Subject: Build That List!

You may have heard the old adage Òthe money is in the listÓ, and there arenÕt many statements as true as this one. The fact is, building a list is one of the very first things any business person should do, whether theyÕre in internet marketing, brick and mortar retail, the service industry, or some other industry.

If youÕve been in the internet marketing industry long, youÕve probably heard about things like Google slapsÑpenalties that can cause websites to drop drastically in the rankings or even be deindexed completely. There are thousands, perhaps millions of people who have lost their incomes because of changes to GoogleÕs algorithm, shifts in internet traffic from one site to another, changes to the terms of service at various websites, etc. Do you want this to happen to you?

It doesnÕt matter to Google or any other website how much time, money, work, effort, blood, sweat, and tears you put into building your business. They truly couldnÕt care less. They care about their own bottom line.

You probably realize by now where this is leadingÉ

Building an email list is the best way to build a self-contained traffic source that no one can take away from you (as long as you obey the law regarding email marketing). ItÕs immune to Google slaps and all those horrible things that could befall a marketer. Once you have that subscriber, as long as they donÕt unsubscribe, theyÕre available to market to almost indefinitely.

If youÕre just getting started, you might want to build your list with MailChimp.com. MailChimp is free for their basic service, and they are fine for beginners who donÕt have huge lists yet. You can build opt-in boxes, get subscribers, and send emails. Everything you need to do as a beginner.

YouÕll need to build a squeeze page and create a lead magnet in order to get started. A lead magnet is something like a free report or educational video that you give away in exchange for a visitor giving you their email address. YouÕll want this lead magnet to be the best quality possible, because this will be your first chance to make a good impression on that subscriber, and your first opportunity to start building your reputation in the niche.

Eventually you will want to upgrade to the paid service so you can set up autoresponders. These automated messages can be delivered at regular intervals, just like the one youÕre reading now. It makes things a lot easier for you, and youÕll be able to deliver quality information to your list without spending a ton of time doing so.

Always remember that you need to carefully nurture your list by providing quality content to them on a regular basis and not just inundating them with marketing messages. YouÕll want to keep in contact with them often so they donÕt forget who you are. This will also help cement your status as an expert in the field.

In our next lesson, weÕre going to take a look at some ways you can use bonuses to increase affiliate conversions, so be sure to keep a look out for it!
