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As I write this post I’m on a flight somewhere over mid-Florida and looking down at clear skies while on my way to the tropical paradise known as the Virgin Islands. St. Thomas, here I come!
I had some time to kill on the flight, so I thought I’d get an update in before I started indulging in Rum and seafood and forget that I even own a blog. So, I wanted to point out a quick tip that I use that’s a “long haul” strategy, using a short term method.
If you aren’t familiar with internet marketing then run off to Shoemoney, or any number of countless blogs that teach the subject. However, I’ll drive home the basic idea that make marketers rich… “the money is in the list”. If you aren’t building lists for your many different niche topics, you are missing out on some serious revenue later on. You might even be missing out on a significant chunk of change right now!
List building isn’t a new technique. There hasn’t been anything revolutionary about it for at least 100 years before the invention of digital list management, and companies like Aweber. It started out as a method to send advertisements, coupons, and free periodicals door-to-door. It’s obviously advanced with the beginning of the internet age, but it’s still somewhat of a “secret” that’s only found by those that are internet savvy. If you asked your relatives, neighbors and friends what “the money is in the list” means… I’m willing to wager they’d have no clue what you are talking about.
The money truly is in the list though. It’s not a secret that a lot of people that WANT to buy, can’t buy RIGHT NOW. Whether it’s for financial reasons, or they just aren’t in a buying mood, people will not buy from you 100% of the time, even if they want to. And trust me, a lot of them want to. So here is where the list becomes important, and if I’ve lost anyone already, I’m referring to an email list, or capturing email addresses. The list becomes important because it’s statistically proven that if you pitch the same product in different ways, people will eventually buy. So, if you have captured their email, you can subtly pitch products to your list, and a lot of the time… they have no clue you are even pitching them. I’m not saying to go out and find junk to sell to your list… build trust, make the products relevant, and eventually they MAY buy from you. But don’t force the issue!
So here is where my brilliance kicks in. I came up with the idea about 3 months ago that I would start building lists in the many different niches that I sell blogs in. I’d put up an email submission box, not unlike the one you see in the top of the sidebar, and I’d start capturing email addresses for future use. This way, I could sell the blog, but I’d keep a portion of the traffic. That’s right, I make short term cash, while building a long-term asset at the same time. And the portion that I’d be keeping is the best kind… BUYING TRAFFIC! It’s been shown many times over that people are more likely to buy from an email list than they are to purchase the exact same product on your blog. So, it stands to reason that if I can capture the GOOD traffic, that I am actually making the blog disposable.
Here’s how it works. I put up an email submission box on my flipper blogs. I keep these blogs anywhere from 30 days to 6 months, and the entire time I’m building the blog, I’m capturing email addresses in various niches. I don’t discriminate when it comes to buying blogs to flip, so I’ve got lists in everything from bonsai trees, to womens fashion, and how to pick up women. Now, as of right now, each of these lists is pretty small, minus my big one which is the list for my Make Money Online stuff. However, as I flip more and more of these blogs, I am building each list bigger. So next time I buy a blog about bonsai trees, I make sure to collect email addresses for the list that I already have on that subject. Can you see the genius in this? I’m building a dynamic portfolio of websites, without ever KEEPING a website. Each time that I start a new blog, or purchase on on that topic, I email the list that I think might be interested… INSTANT TRAFFIC!
People wonder how I build traffic to these flipper blogs so fast, that it allows me to sell them in 30 days or less with a boatload more traffic than it came with. This is my BIG SECRET! I already have an audience… I built them from another blog on a similar topic, and I’m just pointing out something that they may enjoy and is on-topic. I’m doing them a service, and at the same time they are rewarding me with traffic to the new site, almost overnight.
But, that’s not the exciting part. Although, I must say that traffic is exciting! The exciting part is that in 10 years, I could potentially have hundreds of lists on niche topics, with THOUSANDS of names on each list. Then it just becomes a rotation process of which list I’m going to email at that particular time. And remember, “the money is in the list”. A person with a list of 10,000 people, and a blog that has 10,000 readers, is much more likely to make serious cash with the email list. Why? People forget about your blog over time, even if they enjoy it. They can’t forget about your email list, it’s in their face everytime you push the “send” button.
Now, that said, don’t spam your list. Build trust and offer lots of value to them over time, and not only will they stay subscribed, they’ll begin to buy. I currently have lists in 37 topics, and I try to send out emails no more than once per week. Some of the smaller lists only get one email per month. You don’t want to send out too many, and you don’t want to just send out “pitch emails”. As I said, you have to give them a reason to stay subscribed, otherwise all of your effort was for nothing. Give readers value when you send an email. Mention a product, don’t pitch it. Just drop it in casually with your valuable post that you’ve just sent out. Now that it’s a one click unsubscribe, you want to make sure that people are happy to be on your list, and haven’t just forgotten to unsubscribe from it.
So in closing, as you can see, building lists from flipper blogs not only gives me instant traffic and revenue to a new blog that I create in the same niche, it also makes the blog expendable. The list is essentially your hard drive, and the blog is your computer. Your computer is expendable as long as you have all of your data backed up on the hard drive, and the blog is no different. I sell the blog, keep the traffic… I win! And if you don’t have an Aweber account already… go get one! It’s all of $20 a month, and it allows you to build and manage UNLIMITED lists at the same time. Get it!
June 11th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I have to admit. That is pretty genius. I would have never thought that you could sell a blog, yet keep making money off it long after it was gone. You are a pretty clever dude. Nowhere near the idiot that Vic makes you seem to be. Maybe Ive been getting my information from the wrong source all along.
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Bryan Clark reply on June 11th, 2008:
haha… Thanks… I think! Glad you enjoyed the article, and hopefully there are some others that you’ll get some value out of.
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June 11th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Total genius Bryan! I knew you weren’t the “idiot” of the bunch, but damn dude, excellent article! Since selling your list is a major no no, I would assume that smart fellas like yourself would… or could… rent some ad space on the e-mails you send… or offer e-mail sponsorships of some sort right? Or do you stay 100% clear of that so that you keep all the traffic?
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Bryan Clark reply on June 11th, 2008:
The email lists are completely mine. I never sell or rent email addresses. The one exception was the sale of OMG, I let Marc have the list that came with that site.
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June 11th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Yea, Bryan. Wow. That’s all I can say. This is exactly why Bryan is one of the best writers on the internet. You guys can go read your Shoemoney’s, JC’s, and Darren’s, I’m happy right here, actually learning how to make money. This is the stuff that no one else will ever tell you, why? Because they don’t give a damn if you actually make money, they want to keep you hungry so you keep coming back looking for another method. Bryan actually WANTS you to make money and go away and do your own thing.
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Bryan Clark reply on June 11th, 2008:
Thanks Nick. I’ll keep whatever secrets I have coming, you just keep coming back and checking on them!
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June 11th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I don’t appreciate the title of your post. Calling your readers stupid isn’t exactly the greatest way to make money online. Somehow they even praise you for the smack in the face taht you just laid on them. I wont be back.
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Bryan Clark reply on June 11th, 2008:
At first I was just going to skip over this one, but I figured I might as well respond. I’m sure 99% of the people that read this blog will realize right away that I’m not calling them stupid. It’s a title, and titles aren’t meant to catch your attention. It must have worked since it got someone like you to comment right?
I’m guess you never buy any books in the “for dummies” series do you? For example, Wordpress For Dummies. I’d look into Copywriting For Dummies if such a title exists!
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June 11th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hey Brian, I have a doubt.
Do you introduce yourself as Brian Clark for each blog you buy? If that’s the case, Brian Clark would be someone that is presented as an expert (or someone that has knowledge) for bonsai trees, women fashion, etc, and maybe loose some credibility inside your list.
On the otherside, if you introduce yourself as Jon Doe for the bonsai blog and as John Smith for the women fashion blog, when you tell your list that you launched a new website they would ask “who the hell is this guy?”
Don’t know if I’m beeing clear with my question, but I’d like to know how do you handle this situation.
And thanks for this great tip
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Bryan Clark reply on June 11th, 2008:
Your point is valid. However, I only suggest sharing your personal information with your flagship audience. Your flagship blog, mine is currently SiteFlipU.Com, but it obviously could change in the future given the nature of what I do.
This is the only blog that I own where the people have any clue who I really am. I don’t give names on the other blogs, but I suppose I could… I’d just make up an alias.
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Javier reply on June 13th, 2008:
Thanks for the answer Brian.
So, for example, your alias is Jon doe and you have bonsai’s blog A, where you builted a list and already sold it. Then you buy bonsai’s blog B so…Jon Doe emails the people from the A list to let them know he bought blog B and he’s writing about bonsais, right?
Isn’t there any trouble in using aliases for these businesses, for example, when you have a large audience and are selling some kind of expensive information product, and people my recognize you as an expert in the niche?
Just asking, it may sound stupid, but I don’t know if there’s any legal issue on the Internet for using aliases for business.
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Javier reply on June 15th, 2008:
Hey Brian, could you please take a look at my previous comment?
Thanks
Bryan Clark reply on June 15th, 2008:
Sorry I’m not getting to comments very quickly Javier. I’m on vacation and I try not to go near the computer more than once per day.
You are exactly right. Sell blog A, email the list about blog B. There isn’t any trouble with using aliases. All big name internet marketers use them regularly. Eben Pagan for example. There are no legal issues to speak of, otherwise you would have to sue anonymous people too, such as “The Rich Jerk”. Nobody knows who he is. And to take it one step further, I don’t give my name on these blogs, or use an alias. People usually don’t ask.
June 12th, 2008 at 4:45 am
I have read this post a few times now as I always do. I like no distractions when absorbing such quality information!! and Bryan, you have superseded all other mmo blogs as far as I am concerned. This is THE place to learn how to make money online. Whilst I know the phrase itself and have even thought about it on an e-scale…..your post has once again opened my eyes to new options.
Not only that but your comments are equally informative/good humoured….still laughing at “for dummies”! I’m quite sure stumbler has been called a lot worse than stupid in his time!
Oh, and I hope you are having a terrible time in the caribbean
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Bryan Clark reply on June 12th, 2008:
haha! Sorry to inform you, the Caribbean is fantastic. I’ve had more Rum drinks than I care to mention, and the seafood is beyond wonderful! Thanks for the comment AP
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June 12th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Bryan,
Good post as always. I never thought about keeping the list after sale of a site, I always assumed that people just sell the list with the site to make it more valuable. So, here’s my question:
Whats the difference in value of selling a site with a list and one without a list?
Not looking for a definite value here but more like is it a big difference or minimal; is the present value of selling the list now (greater, less, or equal) to the future value of revenue from the list?
Matt
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Bryan Clark reply on June 12th, 2008:
Most of these sites that I sell, I don’t even give them the option to buy the list. So I’m not sure how much this is costing me, but I know that the list is pretty valuable to me in the future. I’ll have to experiment with this one and get back to you. Good idea though!
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June 12th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Hehe. I’ve been doing lists and marketing for 10 years, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone talk about it from the perspective of building traffic for new “disposable” blogs.
Genius.
Now stop posting and get that rum down you
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Bryan Clark reply on June 12th, 2008:
Mission accomplished Paul! The Rum here is great! Thanks for the comment and I’m glad you found some value in the post.
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June 12th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Kinda sneaky in a way, but incredibly useful information.
And just because I like reading Vic and agree with a lot of what he says, doesn’t mean I ever thought you were an idiot. Exactly the opposite in fact.
But following on from Javier’s question…
When you purchase a site to flip, how do you deal with the domain transfer? I know this often takes time anyway, but wondered whether you can actually get away with having an alias identity when the domain is registered under your name (or whatever name you register it under).
It probably wouldn’t matter for the average reader who would not think to check, but it’s just something which Javier’s question made me wonder…
And I would be interested too in how selling a website complete with a good email list would differ in price from one where the list was withheld.
Interesting post
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Bryan Clark reply on June 12th, 2008:
I’ll do a video post on how to transfer a website when I get back Zania. This should clear that up for everyone. I’m starting to get curious about the list too… however, it’s in my best interest to keep these lists for the long haul, so I’m debating with myself on whether or not I want to try it. I’ll figure something out.
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June 12th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Zania, I see you around the internet in a lot of places, and I’m not trying to hi-jack this post, ok, so with that said, I have a question that I’ve been dying to ask.
I see the value in Vic’s site, there is some great information there, but it’s just a website, right? I read the guy, watch his videos, have learned a lot, but why is it that there is no such thing as someone that just reads his site? It seems as though this guy has a legion of fans that would follow him around the world like his groupies if given the opportunity. You do not seem like one of these people, you have the ability to form your own opinions, but so many of his readers do not. This is in no way a slight against Vic, I’m strictly talking about his reader base. I say cudos to Vic, in fact, for being able to accomplish this.
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Bryan Clark reply on June 12th, 2008:
I’m actually working on a post that shows Vic for the hypocrite that he is. It’ll be up in a coupe of days. Maybe tomorrow if I’m not hung over.
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June 12th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
@Nick,
Wow, that’s a tough one!
And sorry Bryan for answering this on your post while you are sipping rum in the Caribbean!
The followers worry me a little to be honest. I do not believe that everyone has the right/only answers, even Vic, which is why I always try to keep an open mind and, as is the case here with Bryan, give credit where credit’s due.
I also think that Vic is becoming snowed under because of his generosity in trying to help as many people as possible and that could cause problems in the future. I hope not, but it might do.
I think a lot of the appeal Vic has (and Griz when people find him) is that so many people have lost money in the past, with ‘make money online’ schemes and they are hurting about it. So when someone comes along and says all the things they wanted to say to the ‘A listers’, they follow them in droves.
There is also an element here of not wanting to look stupid. Yes, you may have been taken in by some ‘make money online’ trickster, but if you stick with Vic you demonstrate that you are not stupid anymore.
And lastly, there is the element of being ‘anti establishment’ which also appeals to a lot of people. Vic appears to have this in large amounts
Personally I think that following anyone without question is not the way to go, but I can understand why some people feel that following Vic is a good option.
Enjoy your rum Bryan.
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Bryan Clark reply on June 12th, 2008:
Answer away Zania. I encourage discussions to take place in the comment field. It provides me with free content, and it’s an exciting read. I like to see what you guys and girls are thinking.
Also, I have to give you credit for a great reply. This may be the truth with Vic. However, I still think the guy needs to do his homework before “calling people out”.
The reason Vic is popular, and it was apparent to me from the beginning is this… there is a 99% rule when it comes to entrepreneurs. 99% fail, and 1% have the drive and determination to succeed in WHATEVER industry, or niche they take on (given enough time). So, if you look at 99% of bloggers, only 1% are making substantial money, so they want someone to blame. The truth is, the only person they can point the finger at is themselves.
The methods that these “scammers” like Darren Rowse, Yaro Starak, and most of the other people that Vic “calls out”, WORK. I used these methods to go from a complete blogging novice (never had a blog before June 2007), to someone that makes 5-10k a month working 2-3 hours a day. I’d call that a success, and I used the methods that he bashes. So if they worked for me, it stands to reason that the methods aren’t faulty. Vic seems like the hero because he “calls out” these people, when really all he is doing is leading a group of people that have failed to utilize all of their resources. 99% of entrepreneurs fail… doesn’t matter whether that 99% read Darren’s blog, or Vic’s… they’ll still fail.
I commonly use the infomercial or info product example. You often hear that these products are junk, when the truth is, people don’t follow them like they are supposed to. Sometimes they don’t follow them at all. I can’t count how many info products I’ve bought, sifted through, and then never implemented anything they’ve said. You can’t do it half-way, and then blame the product, or the source of information. Also, people seem to think that there is a “magic bullet” that will get them where they need to go. It takes a lot of hard work at first, and there is no substitute for that. When I started blogging last June, I’d put in 10-12 hours a day learning the craft. Now, I can reap the fruits of my labor by working 2-3 hours a day, but I couldn’t have started off that way. Treat it as a full-time job, and you’ll get a full-time income! That’s the best advice I’ve ever heard when it comes to this. You have people writing crappy posts that took them 5 minutes, and then not marketing, building links, or networking… these same people run to Vic and wonder why they aren’t making money.
Turn that finger around and point it at who is really at fault.
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June 12th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Yes, there’s always something to be said for long comments
I agree that a lot of people do not implement the tools they have at their disposal effectively, either because they do not spend enough time on them, or because they do not really understnad how to use them.
However, I would have to disagree with you on a couple of points.
First, although Vic did call Darren Rowse out in the beginning, he did later concede soon after that Darren’s site has a lot going for it and posted about it.
As to Yaro Starak, in the beginning, I did work hard on trying to follow his way of marketing (I always work damned hard on any new project) but it failed for me. Not because I am a failure, because I am not. But this particular model not only didn’t feel right, it didn’t work (and I’ll agree, that if something doesn’t feel right for you then you could well have a problem marketing it). All it left me with was an inbox full of posts from Yaro encouraging me to spend money ‘to do it right’.
I do agree though, that hard work and thorough implementation of all that is offered in a teaching plan (plus a firm belief in yourself) is the only way any entrepreneur is going to make any real money. And yes, if you use these methods (along with your brains) then most schemes will work effectively. And it’s true, that most people do not have the staying power, or the belief in themselves, to carry on to the finish line.
Maybe it’s just about finding the right model that you can work with. I don’t know. I know what works for me. It doesn’t have to all be in the same niche by any means, it’s more about approach.
But having said all that, I still think that too many desperate people are being taken for more than they can ever afford by the scammers on line, and desperation doesn’t always breed common sense which is what makes it all possible.
Saying that they were most likely doomed to fail does not make it right. Just makes it all very sad.
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Bryan Clark reply on June 12th, 2008:
Zania, I love the quality of your comments. However, I’m not saying everyone will fail, and I wish everyone luck. But the 99%/1% rule wasn’t invented by me. It’s a commonly used rule used by Robert Kiyosaki, and Seth Godin in their books. I know there isn’t any way to prove the rule, but it’s a good guideline, similar to the 80/20 principal.
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June 13th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Agreed!
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June 14th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Thanks for another great post. We have been in transit for the last week, we have a month and a half off, and then we will be in transit again. I am not really sure where we will end up but probably in Asia somewhere.
I hope that the Virgin Isles are hot, humid, and perfect for sitting on the beach.
Is there a good source of places for affiliate links (other than clickbank) that you like to use. I have a good list being built via a golf site but I am having a hard time finding “good” products.
Also I am having a hard time understanding how to keep the list, and keep marketing them. Do you sell the list with the site, and keep duplicates, or does the list not get sold with the site?
Thanks
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November 12th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
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