I just love the process of building a small empire...and hopefully you do to.

Ok, Ok, so maybe your not in the business of building empires - but having a profitable online business is something I'm sure you would not object to having...right?

Did you know that you can make having a profitable online business much easier when you have your own in-house list to market to.

It makes paying monthly bills a heck of a lot faster as well.

Anyway, here's my three-point checklist for building a vibrant list.

'Begin With The End In Mind!'

1 - The above quote from Steven Covey sounds like horse sense

but when I ask people why they are building a list they give

me a strange look & say things like, 'I want to recycle traffic'

or 'I want more chances to make the sale' or 'I want my customer

to remember me'. These are invariably the same people that blindly

jump on every list building system bandwagon that comes along,

& then complain about the lack of results. I think it boils down

to laziness, & a lack of focus & creativity.

Your subconscious success mechanism is a goal-seeking device.

It doesn't function properly with vague generalities as input.

It needs specifics if you want it to work for you.

What exactly do you want to achieve?

Are you looking for a vehicle to sell more of your products? How

much more? Which products? Are you looking to focus on people

that have already bought from you, or is your list targeted

toward warming up cold leads? Are you looking to educate your

customers to reduce support costs? By how much? Are you looking

to build your credibility as an expert, so you can sell

services? Are you looking for a way to attract partnerships with

big names in your field, because of the size & quality of your

list?

Key point. Don't limit your thinking by worrying about how you

are going to achieve your list building goals, until after

you've clearly defined them. Make them big, hairy, & audacious!

'Leverage The Law Of Reciprocation!'

2 - Once you have clearly thought out what it is you want to

achieve, think about how you can achieve it & what resources

you'll need to do it. Do you need additional products? Do you

need help finding potential subscribers? Do you need

endorsements? Do you need help creating your content?

Who has what you need? Your customers, your prospects, your

partners, your competitors, the press, your suppliers,

institutions, other related businesses?

What can you offer them that they REALLY want in exchange for

it? Was it Joe Girard who said, 'you can get what ever you want,

if you will just help enough other people to get what they want'?

Now think creatively & do some research. You can help others to

reach their goals with your money, your time, your

relationships, your knowledge, with your ability to acquire new

knowledge, with your experience, with your skills, the list is

endless if you will just open yourself up to this principle.

'Slice & Dice!'

3 - When you understand the importance of having clearly defined

objectives, & the principle of reciprocity, it's time to focus on

your market. Your master list should be comprised of tightly

targeted sub lists. Each one closely matched to a specific need

or goal.

If you publish a newsletter for example, don't confuse a

subscriber with a lead for a particular product that you are

trying to sell. Before you go too far into selling mode, find a

way to segment those that have an interest in what you are

offering. You can do this based on your subscribers past

responses, how they got on your list, or by asking them to take

some action that signals their interest. I subscribe to plenty

of lists, & loosely targeted, self-serving sales pitches are a

very common blunder, particularly early on in the subscription.

You need to warm things up first. This is even more important if

you decide to buy subscribers. It takes time to make a purchased

list, YOUR list.

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About the Author

Ohio copywriter who built several sizable subscriber lists becomes enraged at the lack of quality products for building an opt-in list online and decides to spill the beans on what really works and what doesn't.Find out what secrets he has to reveal.