How to Build a List of Subscribers

If you are trying to build your own list, it can sometimes seem hard to actually get subscribers.  I was approached by someone this week, asking me to help them build their list - it was an interesting technique so I thought I would share it with you.

Basically this guy sent me an email in regards to my site that deals with dogs.  He said that he had a newsletter for dog owners and was approaching other people with products in the dog niche. 

He said instead of just promoting my site as a one shot deal, he wanted to put two emails into his autoresponder series "forever" so that all new members of his newsletter would receive the pitch for my product. 

What he ask in return was that I add two emails "to the end" of my series to promote his newsletter landing page.  I thought it was interesting that he asked to be added to the end of my series, because then he could capture a all of my list.

He said that over time I would benefit from the growth of his list, as his list will grow as other publishers like me pitch his newsletter.  He hopes to have 10,000 members by the end of the year.

I subscribed to his newsletter just to see what it was like.  It was good, and yes, he does pitch mostly ebooks to his list, along with plenty of free information.

I thought this was an interesting idea, but I have not decided if I want to participate yet.  He even game me one of the two emails that he would like me to use.  This guy is smart, but I just wonder how many others have decided to do this.

The biggest problem I see with it is that I am basically helping a competitor. 

Please share your thoughts on this idea!  I would love to hear what you would do.

Comments

[Jeremy Luebke]

You should never look at these types of deals as helping a competitor.

Instead look at it as cost vs. benefit.

Will doing this lose you any sales? Probably not.

Will doing this increase your sales? Maybe.

The only way to know is to give it a try. If it doesn't work you cancel it.

[Jon]

I can see both sides. Yes, you could potentially be helping a competitor. One thing to consider is that you have the potential to benefit a lot from this exchange. You aren't the only person he has approached with this offer. So if they take him up on the exchange, you will get exposure to those other people's lists as well.

Another thing is that people will see you as an expert once they are exposed to your site, product, and newsletter.

This guy is going to have a huge list if this works. I'd rather be a part of his promotions and marketing as opposed to being his competitor.

[Bootstrapper]

Yep, I agree with you guys. I am going to give it a shot.

I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the feedback.