A cornerstone of Online Marketing is List Building. While most of us recognize it as essential to making sales, it still remains a challenge for most. The fundamentals are well publicized and yet most Internet Marketers never achieve critical mass in this most important area of their business development.



The major reason to build an Opt-in list is to be able to market to a targeted audience with whom you've developed a relationship.

For more details go to: www.list-management-secrets.com this relationship can only be built over time and is solely dependent on the list owners providing valuable content to the subscriber.

New Internet Marketers often struggle with building their first opt-in list. The biggest reason aside from know-how is analysis paralysis. Too much information can be as bad as not having enough information. Instead of just starting the process, there is the tendency to keep searching for the magic bullet.

Unfortunately it does not exist. While there are tools and tactics, every person who has built a large responsive opt-in list has started at the same point as the new marketer - ground zero.

What follows are 6 practical opt-in list building tips that will get you started and help you stay on track in the long run.

1) Create a Unique Selling Proposition

According to Jay Abraham, a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) "is that distinct and appealing idea that sets you and your business, or practice, favorably apart from every other generic competitor. The long-term marketing and operational successes I help you achieve will, ultimately, be helped or hurt by the USP you decide upon."

Your USP is how you distinguish your business from others.

2) Create an Opt-in Landing Page Also known as a "Squeeze Page," the Landing Page has one purpose and that is to get the visitors name and email address. There are many types of landing pages and it will benefit you greatly to learn basic HTML. It's better to design your own Opt-in Pages. The major advantage of designing your own Opt-In Landing Pages is flexibility. You can build several Landing Pages and test which one is the most effective. See resource box to get a Complimentary Landing Page Template.

3) Make It Easy to Join Tell the visitor why they should sign up (opt-in) and what they will get for doing so. For can visit to: www.mailing-lists-profit.com Follow the K.I.S.S. method and don't forget a strong "Call to Action." Tell them what to do next. Sign Up Now! Act Now! Get Your FREE Report Here! Create a sense of urgency. Your objective is to get a name and email address and follow-up later. Offer a Free Gift, also known as an "Ethical Bribe" as an incentive. It can be a PLR eBook, a report, an audio file, a video so long as it offers value and relates to your USP.

4) Be sure to include a "Privacy Statement and Disclosure." Here are a couple of sites that can help you with the wording. Free Privacy Policy Generator, and for Disclosure Statements, DisclosurePolicy.org. Having a Privacy Policy and Disclosure Statement increases the public's feeling of security and makes the decision to opt-in to your list more likely.

5) No Risk Factor. Let people know they can opt-out at any time. People are averse to signing up for lists because (1) they don't want to be spammed and (2) they can't keep up with all the email. Just think about your own email inbox. Isn't that why you have several email accounts to handle all the spam emails from other marketers? Simply remind your subscribers that they can unsubscribe at any time.

6) Your Marketing Funnel Begins With The Opt-in List. The objective of building an Opt-in List is to be making back-end sales. Your Opt-in List building page (Landing Page) should be the top of your marketing funnel. Once the visitor opts-in, your thank you page should be your first sales attempt. Rather than a generic, "Thank you for joining" message, send them to your Sales Page. Even if they don't buy, you can follow-up with your auto responder. Create 7-10 email messages to be sent over the next 10-15 days. One system says the ratio should be 3/2 three content emails followed by 2 sales emails and so on. You'll have to determine what's best for your list. This is why testing is important. The more valuable content you provide the more trust will be developed. W.I.F.M., "What's in it for me?" This is what's on the customers mind. Show them what's in it for them, help them solve their problems, and you'll build a large list of faithful members, who will become customers for life.