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Monday, September 16, 2002

8 Top Tips For Rapidly Building A Golden Opt-In List

by  Paula  Morrow 

Opt-in lists…

They form the foundation of most profitable internet businesses. So the building of a powerful opt-in list should be the goal of every Internet marketer. Here you will discover tips for building such a list, and new ideas for optimizing it through marketing.

The term 'opt-in' should already be familiar. Briefly, it's when an interested party exchanges his/her name and email address for requested information (a free report, a free mini-course, monthly ezine, etc.). By 'opting-in', or volunteering their email address, a person has given you permission to send them additional information and offers via email.

However, and this is key, to build a strong opt-in list, you must offer your prospects something of value. People are too busy these days, and they are being bombarded by information constantly. To break through the clutter, your information must be perceived as important and timely. Position your product or service as a solution to a current problem, concern or pain, and you have a much better chance of creating a life-long customer.

Spam - The 'Dark Side' of Internet Marketing

Only send emails to those who have given you permission to do so, by responding to a legitimate opt-in offer! To not do so is to spam, and risk the sudden suspension of your web site and ISP account. In a word, don't.

That said, you must think creatively for ways to capture those golden names and email addresses. Include fields for ezine sign-ups on every page of your site, or add a simple form that will automatically capture the name/email addresses. If you offer free information in exchange, connect these sign-up opportunities with an auto-responder (capturing the names into a mailing list) and your prospect can be sent the requested information instantaneously, saving a lot of time and hassle.

Here are some more ideas for building your opt-in list. In exchange for prospects giving you a contact name and email address, you could:

• Offer to notify them when updates happen on your web site, or when there are important changes in your industry or its resources (becoming THE source of targeted information for your clients)
• Offer to contact them when a special promotion runs on a product or service
• Offer a daily tip/weekly/monthly or quarterly newsletter (this is an extremely popular and effective, since you are providing people with free and valuable information. It also establishes your credibility as an expert in your chosen field)
• Provide a special report (or series of special reports or a series of 'mini-courses') on a topic of interest
• Register your ezine with the ezine directories: manually, at Freezineweb.com or with automated ezine submission software at EZineAnnouncer.com

To bring in off-site traffic to build your list, you could:

• Write a testimonial for your favorite product, in exchange for your name and link to your web site being noted at the bottom
• Write an article and submit it to other like-minded ezines to publish, including a compelling 4-6 line resource box at the bottom stating your name, credentials, and web site address
• After your list is large enough to calculate your conversion rate/return on investment (ROI) - around the 500 mark - you could purchase additional traffic at co-registration sites. Some to investigate: List-Builder.com, ZMedia.com and Sparklist.com

Remember, The Gold Is In The List!

Once you have built a targeted, opt-in email list, you now have a pool of prospects to market to. Always respect your list, and treat it like the gold mine it is. Vow to only provide quality and value, and you will be on your way towards building a profitable business on the Internet!