List Building Strategies - Top 10 Tips

It has been said that the money is in your list, so I believe that if you want to run a successful business, it has to be part of your strategy. With this in mind, how can you implement the right list building strategies that will work for your business? Here are my top 10 tips.
1. Make the decision to have a list
Building a list is an essential part of running a service based business, such as coaching. Make the decision to not only create a list, but build a list that works effectively alongside the other marketing and business strategies in your business.
2. Choose the right email marketing provider
The most effective way of having a list is by signing up for an email marketing provider, such as Aweber, MailChimp, Infusionsoft, ConstantContact or 1ShoppingCart. This allows you to automate your systems, create autoresponder messages and much more. Make sure you start with the end in mind when choosing the email provider and that the functionality will support you as your business grows.
3. Focus on your ideal clients
When you set up in business it is easy to be a generalist, but this won't help you to grow your business. When you are known as a specialist in your area of expertise, it is easier to attract clients through referral and recommendation. In terms of your email list, people will feel like you are talking to them when they sign up on your website and be interested in your services.
4. Give people a reason to opt-in to your list
It is no longer enough to expect people to sign up to your newsletter. We get bombarded with information every day so it is essential to give people a reason to opt-in to your list and stay loyal. This is when knowing your ideal client is important as you can provide them with something that interests them, and maybe solves a problem that they have. A free report, top tips sheet, video series, audio recording or an interview are some good ideas to get you started.
5. Share useful information
As well as sending people your freebie (by autoresponder of course!), share useful information with your subscribers. Share your best content as this shows you in your greatest light. If you are wondering what to share, start with top tips, comment on recent news articles, link to notable events, and tell people what you are doing in your business.
6. Follow up regularly
One mistake I see people making is not following up regularly with their subscribers. OK, there is a fine line. You don't want to bombard people with too much information, but it is a mistake not to keep in touch too. Find the strategy that works for you, schedule it in your diary and then just do it. In the early days you may find that you have a few people on your list (and some may be your friends and family!), but in doing this you will get into the routine of keeping in touch. By the way, if you are not a writer and this all daunts you, choose something like a video message instead.
7. Tell people how you can help them
Ultimately people have signed up to your list because they want help with something in their life. They've seen your website or have met you live and they want you to help them to solve a problem or give them some inspiration. So it makes sense to tell people how you can help them, whether you are running group programmes or one to one sessions. Just note the fine line between marketing your services and sharing useful information.
8. Develop your tribe
Think about your list as a tribe who are interested in what you have to say. They are not a 'list'; they are individual people with whom you want to share. Find out what they want - you could do a survey or offer them one to one time - and then give them this information.
9. Have a list building mindset
List building doesn't have to be confined to your website, working for you in the background. Develop a list building mindset where every day you are finding ways to organically grow your list. If you are speaking at an event, ask people if they would like your freebie. If you are at a networking event, ask people (the right ones!) whether they would like to opt-in to get your information. Add your list opt-in form to your social media sites too. Just don't spam people, please!
10. Think quality not quantity
There are many people out there with thousands of people on their list and you don't have to be one of them (unless you want to be!) The important thing is to have quality not quantity, ultimately people who will benefit from you and buy your services. Numbers are not important but relationships are, so take time to cultivate and nurture the people on your list, provide valuable and educational information and encourage two-way communication and interaction.

Copyright Karen Williams 2012. All Rights Reserved
Karen Williams runs Self Discovery Coaching and is the author of The Secrets of Successful Coaches, which reached #1 in the Business charts on Amazon. Having interviewed 24 top performance coaches, Karen has learnt from the experts how to create a successful coaching business and mentors coaches to do the same.

Discover and Rejoice With the Internet Radio

The radio is not only a channel for audio data transfer, today it is thought to be an inevitable part of cultural and everyday life, and the target audiences of different radio channels cover absolutely all age, status and social groups. There is nothing surprising about it - there is such a large variety of radio channels that everyone can choose one according to their taste.
In turn, every single channel is not limited in what to broadcast even if it has a clearly defined specialization - no matter what channel you decide to listen today, you will most likely hear both music and the news, both entertaining and educational programs. As soon as you find the appropriate channel for yourself, be ready to perceive a whole lot of information about the latest tendencies in fashion, music, culture, be updated on the social and political life, get weather forecasts and horoscopes as well as enjoy loads of good music and discover new talented singers and bands.
New performers seeking for fame value the radio just as much for the facility to get heard among an impressive lot of both loyal and casual radio listeners. Music producers try their best to establish new and keep up the existing contacts with at least several radio stations in offer to get known through taking part in their programs and events.
No matter who you are - a musician, a producer or just a fan, the radio can provide you with quite a lot of possibilities for your best convenience. The most important one is that the broadcast is in real time, so you get only the relevant and up-to-date information that may be actually helpful to you. People who have got used to multitasking particularly like it that they can leave the radio on and keep doing their work so that they can hear something curios or just enjoy beautiful music without getting distracted. Communication is not less important - in most cases feedback is encouraged, and you can participate in the broadcast simply calling the radio station or contacting them in written so that your message is announced.
One has a lot of opportunities for listening to the radio - a casual radio receiver is perfect for home use while you can access the radio from your MP3 player or cell phone while being in the way, and the Internet radio is comfortable for listening wherever you are. The last way is the most convenient and preferred by music fans all over the world, and it is quite reasonable - Internet radio players give quick access to thousands of channels that are not limited by the local ones, so you can listen to any radio program that is broadcast anywhere in the world. Moreover, there are radio channels that are available only on the Net, for example, ones for different subcultures, groups of interests, underground music etc. What's more, many web resources encourage the users to create their own channels - everyone wants to speak their mind out loud and be heard, right?
At home and in the office, on your computer and portable multimedia device, the Internet radio is always there with you so that being instantly informed and having many ideas for a good leisure are your certain privileges, so why not make use of them and try something totally new.

Marketing Tips Using Custom Facebook

The best contribution Facebook can give your business is being able to effectively market it. Let us face it; we are in the age of Facebook. Entrepreneurs know it and that is why they are taking advantage of the social media. Since almost all of their market is on it, it is easier to broadcast whatever they want people to know. However, spreading the news is only possible if the business has a popular page with a good number of fans.
If you want to take advantage of Facebook, here are some marketing tips to keep in mind:
1. Convince people to become a fan of your page. The moment a Facebook user opens your page, you have to be able to persuade them to click on the Like button. One way to do that is to choose a good cover. Cover is one of the unique features Facebook added in its new timeline view. It is an image that appears on top of your page. Since this is the first thing your visitors will see, you have to make it impressive.
Aside from the cover, you can also make your About or information section inviting. Instead of just putting the name of your page, write something that will invite your visitors to like it. This remains true for your profile picture as well.
2. Post something that is relevant to your product. Focus on subjects that are closely related to your goods and services. If you are going to feature a blog or write an article using Facebook notes, see to it that your fans will be able to understand why you are writing it. For instance, if you are selling bags, post updates that will educate your fans about bags. This is what they expect when they visit your page. It could be about how to properly store or clean them
3. Communicate with your fans. One way of doing that is by starting a poll or asking a question on your timeline. It can be related to recent events, new features on your page and anything that is deemed interesting for your fans. Interesting questions are great way to build good relationship with your fans.
Marketing on the new Facebook timeline fanpage can do wonders for your business. However, it is crucial that you know how to do it right. There is no absolute right way of doing things on Facebook as the site continues to evolve. However, the above tips will definitely help you attract fans, keep them interested and gain their loyalty.