In this third installment of my series on list building, I want to discuss referrals. Admittedly, this is not something I do a lot of and shame on me for it because when I actually DO it, it works. Why does it work and why should YOU consider it for your list building efforts? Keep reading and you'll find out.
Let's start with the premise of our list in the first place. Why are we building it? Well, there could be several reasons actually. But one of the most common is to get a whole bunch of people in one virtual place so that you can send them your message all at once in the hope that MAYBE they'll take some kind of action on that message itself, whether it be checking out an article, watching a video or buying a product. Unless you just like sending out emails for no reason, I'm going to assume that your list has a purpose similar to that in mind.
Now, given the purpose of your list, the one thing you'd like to have above all else is a subscriber who DOES take action. In other words, they read your message and do what you want them to do. And the reason they do it (and this is the key) is because they trust you and trust what you have to say. Somewhere along the line, you've earned that trust through the content that you've sent to them. The bottom line, however, is that you HAVE that trust.
So, let me ask you a question. If you were write to somebody you know who ALREADY trusts you and gets value out of being on your list, and asked them to refer your newsletter to others with similar interests, don't you think that they would gladly tell those in their immediate circle that your newsletter is probably something that they would want to read?
If your skeptical about this, let's take an example from real life that maybe you can relate to a little better.
Your at a bar with your best friend. He's just seen the latest, oh let's say, Batman movie and he says to you, "Man, I just saw that new Batman movie. It was FANTASTIC. You have GOT to see it."
Now think about this. He's your best friend. You value his opinion probably more than anybody else on the subject of movies because throughout your lives together you've always seemed to have the same taste. Don't you think you're going to go see that movie the first chance you get? Conversely, if he said it was horrible, you'd probably skip it.
Referrals are powerful coming from a third party with no divested interest. Of course we could throw a monkey wrench into the works to completely change this (offer a free e-course in exchange for that referral) but let's keep this simple for now. Just ask people who already trust you to recommend your newsletter to others.
If each person on your list who already trusts you and responds to your offer (let's say it's 100 people) gets just ONE person to sign up, that's 100 more people who are likely to end up trusting you as well if for no other reason than the referral that came from somebody who they ALREADY trust.
It's such an underused tactic. I myself don't use it as much as I should. But trust me, when you do use it and use it correctly (and adding incentives just makes it explode) it can really turn your list into a monster.
To YOUR Success,
Steven Wagenheim
Want more great list building tips? Check out my review of Paul Myers' Profit Plan VI at Profit Plan VI and pick up 162 ways to build a large and responsive list.
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