Opt in list building is at the heart of online success. But with the increasingly more stringent spam policies that have been put in place (and for good reason), the ability to get through to your customers is becoming more and more difficult.

I've had this argument a few times, so forgive me if you disagree… but I only build my lists using a double opt in list building program or autoresponder.

There are a few good single opt in list building tools available, and I've even used a few myself in the past. But I used them responsibly, and never had a complaint. I was absolutely certain not so send an email to a list that hadn't asked to hear about that specific product or service.

But there are too many people abusing these types of systems, and if you ever have to fight a spam complaint, you may find yourself a little short on information to prove that you had the right to mail to that person. Play it safe… only use double opt in list building tools.

My personal favorite is Aweber.  There is simply no better service available with such consistent and reliable results!

What's The Difference Anyway?

The difference between a single and double opt in list building tool is simple: With a single opt in system a person fills out a form and they're automatically subscribed to your list. Using a double opt in list building system, that same person subscribes, but is then sent an email to verify that it was in fact them that requested to be put on the list. They click a link, the action is recorded, and you're off the hook (providing you haven't broken any spam rules or policies), if they ever forget that they asked to hear from you.

The biggest problem with a single opt in system is that people are known to enter in random email addresses just to bypass opt-in forms and get to the promised "freebies". Some people will actually enter in the address of someone they don't like just to irritate them with a mailbox full of junk… how rude! That means that when you start sending your follow up series to that email address, you're actually spamming someone, and they don't even know who you are! I'd be a little upset… wouldn't you?

And you know it's not the person that added their email address to your system that they'll be upset with, nobody can even prove who it was. Instead they'll be mad at you… it's your fault… you did it!

Either way… I prefer to play it safe, keep myself out of trouble with the ISP's and keep my name off the "spammer" list. This is your reputation we're talking about… what's it worth to you?

Food for thought.

I recently read a post at flyteblog.com that discussed some of the biggest issues marketers face when list building and marketing to those lists. These are some of the things that keep many of us up at night (at least those of us with ethics)! If you've ever had a hard time deciding who and when it was ok to mail to then you should read this post.

If you have any number of prospect or customer lists then you're going to run into moral dilemas like this on a fairly regular basis, and the decisions you make are going to steer your business in one direction or another. Rich puts a great deal of thought into who he mails to and never puts his list building efforts in harms way. As you can see in this post he has taken the time to do the research and find out exactly what is and isn't acceptable in his markets, and from what I can see, he's going to hold himself to a higher standard than what is considered acceptable!

I feel that if you work hard enough at list building, you'll have a very targeted set of lists that are filled with people that want to hear from you… people you have a real relationship with, and who will respect what it is you're offering… be it advice or products. So just putting the thought in before you hit that "send" button can make all the difference in the world!

List Building is really building a business, and most people want to do business with people they know, like and trust… do your customers know, like and trust you? That's really all up to you!

Mike

I've been online for a while now, and just when I think I've seen it all, out comes something like this! I'm not sure how many of you have already heard of this, but Tellman Knudson and Shawn Casey (a powerhouse list building team) have just recently wrapped up the first ever "Squeeze-A-Thon"!

I absolutely love it when someone raises the bar like this in the IM community. It means we'll all be getting better value for our hard earned dollar when other marketers try to compete with a training course such as this. Although it would be hard to beat… it's completely free! Don't ask me where the monetization model is… I'm still looking, but so far it's all been give, give, give!

Literally anyone could become a list building, scratch that… complete internet marketing, list building, profit pulling online business person in no time, with little previous knowledge! The free video series at the List Building site can get anyone from zero to hero in the matter of a few hours. I've set up dozens of my own sites already, but I still learned a thing or two watching the quick start series! But that's not even the amazing thing I just dropped my jaw over… this is:

There was a 24 hour "Squeeze-A-Thon" that allowed you to post your newly created Squeeze Page address to the ListBuilding.com blog, a very high traffic site! But hold on… are you sitting down? Read this excerpt from the Blog:

"If you complete and submit your squeeze page (and it works)
before Wednesday, April 16th 12noon Eastern time we will announce
your site on the next post to this blog AND we will send out an email
to the entire ListBuilding.com list to let them take a look!

Also, to make it even easier for you to get your squeeze page set up
once and for all, we will be manning our bridge line Starting tomorrow
at 12 Noon Eastern - 8PM Eastern.

Then starting up again at 9AM Eastern on Wednesday and going all
the way up until deadline at 12noon Eastern to help you out with any
technical questions you may have."

Can you believe that?! Tellman and Shawn provided their professional staff for 11 full hours to help people get their online businesses and list building ventures going. These are members to a completely free List Building system!

I am completely psyched to see where this is going! I mean really… who does that? Let's see what's up next… Maybe Tellman and Shawn will actually visit everyone's house and set up their Autoresponder series for them

Keep up the Awesome Job guys…

Mike

One of the biggest reasons people have less success with their online business than they originally dreamed, is because they don't take the time to build real relationships with their customers. It's wonderful if you can succeed at list building, and perhaps you are already in the process of building a list of 50 thousand subscribers; but if you can't build a real relationship with the majority of those members then your list building efforts have been in vain.

You need to realize that a person who subscribes to your newsletter or follow up series is no different than someone who walks into a physical store to buy something. If you ignore either person, they'll take their business elsewhere! Approach them, offer to help and find out what it is they're interested in. Then provide them with exactly what it is they came to your "store" for and you've got a customer for life!

I've learned a great deal from a very large number of Internet Marketers, and I've been on quite literally hundreds of lists at one time or another. I've unsubscribed from most, but there are always a few I just can't seem to let go. These are the people that helped me get to where I am today (although some may not know it)! I still stay on their list or subscribed to their newsletters, not just because we're friends now, but because they took the time to build that relationship with me and I honestly want to hear what they have to say! You wouldn't turn your head on a friend that helped you out in the past, so why would you do it to someone online?

Respect comes full circle, be it with your mentors, JV partners or your list! So here's a quick list of do's and don'ts I feel every Internet Marketer should adhere to when it comes to list building or mailing to a list you already have:

1. Be consistent with your mailing frequency (people want to know what to expect)
2. Never ever spam or over-mail your list - People will know when you're only out to make a buck, and who wants to be friends with a money leech? This is List Building Rule #1 in my book!
3. Be sure to know exactly what it is you've promised your list members (you know… what it is you said they would get if signing up to your list). I suggest having deliverables in place as soon as you start your list building campaign!
4. Provide good value… never rehashed material that your list members will only be wasting their time reading.
5. Give a bonus every now and then! Send them a download link for something other people pay for… you'll be a hero and your members may even help you with the list building work by referring some friends!

That's my top 5… I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic, or perhaps a story of why you've left other people's lists in the past! Something we can all learn from perhaps!

If you want to avoid every pitfall you could possibly make when list building, and put your list building campaign into hyper-speed mode then check out this incredible free List Building Resource! There… I've provided more than great value simply by introducing you to Tellman and Shawn. You can thank me later! Until next time… 

I manage a number of different email lists (many of which are Internet Marketing related), and as I'm sure you can imagine I get a lot of questions along the lines of "What's the most important thing I can do right now to start making money online?" And I love helping people out so I usually tell them that there's a very straight forward set of steps they can follow to start, and get producing very quickly. I'll condense the list for the sake of expediency… here it is:

1. Find a profitable niche that you're capable of learning absolutely everything about.
2. Do the proper research to determine what keywords you'll need to target for maximum internet marketing results.
3. Get a domain name registered and set it up with a hosting account.
4. Design or outsource your website layout and setup.
5. Get an Autoresponder Service that can handle all of your new opt-ins and has great deliverability rates
6. Set up your autoresponder series and get your opt-in forms online
7. Start driving traffic to your sites
8. Test and adjust your pages for optimum conversions of visitors to list members
9. Promote to your new list by providing valuable content they can use and will look forward to receiving.

So, really there's only 9 steps to setting up this entire Internet Marketing process… building a business has never been so easy, right? Have you ever been through this process and just thought to yourself  "What the heck am I doing? I am completely lost… who can I turn to?" Well you're not alone… Internet Marketing from a birds eye view is about the absolute best opportunity going, but when you get up close and personal, you start to realize that the number of skills involved is almost staggering!

Thank goodness for outsourcing :-) So I can help you with nearly all of these steps, and I'll cover them over time but right now I think the most important thing for all members to understand is this… List building is the absolute most important thing you can learn and master if you want to be successful at Internet Marketing.

That is a universal truth, and I look forward to helping you become the master of list building in your niche. next up… how to get started building a list.

So everyone trying to make a living online already knows the importance of building a list, or at least they should… wouldn't you agree? But what about those of you who might be a little newer to the game?

If you're new to trying to succeed online, and you were lucky enough to land here, then  you're already way ahead of the game! You've seperated yourself from the majority of people that  shuffle from one "make money in 15 minutes with just a few clicks of the mouse (and $97)!" scheme to the next; constantly becoming more and more discouraged as one failure follows another. There is a better way…

The only skill that will help you to build a real (and lasting), online business, one that will grow beyond control if you do things the right way, is… Well first let me tell you that I know a thing or two about this skill, but there are people who know a whole heck of a lot more about it than me; and one of these people is Tellman Knudson. Actually he's not just "one of these people…" but rather he's the person to learn from!

For some reason (far be it from me to decline another's generosity), he's decided to let the cat out of the bag and help take people from no list to "out of control" list, and he's doing it for free! 

I'll be sharing some some pretty useful information about building your list with you in the future, but right now you need to check out listbuilding.com and start building your's today!