Today, I want to educate you about why you should build your own MLM Mailing List.
As I see it, every SERIOUS distributor in our industry should BUILD UP their own mailing list over a period of months and years. You want a list of everyone you approach, everyone you work with, everyone on your team, everyone who responds to your ads, and everyone you connect with in the network marketing industry.
Instead of just trying to recruit every person you meet into your business opportunity, you should focus on adding them to your mailing list first. The major benefit of building up your mailing list is that once you add them to your list, you can communicate by mail, build a relationship with each person, let them know what you do, and possibly recruit them. You can even create multiple streams of income.
You should make it a point to add a name or two to your mailing list every single day AND to keep in touch with everyone on your mailing list every single month, no matter what. Send out a monthly newsletter, a handwritten note, a helpful article, or anything of VALUE. Keep in touch frequently. Build a friendship and relationship with everyone on your MLM Mailing List.
What Is a MLM Mailing List?
A MLM Mailing List is a list of names and mailing addresses of people who give you PERMISSION to stay in touch with them. It’s not a list of names that you buy or a list of strangers. Instead, it’s a list of people you meet, form a connection with, and get their permission to send them stuff in the mail from time-to-time. Think of it as a database of names and addresses that you build up over a period of a few years.
Why You Want a MLM Mailing List
You want a mailing list because the money is in the list. Besides, network marketing companies come and go. Who knows what you will be doing, or what company you will be working with five years from now!
The same holds true for the people on your mailing list. They might be happy in their current company today, but who knows, maybe their company will go defunct in a few years and they will be looking for a new company to join.
The major benefit of having a MLM Mailing List is you position yourself as a LEADER. You send out a monthly newsletter, article or publication each month and provide value to your list. The people on your list will see you as an expert and trusted friend. They look forward to getting your newsletter every month and they begin to know you, like you and trust you.
Many of the folks on your mailing list will eventually become a customer or distributor in your team, in the months and years ahead when the timing becomes right for them.
If you want to build your online business, research shows that one of the best ways to do it is to use direct mail to drive prospects to your site. It’s the combination of direct mail with an online presence that packs such a powerful marketing punch. Even Google, probably one of the iconic internet businesses, sends out direct-mail campaigns.
~ Craig Simpson, Quoted from Printshoppe.net
Direct Mail vs. The Internet
The internet is WAY overrated. Yes, the internet is a great way to get leads, connect with long-lost friends, and work with your team. But the internet is NOTHING compared to direct mail. I do both the internet and direct mail and I honestly believe that direct mail is at least 10 times better than the internet.
Just think about how many emails you get a day. How many emails go to your spam folder and never get read? How many emails get deleted before they are ever read? Most people get so much email that it absolutely annoys them. I can’t speak for you, but I get several hundred emails a day and I don’t read most of my emails.
Direct mail is completely different. Everyone, and I mean everyone I know checks their mail every day. And they are excited to check their mail!
They typically look through everything before they decide what to throw away and what to keep. Most people will at least open your mail and read it before they decide to keep it or trash it. Getting people to read your message is more than 90% of the battle!
I’ve also found that direct mail has a much longer shelf life than email. People will keep a piece of mail that they enjoy for a long period of time, whereas emails get deleted instantly.
Another issue with email is that many of your emails do not even get delivered to your recipient. They either get blocked by the ISP or they end up in the person’s spam folder.
Making Money with Your MLM Mailing List
The real beauty of having a good MLM Mailing List is that you can sponsor and recruit with ease. Many of the folks on your mailing list will eventually team up with you if you stay in touch often, provide value, and act like a leader.
You can promote different things in your mailing list, which provides you multiple streams of income. You can even sell advertising in your newsletter that you mail out. You can rent out your mailing list for a profit. The options really are endless. Do it right and your MLM Mailing List can be a business all by itself.
Does It Cost Money?
Yes. Everything costs money. I would tell you to stop being so cheap. It costs me less than $10 per year per person to send direct mail to everyone on my mailing list once each month. I make much more than that per person from the stuff that I sell and recommend.
I understand that email is free and much faster. I just don’t think it’s as effective as the mail. I believe that if you aren’t willing to invest $10 per person per year for your mailing list, you probably shouldn’t be in business to begin with! Don’t focus on cost. Focus on your Return on Investment.
Tips for Building Your MLM Mailing List
Here are a few things you can do to grow your MLM Mailing List.
# 1 When you talk to people already involved in network marketing, ask them if they would be interested in receiving your monthly MLM Newsletter in the mail. This is a really easy sell. Very few people will tell you NO.
# 2 Send 100 free newsletters out per month to network marketers and include a personalized letter in your mailing telling the person they must call you or email you if they want to hear from you again.
# 3 Advertise and market your newsletter, rather than your business opportunity.
# 4 Use a software program to manage your contacts and be sure to have a backup.
# 5 Ask people for referrals.
# 6 Collect business cards at network marketing events you attend and send each person one free issue (include that letter telling them they must reach out to you to continue to hear from you.
# 7 Send out 500 to 1,000 postcards each month in the mail to promote your free newsletter and mailing list.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that direct mail is here to stay. It’s a proven marketing method. It’s also a competition free zone, especially compared to email marketing and online marketing.
As a network marketer, you should build up your own MLM Mailing List. Even if takes you a few years to build up a mailing list of 500 names, it’s well worth it. I believe that a rolodex of 500 people you have a good relationship with is worth a lot of money to you over the course of your network marketing career.
Assuming you stay in touch often, provide value, and promote different products and services, I don’t see why you couldn’t turn your mailing list into a profitable business venture.
What are your thoughts? What is your experience with direct mail and MLM Mailing Lists? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
A business without a mailing list is not a business.
~ Dan Kennedy
Sincerely,
Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
Top Recruiter & Top Rep
mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
I’ve done the monthly email newsletter and you are right about people not even opening them. The most I’ve ever seen was a 40% open rate on anything I’ve ever sent via email. I have not tried direct mail yet. People seem to be more willing to give up an email address than a physical address. But I’ll try taking the email option off and see if I get more mailing addresses if it is the only option they have to get more information from me.
One of your quotes here Chuck is intense and so true; “Don’t focus on cost, focus on the return on your investment.” Sometimes, we as people try to save so much money, we lose money saving money. It reminds me of certain people that clip coupons and travel miles upon miles to different supermarkets just to save $1, not realizing they spent $3 in gas to save $1 in groceries.
Direct mail is a great avenue. Most network marketers do not use it, and the ones that do, I am sure they are doing well with it.
Everyone at least reads the mail that goes to the box, but many don’t even open emails unless the subject line grabs them between the ears.
Return on Investment (ROI) is the most important thing to measure on all of your business expenses.
This is one thing that I know I need to do more, along with many other network marketers. That is keeping statistics. Knowing what our return on investment is, helps us measure whether certain forms of advertising and such is worthwhile or not.
With direct mail, it can sometimes be very hard to measure these statistics. That is why, when you have someone sign up, you should have a brief survey asking where they learned about the opportunity, products, or both. This can help you keep track of where your leads and sales are coming in from.
Do any of you do this? How do you measure what kind of ROI is coming from your direct mail?
Believe it or not, I use my direct mail as a relationship builder. Most of the people in my Mastermind Group, and most of my affiliate sales and people I sponsor are on my mailing list.
So very true here Greg. There are times when I have spent a lot of money on something thinking it was a great investment and the return on investment made it such a waste. Other times I have spent less money and the return on investment was grand. Then as you pointed out sometimes by trying to save money we end up wasting it because the return on investment is so low whereas if we stop cutting costs and spend a little more we can see huge return on our investment which often means a lot more.
Sending out a newsletter each month is a much more personal form of communication in my eyes than simply bombarding someone with an e-mail. I mean if you are anything like me you are getting upwards of 50+ emails a day, and that does not include spam. I’m likely to overlook an e-mail from someone even if I was genuinely interested in reading it. But a newsletter shows that you put a little more thought and a little more effort into reaching out to that person which goes a long way.
Nothing beats a good newsletter in the mail!
It isn’t something that is thought of a whole lot, but direct mail is a better resource than email. The reasons you provided make much more sense. First, if a person is completely not interested, they most likely will not give you their mailing address. The statement about the mail getting read is true too. It may go in the trash, but they will read it first. That is not always true with emails.
Thanks for this enlightening post Chuck.
I would argue that my direct mail is my best marketing tactic. I send a monthly newsletter to people who want it. Over a period of months and years, I build a good relationship with many of these folks.
Yes, I actually look forward to getting mail, even if it is junk mail, I still read it. I cannot say the same with emails. I will look at the subject line, and if it isn’t eye grabbing, to the trash bin it goes. With regular mail, I know whoever sent it put some time, and expense into doing so. The way I figure, I at least owe them enough respect to read it.
I always look forward to receiving your newsletters. They are educational and not over bearing. I wish you much good luck with your marketing journey.