In this series of posts, we’re looking at the 5 secrets you need to know if you want to build a responsive email list in preparation for your Product Launch Formula launch.

So when you look at your mailing list, is basically a monologue, right? It’s you sending out messages, and people read those messages, that’s it. Then you just keep doing that every day, every week, or on whatever schedule you use.

But here’s the thing…

For the most part, people need to know, like and trust you on some level before they will do business with you. And while sending out your regular messages does help build familiarity and trust over time, it’s not the fastest way to do it.

That’s why your goal should be to personally interact with your readers whenever possible, and actively give them a feeling of belonging to something…

Since the beginning of time, humans have been social creatures. But over the last few years, social media has changed things completely.

People don’t want to just read your messages anymore. They want to “like” them. They want to comment on them and discuss them with you.

They might even want to share your messages with their friends (without having to ‘forward’ an email). They want to feel like they’re a part of something special, part of a Movement if you will, and that’s why it’s in your interest to make these activities as easy as possible for your Tribe.

Here’s the cool part: there’s a psychological trigger at play here. This wanting to belong to a group may actually be hardwired into your subscribers’ brains.

You see, back in tribal times people really couldn’t survive if they were alone. They had to belong to a group if they wanted to thrive. They had to fit in. If they were exiled or excluded from the group for some reason, they either had a very hard life… or more likely, they were killed by a rival group, wild animals or by starvation and illness.

It’s pretty clear that your prospects aren’t going to starve to death or get killed if they’re not part of a group. Logically people know they’ll be okay on their own. But our brains still reward us in various ways for belonging to a group (and often make us feel uncomfortable when we’re alone).

THAT’S why people like to have this sense of belonging.

So your goal with all of your communications should be to try and foster this sense of belonging.

Here’s how to encourage this feeling, which will help you build a relationship with your subscribers and increase their responsiveness…

1. Create A Cool Name For Your Tribe

The other day I saw a Facebook fan page for a one-eyed, blind dog. The owners of the page refer to him as a pirate, and they call all his fans part of his “Pirate Crew.”

It’s a simple name, and his thousands of Facebook fans readily (and happily) refer to themselves as part of the “Crew.” It gives them a sense of belonging and camaraderie. That’s a good thing.

Another example of people who belong to a Movement are are the thousands of “Trekkies” who like Star Trek. This shared love of all things Star Trek gives them a strong bond of belonging and helps them identify each other.

Still one more example: Oprah Winfrey has a TV program and web page called “Super Soul Sunday.” When she talks to the group on social media, she refers to them as “Super Soulers.” It’s a way for Oprah to make each and every reader feel like they’re a part of this special insider group of fans.

TIP: Need more examples? If you look at any sports team, you’ll see how all the fans feel like they’re part of the team, and how these fans even take on the team’s name, logo and colours.

So you get the point here – find a cool and preferably memorable name for your group.

Sure, sometimes your group members will come up with their own name for themselves, but that usually takes a while. It’s much better if you figure out a good name at the beginning, and refer to your group members with that name right away. Just be sure it’s a name with which your members will enjoy being linked to.

Next idea…

2. Link Your Communications To Social Media

Your subscribers will struggle to feel like they’re part of a group if they never get to interact with other members of the group. That’s why you should set up a Facebook Group. Then be sure to link to your Facebook Page from every newsletter, as well as encouraging your Facebook Fans to sign up for your mailing list.

TIP: The bonus of setting up a public Facebook Group is that it gives you another means of communication with your prospects. Plus Facebook is a viral medium, so your existing fans and subscribers can help you find new fans and subscribers by inviting their family and friends.

You might even specifically encourage interaction by asking “What do you think?” at the end of a newsletter article, or inviting them to share their thoughts in the Group. Then include a link to Facebook and encourage people to post their thoughts on your Wall.

Here’s a related idea…

3. Put Your Newsletters And Emails On Your Blog

Another way to encourage interaction is to post all (or at least some) of your newsletters as content on your blog. Make sure you enable blog comments, and encourage your newsletter subscribers to let you know what they think.

TIP: if you want to reserve the best content for your newsletter list, then password protect your newsletter content when you post it on your blog. This will make your newsletter subscribers feel special since they have the password.

It will also encourage your visitors who haven’t yet subscribed to want to subscribe just to see what kinds of posts you’re hiding behind the curtain!

One nice bonus of directing people to your blog is that they’ll see your other content, promotions, banners and offers. The more you can get people visiting your blog, the more sales you’re likely to generate.

Next idea…

4. Create A Private Group

Here’s the best way to make people feel really special: give them access to a private group.

One way to do this is to set up a “closed” or Private Facebook Group. That’s where people can find it by searching Facebook, and they can see the admins and members, but they can’t see the content unless they become a member. And they can’t join until a moderator or admin officially approves them. You can also set up a “secret” group (which can’t be found by searching).

TIP: Another way to set up a private group is by setting up a forum and making one of the sub-forums private.

The idea here is to send your newsletter subscribers to the private group so they can talk about the content you share in your newsletter. Naturally, they can talk about anything else they’d like as well. But the key is to make people feel special because they’re a part of this “secret” and exclusive group. They’re part of your “tribe” or inner circle.

TIP: You can make the group membership a bonus of joining your newsletter list. That means you’ll get more subscribers joining your list, plus the feeling of belonging will help you build a good relationships with your subscribers (which in turns boosts responsiveness).

I’ve done this with one of my free stock trading Membership Sites. When people sign up for a free account, they are added to my email database, and can also request membership of our private Facebook Group, where I share additional insights, and we all contribute content, analyse markets, and share ideas for trades.

This creates a great sense of community where people feel like they belong to something greater than themselves. This sense of belonging makes them much more likely to open my email messages, click through to the sites and offers I share, and buy the products and services I recommend.

THIS is one one of the best ways you can create a highly profitable email list before you roll out your new product or service based on the strategies you learn in Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula.

And if you’d like to learn more about building a rabid community of raving fans who are ready to support you when you are ready to launch any product or service, you can do by going through Jeff Walker’s Free Product Launch Masterclass here.

Talk soon,

Rocky

P.S. Being able to create a Perfect Product is a great start, but you also need a way to generate sales in a consistent way. Running a Product launch is a proven way to not only build your list, but generate Social Proof and make a large number of sales quickly. To learn how to launch your product successfully, check out Jeff Walker’s free Product Launch Masterclass here.

PLUS: When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to grow your business using product launches:

1. How To Build A Profitable Launch List.
Building an email list is critical if you plan on doing a launch for your product, service or business. List Warrior will show you a proven way to use free software to build a responsive list of prospects who are ready to buy from you during your launch. Click Here.

2. How To Create The Perfect Product 
Creating a product that is perfect for your audience does not need to be difficult. How To Create The Perfect Product shows you how to build high value products your audience will love one after the other. Click Here.

3. How To Attract Buyers To Join Your Launch List So They Can Purchase Your Perfect Product.
Once you have created your Product Launch List and your Perfect Product is ready to go, you need to attract people into your world so they can buy from you. One Minute Free Traffic gives you a proven way to attract buyers with ‘Automated Traffic Machines’ so you can send those people to your optin page, your sales page, your Facebook Group or anywhere else you choose.    To learn more Click Here.

And don’t forget to check this out 🙂

How to Earn $20 in 20 Minutes With Any Topic, Niche or Hobby

Disclaimer: If you purchase PLF through my affiliate link I may receive a referral fee from Jeff Walker, however you will pay no more to purchase the program through me than if you went directly to the Product Launch Formula website. If you would like my personal help as you create your first launch using the PLF process, check out my PLF Bonus offer here.