How to Grow Your List By Abbie Drew Aug 1, 2007

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The question I am most frequently asked is "How do I build
my subscriber list?"

If you're looking for a proven tactic to build your list
that not only works but is also free then you need to learn
about joint venture promotions.

Joint ventures are not only one of the best ways to grow
your emailing list when done effectively they also will make
you money.

In the very best joint venture everyone benefits. The JV
partners get good exposure to a wide audience and various
list members are given the opportunity to get in on special
deals and discounts.

One type of joint venture is a book promotion that offers
valuable bonus material with the purchase of a single book.

In a book promotion JV, the author generates books sales, the
JV partners build up their subscriber lists and get exposure
for their sites and the book buyers get thousands of dollars
of extras in the form of downloadable PDF, audios and videos.

To learn more about how joint ventures are done I interviewed
SendFree member, JK Ellis. JK has participated in numerous
joint ventures as well as sponsored several successful joint
ventures himself. He is an author and researcher on the area
of mind control and self improvement.

Let's get to the interview -

Abbie Drew (AD): What was your first experience doing a
joint venture?

JK Ellis (JK): I agreed to be a JV partner to help a friend
promote his book on Amazon. I didn't think much of it until I
saw my list grow by 2,000 subscribers in three days. I also
got about six times as many sales as usual during that week.
On top of that his book went to number one on Amazon that
week. That really opened my eyes to what a good joint
venture can do.

AD: Since then how many JVs have you participated in?

JK: I've lost count. I'd say maybe about 10 or 12 some of
them more successful than others.

AD: How many JVs have you sponsored yourself?

JK: Only four big ones. They are a lot of work and take a lot
of attention to do well.

AD: What makes a good JV?

JK: The best joint venture is when the benefits are clear to
everyone involved. It must be win-win for everyone. The JV
partners, the subscribers who purchase and even those who
just visit the page and don't buy anything should still benefit.

AD: How do you design a joint venture?

JK: I think of it as process not just an email or two. I have to
be working on it all the time. The first thing I do is plan out
every detail. That means every email, every web page and
web form is thought out and designed before I ever contact
the first JV partner. Doing it this way I'll have very few
problems and if something unexpected comes up I can deal
with it very quickly.

AD: How do you find your JV partners?

JK: I look for people who have web sites that might have
some similarity to my book. I contact JV partners I've
worked with in past promotions. I use search engines and
sometimes a forum like http://warriorforum.com/forum/ to
find potential JV partners.

I'll send them an email and maybe call them and try to enlist
them. All the emails they get have a very strong emphasis on
the benefit that they will get from joining, especially how this
promotion will drive people to their site and help their list
mailing list grow. The email may even show some of the
mailing lists that have already joined and how many are on
their lists to illustrate the exposure they'll be getting. All the
JV partner has to do is offer a bonus that will be given to
every book buyer and agree to send out two emails to their
list that I've written.

AD: What if you're just starting out without much of a list?
How do you make it attractive to JV partners?

JK: If you've got a product that can be a good bonus, like an
ebook or MP3, then you can introduce yourself to other
marketers in your field and ask that they include your bonus
gift. Provide a squeeze page for people to get the bonuses. If
you are looking to sell your product you don't need much of a
list. You would find people in your field that you could
partner up with and do a bundle of products. The more
people you JV with the better.

AD: Specifically what is typically in it for JV partners who
join in a promotion?

JK: Their product, web page usually ends up getting in front
of over 100,000 people. That alone can explode a mailing
list. When you realize that "The money is in the list." it also
means that you will increase your sales.

AD: And what's in it for a JV partner's list of subscribers?

JK: When subscribers look at the list of bonuses available
for the purchase of a single book it just makes sense. They
can get a thousand dollars worth of products for the purchase
of a book. Pretty simple.

AD: Could you list out the various emails, forms and web
pages that make up one of your joint venture promotion?

JK: Sure. Here is my list:

First the introduction email to the JV partners that tells them
how it will help grow their list and bring traffic to their site.
If they are interested they are given a web form to go to.

Second, I build the web form that JV partners can fill out and
show their interest. You can see the web form I made for my
upcoming joint venture at
http://www.mindcontrol101.com/promo.html

Third, I write at least three emails that JV partners can use
and send to their subscribers. These emails will tell the
subscribers about the book, the bonuses (which you should
try to get up to a value of over $500) and how to get the
bonuses. Usually I simply ask buyers to send their receipt to
a specific email address to get their bonuses.

AD: What advise would you give someone who is wanting to
do a joint venture?

JK: Take your time. Think of all the details. Consider what
you would respond to if you were the JV partner getting your
email or the list member receiving an email. Do as much of
the work as possible so your JK partners will have it as easy
as possible.

AD: Can you give an example of the emails you write to JV
partners and their subscribers?

JK: Sure. They are attached so you can post them where you
want.

AD: Here are the links to the samples.

Sample Email Used to Recruit Joint Venture Partners

3 Sample Emails That JV Partners Can Send To Their Subscribers

AD: What's your next joint venture?

JK: I am designing a joint venture to promote my latest
book "Mind Control 101 - How to Influence The Thoughts
and Actions of Others Without Them Knowing or Caring".

It will all come together the week of June 11th. There
are a few hundred dollars of bonuses that will go to anyone
who buys my book. People who want to JV with me can fill
out the form I've set up at -
http://www.mindcontrol101.com/promo.html

AD: Do you do profit sharing at all?

JK: Yes. I do have an affiliate account that people can sign
up for and for every sale they help make they get a good
percentage of the profit. The affiliate URL is
http://www.mindcontrol101.com/aff.html


AD: Thanks JK for sharing your knowledge and JV examples
with us today. Good luck with your upcoming JV.

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