Mailing List Rules

How many times have you seen an ad for some Internet marketing ebook that claims to reveal all the guru secrets? What most of those ebooks wind up "revealing" is that you need an extensive opt-in mailing list to succeed. Overall, what so-called gurus rely on to make the really big bucks.

Every time they or one of their associates comes out with a new ebook or develop another money program, they all shoot a similar ad off to their entire mailing list. Sheer numbers alone dictate that the financial results will be positive.

The only problem with this scenario is the fact that most people starting out don't have a list containing thousands of prospective buyers. And let's face it, gaining the kind of numbers they're talking about could take a considerable amount of time.

But are thousands and thousands of names and email addresses really necessary? Actually, no, because it really comes down to the quality of the list.

Here's an example. Let's say you have a mailing list that contains 200 people who have either already purchased something from you or are highly interested in the type of products you sell.

If only half of those people were *guaranteed* to purchase every new product or program you offer from that point on, you'd have an extremely valuable list.

And that's what it's really all about... having a list that can generate income over and over again. That means contacting people who will most likely be repeat buyers.

Rule #1 It's not about who can get the most names on their list.

According to so-called experts, what you're supposed to be shooting for is thousands upon thousands of names and email addresses. The theory is, the more people on the list, the more sales you'll receive.

The truth is, unless thousands of those names and addresses are attached to serious buyers, you could be wasting a great deal of time and money following up with people who may never spend a single dime.

Rule #2 It's not about how fast you can build your list.

Granted, the sooner you build a mailing list, the sooner you'll start reaping additional financial reward. But adding names and email addresses at random just to get the job done quickly is not the way to go.

Customer leads need to be cultivated slowly and carefully. That's not to say there aren't methods that will speed up the overall process (we'll get to that in a few moments). Just don't make it your main priority.

Rule #3 It's not about using your list to promote each and every product you stumble across.

The true value of any opt-in mailing list is the way in which you use it. If you intend to merely blast ads and promotional messages at any given opportunity, you're once again wasting valuable time and effort.

Rule #4 It's not about "duping" people into joining your mailing list.

Offering free incentives in order to get people to give you their name and email address is all well and good. Unfortunately, if you don't use the right incentive, you'll wind up with a list that has little or no future monetary value.