Outsmart The Marketers

If you want to build a list of marketers (internet marketers in particular) then you want to be 2 steps ahead of them.

What do I mean by that? Put yourself in these marketers’ shoes. Where do internet marketers hang out? What forums do marketers visit? What activities do marketers do regularly? (if you are not selling to marketers, just switch out the word “marketers” to your target audience).

By answer those questions, it will give you an idea of where to place yourself.

Where do internet marketers hang out?
Warriorforum, digitalpoint, sitepoint, and many other private internet marketing communities (usually established by another internet marketers who sold a product or service).

You will then need to go to these forums and start participating - I recommend that even if you are not going to be very active in these forums, just go register for an account - you never know when an aged account will come in handy.

The other thing you can do is giveaway something of value in these forums, and ask for their contact information in exchange. This is both good and bad - sure, you will build your list fast because people love free stuff, but it could also mean they will never spend a dollar on anything you pitch to them because they are freebie seekers.

What activities do marketers do regularly?
What do marketers do? They market! What are some of the marketing activities? Build traffic to their sites/products/services, and what do they do to achieve that? Participating in forums, and leave their links behind, leave their links behind on various web properties such as article directory, link directory, press release, blog carnival, etc. So what you need to do is become the provider for these marketers - run your own article directory website, your own link directory website, your own press release announcement website, your own blog carnival, all offering free submission, but require them to register first.

Will this work outside of “internet marketers”?
You bet it will. Let’s take another market - how about dog owners?

Where do dog owners hang out? Do a search on big-boards.com to find out!

What activities do dog owners do regularly?
Walk their dogs(?), show off their dog pictures on those “rate my dog” sites, and what else?

So, how do you exploit that? Take your dog to the dog park, and strike up a conversation such as, “Hey, have you read about… ” and then get them to give you their email address, you would then go home and forward the article link (your own article site, or affiliate product site) to your new dog owner buddy, and give him/her the permission to forward it on to friends.

How do you exploit the tendency of people wanting to show off their pets? Run your own “rate my dog” site!

If you want customers, be among them, it just makes things so much easier!