Copyright © 2005 Robin Harris, DesignerLife

You can ignite your marketing efforts and passion for the game by learning to use your personal story and expertise to get potential clients subscribing to your opt-in list.

I want to show you 10 simple steps you can implement with a low-cost investment and a little effort that you can use as a springboard for more aggressive online marketing campaigns.

By creating an interesting web site, which consist of one simple, yet, well-designed web page you can begin a relationships with qualified prospects. The “Interest Site” is designed to share content and offer a customized introductory e-product to someone who would qualify to be considered your ideal client. The focus of the site has to be a HOT TOPIC for your ideal client and it has to tie back to your product theme in some logical way.

The Interest Site will include the following components:

1. The reason why the ideal client should read the content and subscribe to your list to get the introductory product. You written communication should be compelling, not contain hype, and impress the ideal client so they know free product does not mean no-value, low-value product…but it means you are a generous person, you are a skilled business person, and you are beginning your relationship with them on good and ethical terms.

2. Weave in a soft introduction that is designed to create affinity with your ideal client so they know you are like them, understand them, and share some of the same concerns and interests as they relate to this topic. Be brief.

3. Discuss one to three key points related to the topic that the ideal client would find very interesting. Notice I said the ideal client would find them interesting, you may not, and the non-ideal client may not. You may have expertise in this area or you may have to go and do some research. Either way, make sure the information is highly relevant to your ideal client and related to your primary business offering.

4. Include a message that lets the ideal client know that this content is incomplete and they can get more advanced information by signing up for the complimentary ecourse or workbook. Don’t offer just a newsletter or special report. These things are over used and are often perceived as low value until your credibility is well established.

5. Give the ideal client a teaser preview of the HOT HOT HOT TOPICS covered in the ecourse or workbook. Summarize what you have provided and remind them to subscribe.

6. Provide a Bio-box with 3 or 4 lines about you, written in third person to start imprinting the ideal client with the perception that you are a great resource, expert, etc. Be sure to include email contact. Get yourself an official domain and email address. Make sure the web address you pick for your interest site relates to the topic being discussed. Remember to represent yourself as being an established professional. Do not use an ISP email address. Bob@my-interest-site.com is much more attractive than bob1698@yahoo.com.

7. Use an autoresponder to create an online signup form for your opt-in list. Include this sign-up form directly into your web site page. I use an autoresponder which allows for attachments and can create both text and html messages. You can use the HTML software inside the autoresponder to create simple yet elegant messages without knowing HTML. I recommend you stay away form text based messages, there quick, fast and cheesy looking. Imagine getting a text-based email from Amazon, it just wouldn’t look all that professional, would it?

8. Set up your autoresponder so the subscriber gets an immediate message congratulating them on their new subscription. Assure that the e-product is sent with the first message. You can either attach the product or store it on a web server and include the link. The first option is the easiest if you use the full-featured autoresponder.

9. Instead of trying to push people to your replicated site or your affiliate site, or convince them to spend money with a stranger, you want to get them to your interest site and get them into your opt-in database before sending them off to some other web site or having a serious sales conversation with them.

10. You can get more information about tools and resources for the Interest Site Project and you can also receive a complimentary template for creating your first ecourse when you subscribe to our online newsletter at http://www.marketing-with-a-story.com.

Robin Harris is a Certified Coach and the Founder of http://www.Marketing-With-A-Story.com She works with entrepreneurs who want to market with ease by using their personal experiences, knowledge, and passion to attract their ideal clients. You can reach Robin via email at support@marketing-with-a-story.com