By: Joe Giannetti

One of the first things you should do when you start internet marketing is decide how you are going to build a mailing list. Building a quality mailing list is an investment in your future. As you get more and more visitors to your website it only makes sense that you should be capturing as many names and email addresses as possible for future follow-up. Let's take a look at a few list building tips to help you build a quality email list.

To start with you can get the word spam out of your head. A quality mailing list is built on the premise of your visitor opting in. This means they have to provide their contact information and then they have to click on a link to confirm that they really do want to receive information from you. Using a good autoresponder will automate the whole process of acquiring an opt in email list.

You simply put a sign up form on every web page you have. Your visitor types in their name and email address and whatever other information you require on your sign up form. They are taken to a web confirmation page that announces they will receive an email with a link in it they need to click on to approve receiving email from you. Once they click on that list they have opted in. Actually they are now a double opt in lead which is an even better quality subscriber for you.

Some business owners will buy opt in subscribers. You can jump start your list doing this, but in reality this is not a quality subscriber because they have not requested information specifically from you. With these type of leads you can expect a larger unsubscribe rate, but over time some of them will stick with you if you if you provide good information and do not over mail to them.

This brings up another important point. Do not over mail your list. We have all signed up for something only to unsubscribe because we get tired of all of the emails we receive from that person. There is nothing worse than receiving several emails a day from the same person all trying to sell me something. It's annoying and it is one of the quickest way to lose your subscribers.

Here's another tip for building a quality mailing list. Provide useful information. Don't always be selling. Give things away freely. Offer information that lets your subscriber know you value them as a subscriber and you are not just trying to get their money. This does not mean never sell. The beauty of a mailing list is the money you can make emailing to it, but you have to earn their trust first.

In the beginning offer free ebooks or a free report to get them to subscribe in the first place. Having a sign up form on every web page is a good idea because you never know where someone will enter your website. Not everyone enters your site on your home page.

These are just a few email list building tips. Building a quality list takes time and effort, but in the long run it is worth the effort.