Digital Marketing Guide for Authors & Online Entrepreneurs | Denise Wakeman

How to Get Better Visibility on the Web

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How to Optimize Your Blog for More Subscribers [Blog Review]

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Recently the tables were turned on me. I was contacted by Derek Halpern, a super successful Internet marketer and publisher of the excellent SocialTriggers.com blog. He wanted to know if I'd be interested in having him evaluate my blog for "missed opportunities" especially in the area of lead generation and how to get more subscribers. I had seen a review he'd done for David Risley and decided to take Derek up on his offer.

Usually I'm the one doing the blog reviews for clients and confess I was a bit nervous about what he would say. Sometimes I feel like my blog suffers from the "cobbler's children have no shoes" syndrome.

No need to worry. Derek spent 45 minutes with me and pointed out several areas where I can optimize my site to get better results, the most important of which is attracting more email subscribers. This is not about driving traffic, but how to convert your traffic to your list once they land on your site. Remember: it's your email list that sells, not your your blog.

The video is 45 minutes and worth every minute. Derek shares great marketing tips and explains the reason why behind every lead generation optimization suggestion.  So carve out some time, grab a pen and paper, take notes and then go implement! [If you can't see the video, click here.]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYnZRlfUCOc[/youtube]

As Derek points out at the beginning of the video, the tips he shares can be implemented on any blog in any niche. His advice is universal.

I'm in the process of working with my tech team to make the changes and additions Derek suggested. I'm also having the video transcribed and will post some of the nuggets in future posts.

If you have questions, comments or feedback about Derek's suggestions, please post them below. And do yourself a favor, click on over to Social Triggers and subscribe to get Derek's tips for turning traffic into subscribers.

8 Gifts You Can Give Away to Build Your Email List

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Perusing the LinkedIn groups I belong to, I stumbled on this question:

"Here's a standard, oft repeated and elementary question, but one I could really use some answers to about now: What are some of the most effective and ethical ways of building one's mailing list for a relatively new coach?"

I've had conversations with two VIP clients about list building in the last couple of days and offered several ideas. Here's the answer I gave on LinkedIn:

Here's the standard, oft repeated response: give away something of value in exchange for an email address. 🙂

It does work. Here are 8 gifts you can give away to build your email list:

  1. A report
  2. an interview
  3. a series of videos
  4. a white paper
  5. a free teleseminar
  6. a workbook
  7. an mp3 of a program
  8. a webinar….

A few years ago I did a series of interviews called Conversations with Experts, every week for over a year. The first one had about 20 people on the call. By the end, hundreds were signing up. And that's before there was Facebook and Twitter. Often the person you interview will invite their list to sign up to hear the interview.

I still offer freebies to build my list: 5 free videos on how to get the best out of your blog; a 7 part eCourse on how to boost your visibility on the web; a free audio on 5 Critical Tactics for Business Blog success.

I put a subscribe form on my FB page, on my website, on my blogs. I send tweets periodically inviting people to get the freebie. My list grows every day.

Hope that gives you some ideas!

Whether you're a coach or service professional or small business owner, the answer applies to you. In order to build a list of folks interested in your business and how you can serve them, you need to have something of value to give away.

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