Opt-in email lists not only allows you to instantly test an idea and get immediate results, but it also allows a webmaster to maintain their high traffic and high number of hits through any slow period. Online marketers have noted that just like in the bricks and mortar world out there, online businesses and sites too have their low periods where traffic usually drops off dramatically. The results can be devastating as earnings will always take a dive too.

With a huge opt-in email list, the options open to a webmaster or blog site owner are many. They can quickly launch a special promotion and instantly bring that hit counter back up again.

However everybody knows how difficult it is to build an opt-in email list these days. With increasing problems associated with email like spam and even phising schemes that seek to trick people into giving out their private and sensitive information, many people approach email with lots of caution these days.

Still there are tried and trusted methods that are pretty effective in building up lists pretty quickly.

Prepare The Numbers Before You Start Building Your Opt-In Email List

The biggest and most common mistake online marketers make is to blindly lunge into building a list without working on the numbers first. You must start with a target of sorts and that target has to be a realistic one. The way to make it not only realistic but fairly accurate is to work out the number of names you expect to harvest from a certain activity over a specific period of time.

For instance I ended up building an opt-in email list very quickly by simply calculating the number of names each article I wrote would bring in. From some brief tests I did, I noted that on average, one article written and posted at a certain popular articles directory would usually yield about 3 names every week—at least in the first two months or so. So I made a great big effort to get 100 article written whose sole objective was to get people to sign up for my list. The amazing thing is that there were weeks where I was able to get 400 new names, instead of just 300.

By doing something similar, you can be able to work out fairly accurately how quickly your list is going to grow.

Preparing The Numbers Helps You To Stay Focused

The World Wide Web is a place where there are numerous distractions. Losing focus is not only easy, it is the norm. One of the advantages of setting clear targets and having actual numbers of what to expect is that it keeps you very focused on exactly what you have to do in order to achieve the results that you are seeking.

This is in sharp contrast to the half-hearted-trial-and-error way in which most of us start our online ventures. The reality is that we often end up expecting miracles from doing nothing.

Advance planning also helps you select the most suitable tool to use in building your list. For example you can be able to do a quick calculation to compare the costs of running a paid advertisement and getting articles written. Or you can even compare two different forms of ads and the expected outcome. For instance PPC ads, banner advertisements and pop up campaigns at your web site.

Testing Is Crucial Before You Decide on Your Targets

Before you settle on your figures and estimates, it is important to do a little testing to see actual results. One of the wonderful things about testing, is that even of you spend more money that you had earlier anticipated, the truth is that you will end up saving yourself a small fortune. For starters testing will allow you to settle on the most effective list-building method for your particular niche. And most of all, you will also be able to come up with pretty accurate estimates.

In Conclusion

A scientific approach to building your email opt-in list will make all the difference between success and failure. Countless webmasters and online entrepreneurs have unsuccessfully attempted to build up their lists many times. In most cases you can be sure it is because they did not do estimates and targets before they started. Instead of just wishful thinking a scientific approach where you estimate the actual results will almost certainly guarantee you success in this extremely important online marketing activity.