You've Built Your List... Now What?

| by Denise Hall | February 15, 2006
Anyone who makes money online will tell you that you need tobuild an opt-in list. All you do is give away a free ebook,report or other item of value to get people to subscribe to yourlist. It sounds simple and it is.

But once you start building your list, what do you do with it?

Build a relationship with your list members! Tell them a littleabout yourself. Send them free valuable content in the form ofarticles, ebooks or reports. Let them get to know you, like youand trust you. Become their friend, someone whose opinion theyvalue.

After you've built a relationship they'll be ready to buy fromyou because they'll trust you to recommend quality products.It's OK to send them sales messages.

I can hear some of you objecting to that last part...

"I can't do that to my list!"

Let me ask you this... Why do you think everyone says you needyour own list?

The answer... Because they know the meaning of the phrase "themoney is in the list" by seeing it first-hand.

It's a fact that when list owners send out an endorsement emailto their lists, they bring in a tremendous amount of cash fromthe mailing... and they create cash on demand any time they wantby sending out an email.

Many list owners sell solo ads, thus the advertisers are payingto "borrow" the list to make sales. So if you allow others to"borrow" your list for the purpose of making sales, whyshouldn't you sell products to your list, too?

Which would you rather do - make $10 from selling a solo ad orsend your own endorsement and make hundreds of dollars or more?

I was speaking with a publisher friend recently and he mentionedselling an occasional solo ad. I asked why he doesn't send hisown sales messages to his list. (I'm on his list so I know hedoesn't.)

His reply was "Not my list. They're so unresponsive!"

"What have you offered?" I asked.

"I tried that software package one time, remember?"

As I recall, the software was offered over a year ago and hehasn't sent a sales message since then. It's likely his listwasn't interested in that particular product, but that doesn'tmean they won't buy something else from him. He's been leavingmoney on the table all this time.

You must find out what your list members want, then offer it tothem. I guarantee they're buying products from someone. Why notget them to buy from you?

You can find out what they want by doing a simple survey everyonce in awhile. Ask what would make their life easier or helpthem get their business off the ground. Find out what they wantto know more about... Google AdSense income, how to create websites, etc.

Learn what they want to buy, then sell it to them. It's thatsimple and it applies to any niche market. You'll be giving themwhat they want, they'll have products they need and everyonewill be happy.

The day of the week, and even the time of day, you send yourmessages also affect responsiveness. Many studies have been donethat show the best times and days to send emails, but you shouldtest your list yourself. Once you discover when they're the mostresponsive, stick with that schedule for maximum results.

Your list is pure gold. The key to mining the gold requires sometrial and error, but it's well worth the effort on your part.And remember, these people joined your list to get qualityinformation and that includes product recommendations.

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About the Author

Denise Hall is the publisher of Home Business on a Budget Newsletter. Her weekly publication contains helpful tips, articles and resources. To subscribe mailto:home_business_on_a_budget@rapidreply.net or visit http://www.home-business-on-a-budget.com

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