To build and maintain your opt-in list requires constant attention.
As either a bricks and mortar or a cyber space business itis always easier and more cost effective to promote to yourwarm market.
Many shops and department stores provide debit-cardsand even membership cards for their regular customers.
These return customers are classed as your warm market.It is far cheaper to post out a special promotion to existingcustomers as opposed to sending out many thousands of leaflets covering the whole city in the hope of obtaining new customers.
It boils down to you Return On Investment or ROI
Its far more profitable to invest a thousand dollars in sendinga special discount offer to existing customers or warm list.
In a bricks and mortar business your list will almost alwaysbe made up of existing customers. The other way to build a list is to go to a Trade Fair or show and provide formswith a lucky draw. You are providing a prize and askingpotential customers to fill out your form that may ask people to guess the number of jelly beans in the jar orto answer a question about your product which is on display.
Running a business on the Internet is similar to running a business in a store except some of the rules are different.
To build your list on the Internet can be achieved in a numberof ways.
5 Tips to building a list.
1. Buy leads. Very simple, by purchasing quality bulk numbers of prospects to place in your marketing campaign.
2. Own and promote your own website and then promote it some more.
3. Have some way of collecting peoples information like providinga service or offering a free gift for people who fill in a form.
4.Create your own weekly newsletter that contains useful and relevant information related to the content of your Web site.Provide a form for your Web site visitors to receive your Newsletter.
5. Networking with others on the internet. You can become a member of the Ryze.com or PowerfullIntentions.comnetworks and even ICQ and other internet messengersto meet and form friendships or network with other members.
5 Tips to maintain and keep your list healthy and interested in your product, service or ...
1. Keep in contact with your list on a regular basis, sent thema weekly or monthly newsletter with helpful tips and product news.
2. Send out special offers from time to time.
3. Provide information of value to make your prospectsor customers life easier.
4. Ask your readers a question that requires either visitinga web page at your site or send you an email for a bonusor special report, just to see if people are reading theemail you are sending to them.
5. Give something useful away for free.
Once you have your own list there will always be peopleopting out so you have to continually build and maintain your list. If anyone sends you an email about a problem they are experiencing and ask for your help, always go thatextra mile. If I were to be ask about headlines or keywords on on a persons site, I will visit their site and make a point ofcomplementing them on one or two of the positive things I see on their site.
Personally publishing my own weekly ezine I have people every week asking for help. Two questions that stand outare firstly How does one check what the opposition is doingThis was in relation to promoting your site and checkingto see how others are marketing similar products.
This person was searching for promotion ideas and found one of my articles listed in an ezine directory. This personhas a sports Web site and would not have normally read this ezine. My thought here is that you may not necessarilyneed to publish a weekly or monthly newsletter as long as you write articles and send them out to article directoriesor write in forums that deal with the product or serviceyou are promoting.
The second person asked me this week about site mapcreation software after finding an article I wrote somemonths ago about site maps. I had not even realizedthere was such a software available. I thought I hadtrouble keeping a site map up to date for a site containing200 pages but this lady had 800 pages of graphics soI instantly knew the problem she was facing.
These two people used a search engine and found 2 of my articles and had contacted me asking for my help.I dont claim to be an expert but in saying that I usuallyspend time researching an article - topic if I am not familiarwith it.
BUT as these two people found what I had written on the topic they were having difficulty with, and some how my articles managed to get listed in search engines among the tens of thousandsof other similar pages and read by these two people.
Well, maybe I do have some skills after all, with search engines,Web sites, promotion and writing but I wouldnt go as far as tosay I was an expert in these fields, just that I have researchedenough to know a little more than the basics. You can do the same as the Internet is a 20 lane super information Highway.The information is there, its just a matter of finding it.
Guess what - I bet you have Skills that I dont have, skills thatyou can use to help and share with others too.
The 2 most important factors in any Internet Entrepreneurs success is owning your own Web site and your own list.
May your week be a successful one.
PETER GREEN, Editor of ~ The INDEX ~ ezine.
Your Free Weekly Internet Marketing News, Ideas, Resources and Sources Ezine.
If you run (or plan to run) an online business, its especially important that you maintain and add to a customer/prospect list. Unlike a store-front business, which can draw on pedestrian traffic, youre only location is cyberspace.
You must constantly let potential customers know you exist. And to remind current customers that youre still in business and have more products and services to help them.
The are couple of powerful reasons for keeping an updated list of your customers names and email addresses.
Obviously the first is that prospects can be turned into customers.
But heres another important reason: It costs five to ten times as much to acquire a new customer than selling more products to your existing customers.
Think about all advertising costs involved in trying to attract new buyers. Its much easier to sell to people whom already know you.
If you sell a quality product and deliver great customer service, you build customer loyalty and help prevent customers switching to your competitors.
Also take advantage of cross selling. If customer X bought Product A, make sure they know about Product B, C, etc.
If your customer doesnt purchase your other products, send an email and politely inquire.
When you find out their specific objection to buying, you can then address the problem.
Perhaps you can offer the customer a volume discount, two for one deal, or add an inexpensive gift if they order.
Be creative in ways to overcome customer resistance.
And check through your list often.
When was the last time you were in contact with each of these customers
You should be keeping in touch with them at least monthly. Even if its just an email asking how they are enjoying your product or service.
Ask them if they were pleased with the customer service they received from you or how can you serve them better.
One of the most effective ways to keep in contact with your customers is to send them a newsletter. With email, its easy to create your own electronic newsletter or ezine. (For info on how to start an ezine, visit
But make sure your ezine is more than just a sales pitch. People will tire of that quickly.
Instead, offer tips on how to best use your products, include new product information, offer discounts on upgrades, or create a frequently asked questions (FAQ) column.
Your goal is not to be just a company that sells products, your goal is to be the solution provider to your customers problems.
If youre stumped about what content to include in your newsletter, send out an email to your customers asking what theyd like to read.
TIP: Youll get a much better response if you offer an incentive for them to reply. Offer a free e-book or discount on your other products.
If youre just starting your business, you dont need to purchase an expensive database to store your customer list. Many email programs have versatile address book features where you can store and update your list.
Microsoft Works includes both a database and spreadsheet program that are easy to use and wont blow your budget.
About The Author
Dave Coyne is a marketing consultant and information publisher. Get his FREE Report: How to Run A Home Based Business And Never Create A Product, Write An Ad, Or Talk To Anyone. Send an email with REF006 in the subject line to