How To Build A Profitable Mailing List

Have you ever visited a site that looked like it had a lot of great information to offer, and meant to go back later and check it out, then you couldn't remember where it is? Either you totally forgot the name of the site, or couldn't remember where you placed the information about the site? Or maybe you just totally forgot about the site altogether. I have done this many times! This is one of the most important reasons why you need to build a mailing list!

Also, people could be visiting YOUR site meaning to come back, but they can't remember where YOU are! If you had captured their information to be added to your mailing list, then they would still be able to find you. They would be receiving regular emails from you to remind them of who you are, and they wouldn't miss out on what you have to offer!

Statistics show that people need exposure to a product a minimum of four or five times before they buy. So if they are on your list you have the opportunity to send them emails to remind them about how great your product is in case they forget or need more incentive to purchase your product.

Another reason you need to build a list is that having a list will expand your online business. You would already have a list of people to promote your new products to. These people are already interested in what you have to offer because they chose to opt-in for more information from you. This gives you a chance to build a good relationship with them and to show them that you will only provide them with quality products that can really help them. Once you have gained their trust, your subscribers will be more than happy to purchase the products you recommend.

There are many other reasons to build a mailing list. I'm sure from just the few points made above you have realized how important a mailing list is for your online business success.

Lori James www.everythinghomebiz.com

Now that you have people who have subscribed to your mailing list, you need to keep them happy and gain their trust. There are a few things you can do to start building a good relationship with your subscribers.

- Send your mailing list an email 2 or 3 times a week, no more than that unless it's very important or you have something really great that you want them to know about. You don't want them to forget you, but you also don't want to be annoying!

- In your emails you should be sending your list something with "value", that actually helps them accomplish something or solves a problem they could be having. This could be a free report, a free eBook, tips, ideas, etc... Make sure you don't send them "junk", you want them to trust you!

- You can send product offers here and there, but make sure you are not promoting a product that doesn't have "value". Make it something your subscribers will need or want, and that, again, will help them in some way.

- DO NOT inundate your mailing list subscribers with a lot of emails or email promotions! DO NOT send emails promoting products over and over again. No one wants to be sold to. If they feel like you are always trying to sell to them, you will have a lot of people unsubscribing from your mailing list.

- Promote your free stuff hard! People love to get something of value for free! This helps to build trust, and when you do have a great product to sell, your subscribers will be more than happy to pay for it. Your subscribers will know they can trust you and that you would only offer them something they can really use!

Remember, your subscribers are REAL people who will be paying you with REAL money. Treat them right, provide them with lots of free goodies that have value, and you will have very happy subscribers!

If haven't grabbed your copy of my FREE eBook you can get it here: List Building Secrets. It's 100% FREE, no strings attached. You have nothing to lose, but you could gain a huge, profitable mailing list!

Once you have everything in place to start building your list, how will people know that you have this wonderful offer for them? How will they know they can subscribe to your site, blog, newsletter,etc.?

You need to get their attention somehow. You need to get some "targeted" traffic!

There are many ways to get yourself, your site and your offer noticed on the internet. Here are a few ways to get your offer in front of people so you can build a list quickly:

- Post interesting information on your blog about your offer, your business and yourself. Be sure to have an opt-in form on your site so you can capture visitors information to be added as subscribers to your mailing list.

- Social Bookmarking Sites are great for list building. You can sign up for the free service at onlywire.com. With OnlyWire you'll be able to submit your site, blog, squidoo lens, etc. to multiple social bookmarking sites with the push of a button. Digg & Stumbleupon are also good social bookmarking sites to join.

- Join forums related to your type of business. Make sure to read their rules though, many forums don't let you promote your product, but you can include your link in the signature line of your forum posts.

- Post comments on other blogs related to your business. Make sure your comments offer something to the readers in the way of content.

- Use a pinging service such as Pingomatic.

- Submit your site, blog, squidoo lens, etc. to search engines, especially the major ones such as google, yahoo, msn.

- Do some keyword research before posting anything, then make sure your keywords are the same in the title, body, and tags of your post.

- Join Social Networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, etc. Again, make sure you read the rules! Social sites are a great way to get noticed and add subscribers to your list.

- Create a HubPage about your offer and your business. Read the rules carefully for this site, they do not allow overly promotional pages. Your site or blog info will be available to readers, so make sure you have an opt-in form available on your site to obtain visitors information.

- Create a video about your business and submit it to YouTube. Your site or blog information will be available to viewers here.

- Submit an Article to Ezine Articles or Go Articles. In your resource box you can have a link to your site or directly to your opt-in form.

- Do a free Press Release about your company. Awesome way to get traffic which leads to more subcribers!

These are all great ways to get "targeted" traffic and build a great mailing list!