Managing Your Lists
September 19th, 2009 | 
Author: Let me start this post by saying I have no answers for this dilemma. In fact, I’m hoping my readers can share some insight with me and some of my subscribers who need answers, too.
Someone asked me a question about how to manage their lists and it dawned on me that I’ve never thought about this. I need help too. Here’s my own personal situation:
1.) I have a main list that is a freebie opt in list at TiffanyDow.com
2.) and 3.) and 4.) Then I have 2 presell lists for 1 product (Guide2ebooks.com when they download the free chapter) and a buyers list for the same one (once they buy they get switched) – the reason I have two is that I launched on two different sites, so not sure how to merge these now.
5.) and 6.) and 7.) and 8.) Then I have buyers lists for several other products (about 4 of these – Mastering FriendFeed, Social Networking on Squidoo, Work at Home Truths, and Flip That Lens)
9.) and 10.) these are okay – they’re specific lists for alerts when I have something specific ready – the Lens Alert list and the PLR Mini Mart list.
11.) and 12.) and 13.) One is information on social marketing (free opt in via socialmarketingjunkie.com), one is a contest list (Squidoo – which I don’t host contests anymore, so I guess i can delete this one) and one is a list of affiliates (through my new affiliate page at EasyClickMate).
I know how to blast an email out and exclude one list if a product promotion is called for, but should I be creating this many different lists? I also find myself wanting to blast an email message because it’s something I want everyone to read, but it would work better as a follow up email so future signups will see it.
However, it’ll look bad if that one email goes to list A on this date, then list B on another date if a person is signed up to both lists – they might be getting duplicates if I make it a follow up. If I don’t, I’m screwing future followers out of reading it.
I’m confused about the best way to manage my lists – are you? What advice, if any, do you have? Consider the fact that I’m poised to launch LOTS of info products this year, so do I create a list for each one or simply sign them up to tiffanydow.com?
Tiff 
Posted in Internet Marketing
Its simple really,you don’t use the crap autoresponder services that do not have a non-duplicate facility.
Or you could do what I have done, that is to have your own autoresponder on your sever, that way you are in complete control.
Doesn’t aweber give you the option of copying one list into another? Get Response does. Then you can get rid of one list by deleting it yet you still have all the names and addresses.
Frankly other than the buyer lists, I think it would be best to set up another main list and ask all your free subscribers to confirm they want to be on it. And yes, you bribe them to do this
I think you’ll find you won’t lose all that many subscribers.
Then from this day forward send out your scheduled emails and then when you think something is important, hit them with a special broadcast.
Do I do it this way?
Of course not because who thinks of this when they start building lists from different sites.
Judith
Hey Tiff!
I’ll be curious to see what kind of suggestions you get. I’m kind of torn because I want to use one big autoresponder sequence full of tips for my subscribers (giving plenty of value!) but I also want to cross-promote different products and i really don’t think you should be promoting a product to someone who has already bought it.
And while it does make sense to have a list for each product, I can see that becoming harder and harder to manage as you add more products.
And I didn’t think about having people subscribe to multiple lists. I certainly don’t want people receiving an email 6 months AFTER the received the same email just because they signed up for another of my lists.
Whew! This is a tough one.
Although I don’t have the solution you’re looking for, it might make you feel better to know that while I also have that problem, mine is bigger than yours. My niches vary from Internet marketing to raising chickens to women in the Civil War to. . .well, you get the idea. Discover the solution and I’ll buy the book.
Hello Tiffany,
Thank you for posting this, it is something that I have wondered about and have recently realized could be one (?) of my road blocks for setting up at least the first list.
Thanks for all you do.
This problem has beenvexing me for some time too.
One thing, in response to Judith’s idea about merging lists on Aweber. I don’t think you can do that. Aweber does have a feature that if you blast all of your lists, and someone is on several of your lists, they only get one email.
I sure hope you find a solution to this issue!
Mike Stokes
Baton Rouge, LA
Okay this doesn’t happen for me
I sign up to all of my lists and if I blast out an email I get it to all of my email addresses. Is there something you have to click so that it doesn’t duplicate?
Tiffany, if you’ve signed up to more than one of your own lists with the same email address, then you should only get 1 copy of the email. So even if you are signed up to 5 lists you should get only 1 email to that address. If you’re signed up under multiple emails then you should receive one to each address.
I’m curious for the answers. I’ve done a lot of CRM in corporate business, the problem is easy to solve if you use a database. Using lists is just a tiny bit more challenging.
Re: Norman: Hosting your own autoresponse software is really dangerous. You have to do spam report management by yourself, and you’ll quickly have your domain on the msn, yahoo, google and aol spam lists.
Good Morning!
I have been watching the comments to this post as I hope to have a website up soon and I want to set AWeber up correctly.
I don’t know if this will help or not but I went over to AWeber to see if their Knowledge Base had anything to help.
I found one -
http://bit.ly/tKHVk
about automation that allows you set it up so that if a person subscribes to list B he is automatically Un-subscribed from list A.
And the other one -
http://bit.ly/155Xet
that explains it in more detail. It includes a video showing you how to set it up.
Now, thanks to this question here I have a good idea of how I want to structure my mailing lists (which I dearly hope to have)
Hope this helped a little!
Linny
Is it about lists, or nurturing your prospects and clients? If the former, I don’t know. If the latter, the best I know of is Infusionsoft.
sounds like a business opportunity for someone to solve…..
I need to figure out a solution too. Right now, I’m about to release my latest product, and I have three, no, 4 lists involved with it:
7 day free eclass
Book by itself
Book with upsell to silver
Book with upsell to gold
And each of THOSE lists have unique AR followups as well. Wheeeee!
Sometimes it’s a nightmare to keep straight….
Hi,
I watched a video recently in which the guy has his separate lists and then a master list. If he wants to send a general broadcast, he uses the master list. He uses Aweber and everyone new subscriber is automatically also put on the Master List. According to him, there was no duplication. But, I’ve often received duplicates-so what’s faster than deleting one?
Don’t have a problem with that.
I had a look the other day, but couldn’t findsuch an option. I think one should contact them and specifically inquire about this option.
Hope this helps a little!
Cheers!