Hugh's Newbie Blog

The first thing you learn as a 'Newbie' is '..the money's in the List'. This is so true. You've built your website and now you need traffic and, more importantly, the names of all your prospective clients who come to visit your site. This means a good opt-in list. After reading countless articles and success stories of people making a small fortune with opt-in lists you to develop one your own. But then reality bites - it's extremely difficult to build a list. Even if you've followed all the advice that you've tracked down on the Net you still don't have a profitable list. Before you give up let me remind you that nobody said it would be easy - otherwise everyone would be doing it - Right?

So what can you do? Why do some succeed and not others. The most common mistake that Newbies make is to dive right in and expect instant returns. Like all business ventures it takes time. Time to build your list , and most importantly, time to build the trust of the folks on your list. Most people will not buy from stranger and need to be convinced that you're going to give them what you promise. (By the way - would be eBay resellers face the same problem - lack of credibility) Just because you write to people on your list doesn�t mean they are going to buy instantly.

Here are some tips to get a profitable list started or even to rejuvenate a list that's gone a bit stale.
1) Get your customers to trust you and your products first. Just launching your opt-in list would not make you an expert and a believable seller. Publish a few articles first before you start an opt-in list. Write about the topic you've selected and start getting your name out there a being knowledgeable"

Just as an experiment, a friend of mine subscribed to ten different opt-in e-mail marketing lists to see which ones were effective. Many websites and online businesses have resorted to sending promotional materials to people who have subscribed to them in an effort to boost their sales or traffic. Opt-in email marketing sends newsletters, catalog updates and many more promotional materials to website visitors who have agreed to be updated.

Through e-mail, an internet user that is on the list will receive their updates through email. If promotional material piques their interest they will go to the site to learn more or to purchase outright. For the website operators or owners, this is a chance to remind their list of their existence and display their wares. With the numerous sites in the internet that offer the same products or services in one way or the other, the competition can get pretty tight and it is easy to be forgotten.

Back to my experimenting friend, he tried to find out which opt-in marketing strategies got a subscriber begging for more. Some would send in very simple fashion, some would very outlandish while there are some that would just lie in between. The differences could easily be noticed and some have gotten the idea of an effective opt-in marketing strategy. He dubbed them effective because he felt like he just couldn�t wait to go their site and learn more, the more persuasive ones even got him halfway to reaching for his wallet and to his credit card before he realized this was only an experiment.

Many companies and site present their promotional materials in a wide variety of concepts. Each has their own distinctive style and designs, but more than the outline and the presentation, th"