Why Build An Email List?

Why indeed? Surely emailing people is just spamming them and everyone is fed up with that.

The big thing with building an email list is to make sure that it is permission based. You asked people to join your list voluntarily. They weren't forced, you didn't grab their emails and stuff them full of offers in the hope that somebody would buy something by trickery. You may have offered an ethical bribe in return for them giving your their name and email address, but that is an accepted practice for business in many places. You get a cup of coffee at your car dealership, your local supermarket makes you a 'buy one get one free' offer on certain products.

There is nothing new in this idea. You give me your email address, I'll give you something valuable in our joint field of interest – an ebook or report detailing a good practice. Maybe a video or audio showing you some results of using a new idea. There has been an exchange of value – your email for my giveaway.

So building a list, done in an ethical way is something that can be done, fairly easily. But that still doesn't explain why.

The why is actually pretty easy. It's because you are not subject to the vagaries of other internet traffic methods.

When search engines change their algorithms – how they decide who appears at the top of their search lists – a lot of people can lose, and they may have spent a fair amount of money getting to where they can be seen under one system, only to disappear onto page ten when it all changes.

Free advertising like blog commenting, forum posting and cheaper things like safelist posting or traffic exchanges have a notoriously low success rate. Mostly because all the other people using these methods are in exactly the same state as you – they want low to no cost people to see their offers and many don't consider sending that sort of traffic to a squeeze page, just to offers.

When you have an email list you have effectively, a captive audience. While they're reading emails that you send them they have no other distractions, so if you are telling them a good story (preferably how this or that new technique is helping you to earn a bit more), they will want to know more about the technique and may be willing to pay you to learn about it. Although you can blatantly sell via an email, it's not the greatest idea and if it's done too often, your subscribers will be reaching for the unsubscribe link.

Here are some more ideas about the ethical bribe.

An email list is a direct link to people who are already aware of you. They have completed part one of the "know, like & trust" theme that is so important in marketing and by good use of further emails you can complete the trinity and turn subscribers into that most valuable asset – a buyer.

Steven Lucas

http://www.stevenlucasmarketing.com