Do JV Giveaways Give You Poor Quality Traffic? =-.
Vance Reply:
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
Hi Keith,
I went to see your post and have commented on it on your blog.
As far as the plug in it’s good you got rid of the nofollow and that you have comment luv. But you still don’t have keyword luv and didn’t take advantage of it when commenting on my blog in your last comment.
I hope you’ll do that the next time.
Vance
Dear Vance-
I can’t wait to get to this stage of the game. I’m not going to even think about it until I can dream up and write my own giveaway item that will have some value.
Got to make it good. I am taking all the advice can get from other MWA members.
.-= Evan Beck´s last blog ..Strategic Online Marketing with Content Syndication =-.
Vance Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Hi Evan,
You’ll get there just be patient and take it one step at a time.
Everybody says that entering giveaway events with your own product works much better.
There’s plenty of good advise in MWA forum which is a big help. I’m happy to help whenever I can.
Just ask away and don’t be shy if you get stuck.
Vance
Hi Vance,
If I link to my backlinks site as it isnt a blog I don’t think the comment luv can work, but the keyword luv should do?
Vance Reply:
November 28th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Hi Keith,
I think you are correct. The comment luv may not work because it always looks for the last post. But I’m not sure. It’s possible that it still works somehow. But if comment luv doesn’t work with a non blog site and keyword luv does who cares. You’ll be getting the link you want, which is anchor text link.
Keyword luv doesn’t look for he last post as far as I know and will work with any URL. I know this because recently I commented on someone’s blog with keyword luv and for some reason the longer post URL from my last comment was filled in without me noticing it.
The keyword luv still worked with that URL. Comment luv still displayed the last post on my blog.
Vance
Hey Vance,
To join a giveaway, or not to join a giveaway, that is the question.
Although you can find me in most giveaways I’m not exactly in love with them. It’s one of those necessary evils in Internet Marketing I think. They are just like anything else out there. There’s some good ones and there’s some real crap. Mostly the latter.
I have to laugh when they say that you can get up to 5000 subscribers to your list. If anyone knows of anyone that’s gotten that many I’d like to hear about it. The only one that can possibly get that many is the person running the giveaway. The most sign ups I’ve ever had was around 100 and that was a freak of nature.
I’m one of those you talk about that uses a PLR product. It’s a set of videos that I’ve had good success with and I’ve never once seen another copy out there. I did edit the long video and made it into a 5 day video course so it’s different from the original in that respect.
With that being said, I absolutely believe that you will do much better and should use your own product that you created from scratch. But until I create my own product I’ll keep using what I’ve got.
Later,
Jeff Sargent
.-= Jeff Sargent´s last blog ..Awarding One Way Backlinks For Blog Comments =-.
Vance Reply:
November 28th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Hi Jeff,
I appreciate your insightful comment. Everybody has their own angle on this and their own experience.
What people say about giveaways seems to range from hate to excitement and love and anything in between.
I let my readers decide what they should do, join them or stay away. My own perspective is to try at least a dozen of them and then make up your own mind.
In your case with the PLR if you don’t see the product out there and if you’ve modified and personalized it I think that’s quite acceptable.
Creating your own product is not that easy, especially not until you’ve done it a few times.
Thanks for visiting. I’ll check your blog within a couple of weeks.
Vance
HI Vance,
Your Giveaway post was very good. Its hard to give a full teaching, covering many of the aspects of a Giveaway Event in a Blog, but you did a clear and well informed short version.
Well done!
After reading your report, the next logical question for anyone would be, “Ok where can I sign up?” Dare I put in about my next Giveaway Event taking place in December? OK instead I’ll just invite people to visit my blog for details.
Running Starrs-Giveaway early in November was quite an experience. It was a lot of fun, an lot of work, and I met a lot of wonderful people and learned a lot too. I’m looking forward to my next one in December.
Thanks for your comments on my blog Vance, always welcomed and enjoyed.. come to visit more often…
Daylynne
.-= Daylynne Starr´s last blog ..OUR GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT =-.
Vance Reply:
November 28th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Hi Daylynne,
Thanks for your evaluation of my post on giveaways. I know that you now are organizing your own events and for you to say what you have is quite a compliment.
I’ll see if I can join your next giveaway. In any case I wish you a good luck with it.
I’ll visit your blog again when I have some free time.
Right now there are tons of things I have to be doing.
Talk soon,
Vance
Hi Vance,
So much to learn so little time! 😯 I am still getting my head around writing my summaries from JT’s course.
I like the idea of the giveaway events and the add swapping. I am yet to participate in one. I still have to create the appropriate products! 😛 One thing at a time!
I hope all is going well. I will see you back here soon! 😎
Jacinta 😀
Vance Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hi Jacinta,
You are so right about the imbalance about how much there is to learn and the amount of time we have available for it.
For me it’s re-balancing and reorganizing things as priorities change that needs to be done constantly that I haven’t gotten used to yet..
We need to pick and choose what is the most important thing to be doing right now. Just when I think that I have it all well organized, something like life intervenes and things need to be adjusted again.
So one thing at a time is the only way to go about it. Focusing on what can be done right now without getting overwhelmed with all the other things that need doing in the long run.
Everything is going well. I really appreciate your taking the time to visit and comment and look forward to seeing you here again.
Vance
Hi Vance,
I use giveaways quite a lot, I will have to say they are not always the best for bringing the people in but it only takes a couple of mins to set each one up. Save all the details you will use for title description and links in a text file then it’s just a case of copy and paste so getting a few subscribers in doing no hard work is always good. Yes there are freebie seekers out there but I also have an oto with any of my giveaway products and sold quite a few.
As for adswaps, this is an area I have just moved into and just today I made a video on my blog about the fact that in 15 days I have gained just under 200 subscribers so for me adswaps are the way forward at the moment.
Yet again there will be freebie seekers but at the same time if your ad copy and product are good you will be getting paying customers from your adswap partners list.
All the best,
James
.-= James Howard´s last blog ..Adswaps Sites – My Adswap Results =-.
Vance Reply:
December 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Hi James,
Thank you for visiting and leaving a valuable comment about your experience with giveaways.
It’s good to know that your experience is largely positive. So far most people commenting share that sentiment.
Regarding ad swaps I haven’t reached that level yet and I’m glad that I’ll be able to glean some wisdom on them from you when the time comes.
Vance
Hey Vance,
Interesting post and I understand Gary’s view of PLR, personally I feel that PLR if used properly can help maximise your opportunities when listbuilding ….
I guess it is also a pet peeve of mine as well and is a frustration to see some offers that seem to be quickly cobbled together …. totally would have me go for unsuscribe button that being if I even subscribed …..
A quality product is a must, I do however understand everyone is different and may not be able to create a product ….
Maybe outsource?
On a side note although you did not mention it, if you do go through the ‘pain barrier’ of creating a product it will sure stand you in good stead when as most people do …. expand into ‘adswapping’
Great Post 🙂
Tommy
.-= Tommy McLaughlin´s last blog ..WordPress Plugins BluePrint is Live – Grab a FREE Copy today! =-.
Vance Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Hi Tommy,
Yours is yet another perspective on giveaways and the use of PLR. I like it.
Gary has a very good point about using original products and he does allow, with much frowning on it, for RLRs if they are expanded, personalized and value is added to them in which case they are a much better and different product than the original PLR.
So I agree with both of you that the best thing to do is to create an original produtct and if that is not feasible than improve add to and personalize a PLR product to such a degree that it will be a much better product compared to the PLR used.
It can really be “painful” to learn to create original products but as you say it is well worth it in the long run.
Thank you for commenting Tommy.
Vance
Hey Vance,
It’s been a while since i’ve done any blog hopping so i thought i would come back here and take a look. You’ve changed things around since i was last here, you’re blogs looking great!
Very pleased to see you still focused on your list building Vance.
I think you have summarized Giveaway events well in your post. I know there is always a big debate about the quality of lead that you get from Giveaway events, but i don’t buy into that. In my opinion it is what you do with your subscriber once they are on your list. If you take the time to engage with them, give them quality information and recommendations then you can get them eating out of your hand. If you’re not prepared to put in the ground work to nurture your list then it will never be responsive.
Giveaways are an excellent way to keep a steady flow of new subscribers coming onto your list. I do believe that the quality of many giveaways has dropped in recent months due to there being so many now, but i would always tell people to use this as a regular list building method.
Good to be back here Vance, i will certainly make the effort to visit more regularly again.
Cheers,
Paul
Vance Reply:
December 6th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Hi Paul,
I’m so glad to see your comment again. Your comments are always so valuable.
Your opinion on giveaways makes me feel good about what I wrote. I realized when I was writing it that it was not going to be everybody’s favorite subject.
But I trust you and your opinion because of your being so helpful to everybody and because you’ve had a lot of experience with IM, list building and giveaways.
I really look forward to your next visit.
Vance
Getting that email list is pretty important for people hoping to monetize their sites.
Folks should keep in mind that it takes a while to build that list though. Don’t get discouraged!
Vance Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Hi Gabe,
It sure does take a while to build a list, a lot longer than people tend to expect.
It comes very very slowly at first but then it speeds up progressively.
Thanks for commenting and welcome to my blog.
Vance
Have you ever considered installing the wp-cache plugin ? It will make your site load a lot faster. You have a good blog here…keep up the good work.
Vance Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 11:02 am
Hi Barry,
I have read about the plug in and have thought about it a while back.
Since my blog is still loading pretty fast I’ll consider installing he plug in later as my blog grows and the loading time increases.
I’m glad you like my blog and look forward to your next visit.
Vance
Online giveaways are so exciting. This will make the people who receive these gifts feel appreciated and they will continue visiting your blog hence giving it more traffic.The bigger your email list the more people you will give online giveaways and the more they will visit your site b.Well written post Vance.