The Opt In Email Marketing Strategy

Anyone who markets products or services on the internet knows there are lots of methods of getting traffic and making money. Some of the more common methods is search engine marketing, pay per click advertising, affiliate programs, contextual ads, banners, and the list goes on.

Most people who consider themselves internet marketers use either a website or a blog (or both) to market their widgets or whatevers. But very few marketers develop an opt in email list. Using opt in email marketing is one of the most successful methods to getting leads and converting those leads into profitable sales. What is really surprising is how marketers have not participated in building an opt in list.

What exactly is an opt in email? Well, basically it is getting someone on the internet interested enough in something to provide their email address so as to learn more. People sign-up to get further information from websites, blogs, advertisements, pop-ups, basically any written medium on the internet. The initial contact creates curiousity, and then that becomes distinct interest in the product or service.

In order to get more information on that product, the person visiting the website needs to enter their email address to learn more. This is the sales hook, technically this is setting a course for the internet marketer to pre-sell the visitor. Once the visitor provides his email address to the webpage, a new message appears thanking them for the private information (and guarantees it will be respected and used properly, definitely no distributed) and also asks the visitor to login to their email account.

The reason the visitor needs to check their email is because as soon as they entered their email address to the marketer an automatic email was generated to the visitor. This email is referred to as a confirmation email. The visitor needs to take the added step of clicking on a link in the confirmation email, which is the final step for them to get the rest of the information they were originally pitched.

This is a winning situation for the internet marketer. For providing some free information (usually a series of emails or an ebook) the marketer has successfully got the visitor's email on file. Not only does he have it on file, but the marketer now has the right to begin marketing to the visitor. This is because in the fine print of the email submission the marketer asked if they could provide updates and information from time to time. When the visitor enters his email, they by default agree to marketed with further contact by the marketer. In fact, at this point using the term "visitor" is not quite correct. The visitor now should be considered a member of the marketer's email list, which is treated somewhat like a club. The internet marketer can send them emails which the public does not get.

This is an opt in email marketing strategy. Provide half of a quality concept or original idea that is intriguing. Offer the rest if the person reading is willing to give his personal email address. Complete the rest of the information interest to the visitor once they sign-up. Then, in the near future, begin contacting and marketing more products (usually very similar to the free information product) at a cost.

The entire process accomplishes a few things. First, it creates an environment where the marketer has a close audience that they can communicate with and market products over time. This is one of the most important (and highest converting) methods of marketing today. Getting interest, gaining trust and pre-selling the potential customer. Second, it avoids all the hassles and legalities of spam. Not only is spam a problem, and illegal, but it is an ugly marketing method. Rather than contacting millions of people and having a very small percentage of them respond or purchase the marketers products, the idea of opt in email lists is to get a relatively small group of people who become associated with the marketer and in turn can be sold on ideas and products over the course of time.

This works so well for the internet marketer, it has become the leading method for the top sellers on the net. And so many internet marketers try to sell with no list at all, and this is very ironic. One of the best formulas is opt in lists, no matter what product is being sold.

Learn more about list building with the top company in the opt in email business, Aweber. If you plan on selling on the internet, then it's time to get started with your list!