The money is the list

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before but do you really understand exactly what list building is and why it’s so important to your business, and ultimately your financial future?

What is List Building?

In its simplest form, list building is a two step process…

#1 Capture the name and email address of visitor

#2 Use that information to create a relationship

Notice I said “create a relationship” not to sell. I’ll get back to that in a minute. Also, did you note that I mentioned “with that person” not “with those people.” You see, the building of relationships is about communicating to your list on a one-on-one basis. The email subscriber wants to open the email and think that he’s speaking to me.

You want to use your list building process to collect the names and email addresses of as many people who have shown an interest in you and your business as possible. You need to put a link directed to your opt in page in front of as many visitors as you possibly can. Put opt in forms or a link to a subscription page on every page on your website.

To put your list building on turbo charge, it would be a great idea to invest in a WordPress plugin (or the standalone software version) called Popup Domination 2 which presents everyone who arrives at your site with your offer. This helps you to build your list and can give you a 300 – 400% increase in opt ins after you install it. You may even have seen this popup when you arrived at this site which was created by Popup Domination 2.

List Building and Relationships

Old skool sales guys love the saying…

Nobody likes being sold, but almost everyone loves to buy!

For the most part, I believe this to be true. People have become almost immune to hard selling and fast ball pitches. They don’t like being pressured and will put up a lot of resistance to the idea of being “sold” something.

On the other hand, almost everyone loves to buy things, myself included! If you look at the national consumer debt figures irrespective of which country you live in, spending money is not most people’s problem. They want to buy things that increase pleasure and alleviate pain in their lives; and they want to enjoy themselves while they’re doing it! That’s why people love shopping with friends so much!

That’s what you want to happen with your list. You should think of your list as a community of like minded people looking to “buy” things to solve their problems or improve their lives. They want to buy those things with the input of their trusted friend and advisor… YOU!

You should be aiming to provide your list with valuable products and services that will ‘shortcut’ their success. After all, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got involved in many things which you considered was a waste of time. Other things may’ve been the best thing since sliced bread. Refer the products that have helped you move forward in your business. What are the products that you have purchased that you consider to be an investment?

They will reward you… not only in terms of buying things you suggest but also by replying to your emails with thanks, testimonials and even requests to purchase something through you specifically. I can’t say this enough, however…

Look after your people

List Building for the Long Term

If you’re already on my email subscriber list, you’ll know that in my opinion, list building should be renamed “relationship building”. People like to buy things from people they know, like and trust. You need to aim to create an environment of trust for your list members. Trust is the cornerstone of all business interactions. No one is going to buy if they feel they’re going to lose money or be tricked or conned, so creating trust is vital for long term list building.

So how do you create trust?

Just like in face-to-face interactions; be honest and be yourself! Being honest is simple; don’t lie to people. They will find out, get angry and will likely go away and bad mouth you in every forum they can find. Let your valued community members know who you are and what your business stands for. Make this unique and stand out from the crowd with a differentiating factor.

List building is one of the most important skills to master in any successful online business. Now that you understand why it’s so vital, you should be ready to start work with building your own list.

To Your Online Success,

The Profit Share

The mutt's nuts or the dog's drivel? I double dare you to leave a comment! :-)