Build a List by Offering Free Information

One of the interesting trends in the Internet has been that of free information.

Back when the web just started out, everything was free. As the web commercialized, you had to pay to get access to information. Now that competition is fierce for your web dollars, free information is back as a marketing tool.

The Free Money Formula people use free videos on Internet Marketing as their tool for getting subscribers. The videos are primarily targeted at people looking to create websites for selling affiliate products. The videos cover finding a market, finding a product, creating a website, and getting traffic to the website.

So how do websites like this make money providing free products?

There’s a saying in Internet marketing circles, “the money is in the list”. To get access to the free videos, you have to signup for their mailing list. Being on a mailing list means that you’ll get various offers from the Free Money Formula people. You’ve already, by signing up for the videos, shown that you are interested in Internet marketing, so they have a targeted list for Internet marketing products.

The Free Money Formula people also provide all members the opportunity to make some money by referring others to their site. How do you make money as an affiliate by referring to a free site? All the offers that get sent out to members will have some sort of affiliate link in them. 50% of the time your affiliate links will be used, earning you commissions.

Providing free information to build a list is a technique worth remembering for your own Internet marketing efforts. You’ll end up with a targeted list, although members haven’t yet shown a willingness to spend money. So you’ll need to send out regular mailings with opportunities for them to spend. Some members of a mailing list don’t buy for years, until you send out that one product that appeals to them.

To use a list, you’ll need access to quality autoresponders. The two top autoresponder companies are Aweber and Traffic Wave. Both will provide you with capture forms and unlimited autoresponders.

You’ll also need access to free information. While you can find various free ebooks on the web that have give-away rights, keep in mind that your target audience may have already seen the ebooks available on other sites. Your response rate will be higher if you provide unique free information. Either write something yourself, or higher a writer to produce something for you. Or, like the Free Money Formula people, create your own videos!