Written by David Hurley

I guess that most Internet marketers have heard the marketing proverb that goes, "The money is in the list."

The idea is that if you are to make money online it is no good simply putting up a site and adding a bunch of affiliate links and banner ads to it then sitting back and waiting for the cash to come rolling in.

…It isn’t going to happen.

No, the idea is that if you are going to make money online your first aim is not to sell to your visitors straight off the front page of your website but to CAPTURE your visitor’s name and, more importantly, email address. Your visitor will then be automatically placed on your auto-responder’s mailing list and will automatically start receiving your mailings, which you previously loaded into your auto-responder.

As your list grows, so will sales from the links you provide in your mailings. To add to your income, you will be advised to send out an e-mail broadcast from time to time with a special offer.

This is all well and good, up to a point. But a one off e-mail broadcast is not much different from a one off visit by a surfer to your website. Indeed, it might be less effective since the surfer quite likely initiated his own visit to your site, whereas your broadcast arrives in his inbox for him to delete or ignore without taking any further action at all if he wishes.

A one-off broadcast or a series of preloaded mailings that skip from subject to subject is therefore not the best solution no matter how big your list is.

What is needed is a concerted campaign in which an initial mailing is followed-up with two or three more messages, each one different in style or perspective, but each helping to reinforce to basic "buy now" message of the first.

It is said that 60% of sales are made not in the initial approach, but in the follow-up. Hence, my title: The money is in the FOLLOW-UP rather than in the list.

Now you might reasonably object that without a list there could be no follow-up…

…but I say unto you that with no follow-up there will be no money!

Or at least, not as much of it sloshing around your bank account as there could have been if you’d followed up your initial approach with, well, with follow-up letters.

Here’s what I suggest to improve your sales, using a Clickbank product as the example and a mini follow-up series as the model.

First, choose a Clickbank product that fits in well with your niche, then BUY it and thoroughly familiarize yourself with it.

Now, write a review of it in three parts.

In the first part you will need to focus on a strong curiosity-arousing headline to get your message opened by a reasonable percentage of your list.

Next, in the main body of the article you will want to focus on the key BIG BENEFIT of the product. Don’t waffle on about the features – focus on HOW those features will BENEFIT the reader. Be benefits focused, not product-features focused. One way to go is to write "Feature – SO – BENEFIT"

For example (to take something near to hand for someone who lives in Japan), the humble Mitsubishi pencil might not be thought to offer too many benefits, but you can always dig deep and find something:

"The Mitsubishi pencil has an eraser firmly attached to the top by a metal band [FEATURE] SO when you screw up your sketch you’ll never have to go searching around your cluttered desk for an eraser [BENEFIT]."

You know, stuff like that.

The aim of the first review should be to build rapport with the reader and introduce the major benefit from the reader’s perspective, dampen skepticism and arouse sufficient curiosity or eagerness to cause the reader to click through to the main product sales page – the one provided by the Clickbank product provider.

Now, if you get your reader that far you will have done well.

Two or three days later, follow up with your second review. This one attacks their objections and predisposes them to buy. To do that it is best to use a Question and Answer format. To anticipate the objection by asking a question about it is already to weaken it by suggestion; the suggestion being that you have already considered and dealt with it. The proof lies in the answer, so make it strong and decisive. By answering objections you predispose your reader to buy, or at least to have another look, and familiarity, one of the key tools of the follow-up method, is an important wallet-opener.

Let another couple of days go by and send out your third message about the product.

This message drives home the points made in the previous two in a series of short sharp bullet points that encourage an instant click-through and purchase.

The follow-up technique should then be reapplied to all the names on your list who actually purchased. Transfer them from the "Subscribers" list to a new list designated "Customers".

Customers who had a good experience buying from you will be much more predisposed to purchase again, so make sure you keep them updated with a fresh series of mailings and with offers that you know they will love.

So the money really is in the follow-up, and in following up on your follow-up with more products to sell off the back end of your initial offer.

About the Author

David Hurley writes articles on Internet marketing strategies and publishes a free Internet marketing newsletter which is available at: Grasp-The-Nettle.com.