Please Let Me Pick Your Brain.
My goal for this blog is to educate and help any body that is trying to create an online business. So far, I have been trying to convey the techniques and strategies that have been working for me. Most of these have come from what I have learned in Alex Jeffreys coaching program.
Since the coaching program I have sought out other Internet marketers and have learned some valuable lessons from them as well. I am also constantly experimenting with various things to try and get the most out of my efforts.
I have almost doubled my list in the last month using a combination of ad swaps and giveaways. I must say that the ad swaps have proven to be very productive but the giveaways are what gave me the initial list to use in the swaps.
The key there is that I am using multiple venues to continue to build my list.
HINT, HINT, NUDGE, NUDGE.
Now that my list is becoming larger. I have a responsibility to my subscribers to provide them with good content and fresh offers that will help them grow their business. I feel that the ad swaps have allowed me to do this but I am concerned that I may be over doing it a little.
Therefore I am taking this opportunity to gather some feed back from my subscribers and from my blog readers as well. (I have a feeling many are one in the same) Please leave me a comment and let me know what you would like me to write about on this blog or in my emails to you as a subscriber.
I have been sending out an email almost every day because of the ad swap which puts me in a predicament with my promotions for the giveaways. On the rare occasion I have sent out 2 emails to my list on the same day.
I have not received any complaints because of this but I want to verify with you that this is not a problem. There are a lot of giveaways coming up which means that I need to promote them. I also, want to keep going with the ad swaps. That means double emails some days.
Please leave a comment and tell me your feelings on this. I don't want to run all my subscribers off because I bombed them with emails. Keep in mind that 99% of my ad swap partners are giving valuable content away for free.
So on the days you get double emails, I will be sending you something of value that will help you with your online business, and I will be sending you an email about an upcoming giveaway that will help you build your list.
It still sounds like a win win to me, but I want to here your thoughts on the matter. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think. You can also make suggestions about future topics that you would like me to cover.
Tell me I suck and you hate what I'm doing. It doesn't matter. I can take it! Just let me know something. Your feed back will allow me to help you in the areas where you need it.
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Comments on Please Let Me Pick Your Brain.
Hey JT,
How do you find your adswap partners?
Do you use a certain site to get into contact with them besides the Warrior Forum?
Thanks
The only time I've had a problem sending more than one email a day to my list is when I sent them at about the same time. Usually I try to send them at least 12-15 hours apart so even if they get more than one from me the same day they will have plenty of emails in between the two of mine.
Ben
Hey JT.
You emails don't bother me so don't worry if you send more then one in a day.
I cannot respond to all the offers, I appreciate free stuff but I've already got so much free stuff that I can't take advantage of hardly any of it.
There are only so many hours in a day and I'm afraid I've fallen into that "busy fool" mode.
I need to get back on track.
Thanks for at least asking for feedback regarding your marketing mails.
Norm
Hi JT,
Hey I appreciate the e-mails and all the good advice. I want to get in on a JV Giveaway, but I do not have a list. I hope to start with an autoresponder this week and get something going. Is there a certain number you need before you can take part? Thanks for the great reports and your help.
John
Hi JT
Keep going with the giveaways, I don't care much for adswops, but it doesn't bother me about how many /how often mails I can just delete the ones I don't like.
Thanks for all the giveawys, they have been helping me. Its just that now I'm on other people's lists they tell me about it before you sometimes so you don't get the points at times. I'm also trying to stick to more the self-help ones.
Hi JT,
I've recently been in contact with you regards setting up my first 2 giveaways. That reached a point last weekend, but no response from you since. I emailed you yesterday or maybe Sunday night?
Regards the emails – I don't personally have a problem, because the first thing I do, is see who they're from. If from someone I know I'm subscribed to I will then go back to the top and read them.
Cheers,
Andrew.
Hi JT,
Re double emails on the same day, I have no problem with this as I often receive double email from other senders. If I know them and the content is of value then I'm happy. I've already had a clear out of my email box and any unwanted email senders get un-subscribed or sent to the spam folder if I unable to un-subscribe them, which happens occasionally. That won't happen to any of your emails.
John
Hi JT,
Whilst I don't mind receiving more than one email a day, I have to admit that I'm not getting through the amount of emails I'm receiving.
Being a newbie, I've signed up to quite a few things and at the moment, I can't see the wood for the trees.
… So I haven't been read all your offers.
Maybe I would prefer quality rather than quantity.
Keep in touch (oh and flag your best offer for me)
John
Hi JT – I've been "following" you since mid-2005, when I first went "full-time" online (that's a story unto itself).
As you're probably already very aware, it all boils down to the relationship you've ALREADY established with the people on your mailing lists. If you have a reputation of providing VALUE in the emails you're sending your subscribers and not just bombarding them with nothing but sales pitches for the "latest and greatest" gadget that comes along, then the chances of people unsubscribing are much lower. You might lose a few of them anyway – that will happen to some extent no matter what you do.
Including multiple calls-to-action in one email usually results in diminished responses (click-thrus). If the multiple links are somehow tied to an overall theme, or are integral parts of a specific strategy, your chances improve – as long as your email explains the strategy (or the first link leads to a page which defines that strategy to your recipients).
I agree that giveaways are an excellent method for list-building, as long as you're giving away something unique that has REAL value to the other participants. Not only will you gain subscribers from people downloading your gift, but if your gift has value you'll also attract the attention of the other contributors, with the possibility of some JV offers coming in from them as a result.
Bottom line – follow your instincts and remember the Golden Rule!
Keep on keepin' on!
"Digital" Don Hill
@Adam:
Actually, I haven't even started looking for swap partners on the Warrior forum yet.
Here are some good spots:
IMAdSwaps.com
JV Me Social Network
These are good places to start. I am keeping a lot of notes about what I am doing with ad swaps and will probably be putting together a report soon. So keep an eye out.
Hey JT,
Thanks for all your helpfull info in your reports and ebooks. I really like that your down to earth and are actually contactable.
I am always looking for info on JV events and finding people who will JV with me at giveaways so keep up the good work.
It doesn't hurt anyone if they receive double up's on emails because if they are anything like me, they may have already deleted the first one by mistake.
On another note, can you please contact me about your traffic hits multiplier site – there seems to be some valuable info missing about what to do after i have joined the programs?
Thanks
Col
@Ben Holmes (1 comments.):
Thanks for the input Ben. That makes sense. Most people involved in internet marketing probably get hundreds of emails a day like I do. Why should 2 from the same person make that much difference.
JT
@Norm (2 comments.):
I know what you mean Norm. It is so easy to let emails distract you from your priorities. I try and stick to Alex's suggestion and use the daily did sheets. Even with them telling you where you are wasting your time it is still difficult to refrain from doing it. When I am in "work mode" I turn off my email client and Skype. I check my emails twice a day but only skim through them for important ones. Then I have 3 days set aside where I schedule and hour block to go through them thoroughly.
As for the free stuff. I have a huge virtual library just waiting to be read. I also schedule a little time every week to go through some of it depending on what subject I am studying at the moment. Time management is critical. Especially, when you have a 40 hour a week job as well.
JT
@John Bandy (1 comments.):
The whole idea behind a giveaway is to build a list. It is kind of a catch 22 because you are expected to promote the giveaway which is normally done with a list. There are other ways you can promote when you are just starting out. Traffic exchanges, safelists, and ezine advertising just for starters. When done properly will be good enough to get you some referrals. Read my ebook and you will have better understanding of how it works.
@JT (87 comments.): That part of the fun right? Using the GMail filters is absolutely crucial to me surviving my inbox (I get a couple thousand a day). I have 1 folder for every person who sends me emails. Folders that build up messages fast like Herculist and GotList Safelist get ignored but I generally keep about 1000 emails in them for the other cool thing I like about gmail:
Research!!! Whenever I am looking for ideas I can simply type in the search mail box at the top and out pops at least 10 different offers about that one subject that I can research and decide on. It also helps me find out about the current promotion trends, so like if I haven't received a Russell Brunson email in a while, I know it's time to start promoting him again.
@Heather (1 comments.):
I understand Heather. If I want your referral points I will just have to be faster with the info. Actually, I am in the "pipeline", it's that I have so much going on that I don't always get the word out in a prompt manner. I am working on that.
@andrew vaughan (4 comments.):
I haven't forgotten about you Andrew. I had a lot of takers on my offer and I am wading through the list. I should get to yours today or tomorrow. It takes me a good hour to get someone set up and make/produce the video. It will be worth the wait.
@John Blake (1 comments.):
Thanks for the vote of confidence and I am glad that you find value in my emails. I will do my best to continue to provide helpful and interesting content in the future. The ad swaps really make it easy. I get to use other people's reports to provide content to my list. I screen 90% of what I send but now and then don't have time. If you ever get one from me that was pretty crappy, let me know so I can monitor my swap partner more closely the next time around.
@John Tanner (2 comments.):
Believe me when I say that you are not alone. I receive hundreds of emails a day. I am also subscribed to a lot of lists. I like to see the techniques that other marketers use. Especially if I see a subject line that really compels me to open it. I will try using the same type of subject line. There is a lot to be learned from other marketers emails. I like to think that I always send quality info but as I mentioned to John Blake, I don't screen 100% of the things that get sent. I will have to work on that. I'm like you, I never have enough time in the day. It's a good thing that I can get by on about 5 hours of sleep a day.
@Don Hill (1 comments.):
Wow! Since 2005. That is back when I set up my first website, Traffic Hits Multiplier. I was promoting GDI so I had there hosting and set up a terrible looking site. That was my first attempt at building a list. I have revamped that and have it set up on the Butterfly Marketing script right now although the project is on hold right now. The site is barely functional but live.
I the suggestion of my mentor, Alex Jeffreys, I put that on hold and am concentrating on the giveaways, adswaps, and my new product that I am creating. I am sometimes guilty of the multiple promotions in the same email and you are correct. It does "dilute" the response.
I have recently made great headway in the JV department and I believe it is a direct result of my ebook. I am doing an ad swap with Todd Gross and after he read "JV Giveaways Unleashed" he agreed to do an interview with me for my new product
.
That made me feel great. I have been giving away master resell rights to my ebook and I am now starting to see other people using my ebook as their gift in the giveaway. That means that they liked it. It's pretty cool that my ebook has gone viral.
I will definitely keep on keepin' on. I feel that my online career is on the brink of success. There is no turning back now.
Hi JT,
I appreciate you getting back to me with the answers to my questions.
I like the way you are set-up here. That was fast and very professional.
Thanks again and I will seek your advice again soon.
John
@Ben Holmes (2 comments.):
I have recently started looking more in depth at some of the features that gmail has. I use it for my safelist and traffic exchange accounts. The filtering feature is a life saver. At the prompting of Hollis Carter, I have been using Google docs, the calender, and looking at other features in the lab. I like the idea of using the search feature. Will give it a try. Thanks for the input.
Regarding receiving more than one e-mail in a day from you, I don't mind. I've been on your list for a while and have just recently (within the last month) started participating in the giveaways. I don't always get to read yours when I want but I consider yours important enough not to delete without reading.
Since I'm just starting I'm like everyone else, overwhelmed with information and not necessarily knowing what is most important to concentrate on first. So much to learn! How long did it take you before you felt that you had succeeded in internet marketing?
Thanks,
Kim Jimmerson
Hye, JT. I just read your blog and you have a great community here. Well, even though I didn't get any free stuff from you yet but I believe that stuffs are valuable enough to help some other people success building their online business.
@Kim Jimmerson (1 comments.):
I am glad that my emails don't make the delete pile. I can tell you for sure that the turning point in my internet marketing endeavors was when I started seriously building my list. I believe it was March of this year that I first met face to face with my mentor, Alex Jeffreys.
He was here in Florida for a seminar with his mentor, Rich Schefren. The semianr was in Boca Raton which is about a 30 minute drive from my house. Alex agreed to meet with me before the seminar began. We went and had coffee and spent about 4 hours talking.
Basically, he told me to drop everything I was doing and concentrate on list building. This was not the first place that I had heard this. I don't know what it is about newbie marketers that causes them to ignore what all the big gurus always say.
I have been to internet marketing events and all the big time marketers said the same thing. "How are you building your list?" "How big is your list?" "What are you doing to build your list?" I do not know why it took me 4 years to really get serious about it.
Probably the "shiny object syndrome". The newest program that comes out promising fast cash. There are a ton of them and you would do well to ignore them. Forget about the money. It will come naturally, once you have built a substantial list.
I have made more money online in the last 6 months that I have made in the prior 3 years put together. It is because I have built my list up to over 3300 subscribers. I am providing them with as much free quality content as I can manage and when I do send out an offer, they respond.
It is as simple as that. It's like my coach Alex Jeffreys says, "Internet marketing isn't easy, but it is simple." Take my advice, give your list building priority.
JT
@Fatin Pauzi (1 comments.):
Go ahead and sign up to download my ebook and you will start to get lots of free stuff from me. Mostly it will be free stuff from my ad swap partners. I am glad you like the blog and hope you become part of our community.
JT
JT
Good post, generally speaking I don't mind more than one message providing its adding value or providing something for free. When it gets annoying is when its constant sales pitches (not that you do that!).
Looks like youre building your list nicely, keep up the good work!
Tom
Hey JT!
Thought I'd stop by your blog and leave a comment since that is a question that I have been wondering about myself lately and my gut reaction was identical to many of the comments you have already received.
A lot of times people think there is an ideal number of emails to send per week and if they go over that number it is going to result in A LOT of unsubscribes… Instead I believe it is much more important to focus on WHAT you are sending rather than HOW OFTEN (and this is something I really try to emphasize with all my students as well as FOCUS ON BUILDING YOUR LIST).
If you are always trying to sell, sell, sell in your emails, most people are going to become annoyed at some point and either unsubscribe or stop reading your emails.
However, if they take the approach like you have, and focus on providing A LOT of valuable free content, then not too many people are going to get upset that you are offering them more opportunities to download some great free content.
Keep up the great work JT!
Jit Uppal (another student of Alex Jeffreys who has focused on list building and it has made a HUGE difference to my online business and life)
@Tom Harvey (Alex Jeffreys Student) (2 comments.):
Seems to be a common theme appearing here. Provide value and don't oversell. Things to remember when you are building your list.
JT
Hey JT,
Great food for thought and a great Blog posting.
Lots of interaction and thoughts over this one.
I agree that double up emails don't bother me as I am in agreement with Ben. Invariably I have probably sometimes deleted some of the emails previously and this gives me a chance to catch up on what I missed out on. I also agree that what is offered must provide value and there must not be oversell.
Alex also explained this well in his last Webinar 6.
I haven't signed up yet to receive what seems to be, from all your community input I have read, great information.
Thanks so much and I am really glad I stopped by.
Carol
JT,
I enjoy your emails…which is saying a lot because most emails that I get from Internet Marketers I don't even open. I'd love to hear more about adswaps. -Norene
I just unsubscribed to your list because u r bombarding me with unneccessary emails. Give it a rest!
@Anonymous:
Hi Carol, I am glad to see that the general consensus is that the multiple emails aren't as abrasive as I originally thought they would be. I see your also a student of Alex Jeffreys. Alex's input has made a tremendous difference in my online business. I hope it will make a difference in your too.
Maybe we will get to meet at his next Vegas workshop. I am going to do my best to be there.
JT
@Norene Broyton(new comment) :
I am glad that you like my emails Norene. Positive comments are really an inspiration to me. It is really tough when you start a business like this. I am still working a full time job and do most of my online work in the wee hours of the morning.
I lose a lot of sleep and work a lot of hours because I know that soon I will be able to quit my job and do this full time. It is a long haul and very difficult to stay motivated. Knowing that people are actually responding to what I am doing is very encouraging and will help me see it through.
I will be talking more about adswaps in the future. Will probably create an ebook and give it away to build my list
JT
@Kevin(new comment) :
Well, I knew it was only a matter of time before I received a negative comment on this one. LOL I actually expected there to be more. But, it just goes to show you that you can't make everyone happy.
I am sorry to see you go Kevin and even more disappointed that you find my emails unneccessary. I have sent a couple of sales promotions over the last week or two, but I am an Internet marketer. It's my business to sell things overy once in a while.
Once again, sorry to see you go. No hard feelings eh?
JT
Hey JT
Don't worry about the emails because I look at the sender and I open yours.
I am in Alex's second coaching class and you and I have have spoken before. I am in your giveaway starting today and just finished one this week and had my first transaction, my cherry is now broken. I wrote about that on my blog.
I don't know much about the process of giveaways but I just downloaded your ebook after I listened to Dean Holland, my other mentor, telling us to read your book.
I have not done any ad swaps because I don't have a list to trade at this point in time. However, my mind is like a parachute in that it is open for any and all advice I can get to help with my IM business.
Good luck with your giveaway
Roger
Go out and make it a successful day!
@JT(new comment) : JT — I am right there with you! MY goal is to be able to quit my job by December! Wha a great day that will be! -Norene
Hey JT
What a great Blog! Lots of great content and places to get things.
I'm jealous, hehe, I'm Alex's 2nd year "graduate" and excited about
his teachings, and as I put them in action, I am seeing the results
he said we would.
Mr Blog got 35,000 hits in the last 6 weeks, and my list has increased 55
a month. Thanks for your JV Give-aways materials… very nice.
Daylynne