Just how vital is a list, your very own personal list of customers, when you are trying to build a successful online business? Think about this for a moment. Are you personally more likely to open an email that has a sender’s name and email address that you recognize, because you asked to receive it or a name and email address that you do not?
If you were to subscribe to a newsletter and then receive an informative newsletter every couple of days or once a week, are you more or less likely to open an email from the sender of that newsletter than one from someone you don’t know?
That’s right–and most other people online will behave in much the same manner as you do. Sending emails to customers who are already familiar with your return email address as one that sends them useful and informative information will be more productive. So if you take the time and effort to cultivate a list of your own, will your emails be opened at a higher rate than they would if you bought a “safe list” or rented someone else’s list?
I believe the answer should be clear. Your own list will always win hands down. Keep in mind, when you purchase somebody else’s list, it is most probably being sold to many others people, not just you. So the recipient not only gets your email but 30 or 50 others, all from email addresses they don’t trust. When that happens, who is going to read it? Not me.
You simply must develop your own list. There is no better option.
So how do you do it? At the very least, you will need to have a web site. It does not have to be anything super fancy, just a simple, one page landing page for interested potential customer to sign-up for more information. You will do this by adding in your auto responder’s opt-in script.
You must have an auto responder account. You will use the auto responder account to deliver messages that help you build a relationship with your potential customers.
Your emails must be educational and useful to the reader in order to keep them getting read. If you keep on providing helpful and informative material, people will continue to look forward to your email as often as you send it. If you do not provide useful information, your emails will not get opened.
You must have patience when building your list. You are not going to build a huge list overnight. But as you build your list, you are also building your business. A long-term business, with long-term repeat customers.
One note to the wise: Be sure you use the “double opt-in” feature you will receive with your auto responder. This will ensure that anyone who opts in to your list will have to click through to a confirmation link before they receive any emails from you. This helps protect you from SPAM complaints.
A word of warning to those who really want to buy a “safe list” and simply email your offer to the email addresses on that list. Is it worth a one-time mailing to get your web site suspended for spam activity? Don’t do it! Build your own high-quality list and develop a strong long-term relationship with those leads.
