Online Marketing – The Smart Way

List Building getting started with Giveaway events.

My friend John asked how I’m doing regarding my Internet marketing adventure.

“I’m doing well, I guess.”  I answered. I’m learning and I see that I’m getting further than where I actually was before. For example, I’ve managed to build an email list of over 100 members in 4 weeks without spending a dime in PPC ads. The last time I had a list of 70 people and it cost me about 300 USD. It was indeed an expensive mistake!

John seemed very interested in what I told him. So I continued, “I’ve been using giveaway events to build the list. It works very well.”

“Can you explain how it works, please? I’d like to test the idea.”  John said.

“Yes, I can. It will be a pleasure to help you.”

“Do you know what giveaway events are? “ I asked him. He shook his head and looked at me with a face that reminded me an interrogation mark and so I continued…

A giveaway event is a place where internet marketers and people can purchase free products. Those products can be digitally downloadable such as resource reports (e-books), software, audio, video, pictures or physical products you can actually get delivered at home.

There are two kinds of participants: contributors and members.

Contributors are those who add give away products and promote the events. I’m in this category. I create or find products, I can add to the event, and then I promote the site.

Members are the people invited to the event by the contributors. In order to be a member and purchase the free stuff in the site, you need to get a link to the members’ registration page. After you have registered and confirmed your email address you are then allowed to purchase as many products you like.

The interesting part for me is the contributor’s. This is what let me adding new people to my list. I’ll explain how.

When a member sees my product in the giveaway (GA) site and decides to get it, he or she will be redirected to a squeeze page. In that page I would then ask for a name and an email address in exchange for the free stuff I’m offering. If this is worth their interest, the member will accept the trade and will register in my list.

The next step takes the member to a page where he or she can download the product. Of course, you can use the download page to up-sell your offer. Like when you go to McDonalds, “Would you like a drink or an apple pie with that?” You understand the idea, right?

“Now that you know the basics, John, I’ll guide you through the process on how to be a contributor of a giveaway event.”

Start by getting a contributor link to a coming event. Here you find an updated list. Most of the events you’ll find are for the Internet marketing niche.

Create a product you can give away. If you already have one in mind then it’s even better. Make sure you give something of value. It must solve a problem or question of your market. The product should lead to sales of your affiliate or own retail products. Why? Because it is the giveaway items that pre-sell your main business.

This is what you can do if you don’t have your own free products to contribute with:

• Register to ButterflyReports.com and/or SureFireWealth.com
• Select 3 or 4 reports or software you can download for free. You can get even better products if you upgrade your membership at SureFireWealth
• Bundle your reports and/or software in a zip file or package
• Find a great name to your package. Now you have a new product
• Create a fancy image to illustrate the product. I use Pain.NET for Windows because it’s powerful, and it’s free

“So now you have a new product to offer. Is it that easy?” asked John.

“Yes, but take your time and be sure that it’s something valuable. However, don’t overanalyze because if it is good enough then you have a decent start. You can always change the content of your bundle package later.”

I checked for any signs of confusion in my friend’s face. I didn’t find any so I went further ahead…

Like most of the offline businesses, you need to be prepared to welcome your visitors. The answer is to open your virtual shop or office, that’s your web site, where you place the product(s).

For detailed steps, I suggest you reading the resource report “List Building With Alex” included in “The Internet Marketer’s Dynamite Box” package. Here is a shorter version of the steps you will take:

Step 1 – Get a domain name. I’d recommend you using Namecheap.com to buy your domain name from.

Step 2 – Get a hosting for your domain name. I would suggest you check up Hostgator. This is one of the hosting providers that I actually use myself.

Step 3 – Get an auto-responder account at Aweber or GetResponder.

Step 4 – Set up a squeeze page to promote. Check out my mailing-list-prosperity.com to see a sample page. Set up a product download page.

Step 5 – Upload your squeeze page and download the page to your site.

Step 6 – Create a new list in your auto-responder account. Add the first welcome message on your list and highlight where to download the product.

Step 7 – Check whether the squeeze page works as expected.

After following all these steps, your “shop” is ready to open!

Create a quick upload folder and a dedicated giveaway email address. This helps you to have your details to hand in when signing up and contributing gifts to the event. In other words, you’ll go faster through the process of setting up your account and adding gifts.

Here is a quick folder sample:

GreatGiveawayFolder->MyNewProductFolder->  myproduct_image.jpg, description.txt, links.txt

The description file contains: the product title, a short description of the product (50 characters long), and a long description of the product (300 characters long).

The links file contains a link to the product image file – the fancy one you created, a link to the squeeze page and a link to the download page.

Now it’s time to register an account and add your product to the giveaway event. Register to as many giveaway events as you possibly can.

Use the contributor links here, and follow the on-screen instructions:

Promote the giveaways you have registered to. If you don’t have a list use another means – social media (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc.), article marketing, video marketing, talking to other people around you, signatures in your forum accounts, etc.

Create follow-up emails to build a relationship with your list and promote new products to its members.

For more information read “List Building With Alex” included in “The Ultimate Marketer’s Dynamite Box”.

John smiled and I actually saw the sparkle of joy in his eyes. Then he seemed to be thinking about something that he wanted to ask me.

I knew what he was wondering about even before he asked me so I went ahead,”Yes, this is the way I started my list from zero, and I don’t spend a dime in Google or other advertising.”

John looked surprised and then again, I saw that smile. At present, he is doing very well using giveaway events.

Stay well

Estani Chapel

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