Build Your Targeted List with Niche Social Networks

If you are building a list in a niche market you should be a member of a social network in that same niche.

The trend in social networking is to build small niche sites instead of trying to be the next Myspace or Facebook. The idea of bringing a smaller group of people together with something in common lends itself to a more active site, as measured in percentage of regular users, than a broad interest site.

I have talked before about a targeted list is much better than a broad list. If you are marketing products related to your targeted list; your conversion rates and revenue will be much higher. Big business recognizes this, too.

With the increasing popularity of niche social networks, more and more businesses are targeting their ads to them. It just makes sense that a record company would target, and pay more, for an ad on a site like Mog, a network for music lovers, than on a place like Facebook. True there are millions of music lovers on Facebook, but submitting an ad to a targeted market will bring many more sales per impression than it would if running on Facebook.

Its like selling a product on safelists, a broad audience; compared with selling it to your niche-targeted list of names. Your sales will be much higher selling to your list than promoting it to the safelist membership. True, you may reach more people through the safelist, but most of them will not be interested in your product.

By becoming a member of a social network that targets the same group of people that your niche list does, makes sense. You create your profile and add friends, just as you do on any social network. Give these new friends a gift to join your list (you may even be able to add an opt-in form to your profile page) and watch your sign-ups increase.

Spend a few minutes every day on that site requesting new friends. The more people that you request; the more that will see your profile. If you have your free gift link on your profile, you will get sign-ups. The sign-ups from these sites will be highly targeted to your niche and add dollars to your online business for months and years to come.

Using Traffic Exchanges to Build Your Downline

I am a member of over 50 Traffic Exchanges. Do I use them all on a regular basis? No. There are 10 to 15 that I use weekly. Then why belong to the other exchanges? To build downlines.

I usually will surf all of the exchanges that I belong to at least once a month. Those that I do not use very much only have my ads for the better exchanges that I use running on them. Why? To build downlines.

How does building downlines at traffic exchanges help my other businesses? Most traffic exchanges give you the ability to e-mail your downline once per week or more. If you can get your downline to opt-in for a proposal on one of your other businesses or to, say, a weekly newsletter from you; then you have opened up a large number of prospects.

What is the one thing that people who use the traffic exchanges look for? Ways to get more traffic. So it makes sense that building a downline through traffic exchanges is easier than trying to build one through your other businesses on the exchanges. Even on my more effective exchanges; 75% or better of my ads are focused on the other exchanges that I belong to.

Build that downline. Send opt-in e-mails to your people. Build your list and watch your other businesses grow.