Building your own list is crucial to your success as an online entrepreneur. I am very sure you may have heard the old and worn out cliché, ‘the money’s in the list’. It may be old to your ears but if you heed my advice to build your own list, you will be saving yourself a whole lot of heartache in your Internet business. I should know. I have been online for some years now and I can boldly say the secret to my success has been the fact that from day one, I set out to build my own list and today, I have quite a large list, which I profit from now and then. So, build your own list. It will help you in no small way to make money online. I know you may be wondering, what is a list?

What is a List?
 
A list is simply the contact details of people who are interested in what you have to offer. The contact details could include their names (first and surname), their email, telephone number, residential address, what have you. But remember that people usually shy away from giving very personal information, so, sometimes, just asking them to give you their first name and email address is enough. Once the person trusts you, he or she can furnish you with the other details later.

How to Build a List

Step No 1-Get an autoresponder.

Just find a very reliable autoresponder out there and use it to build your list. When I started, I was using the free version of Getresponse but now, I use the paid version. It is not very expensive to use and you can even try it for a whole month without paying. Just click here to set up this auto-responder and start enjoying this service now! The good thing about this service is that you can use it to run your Internet business without a website. If you are cash-strapped however, you can use the free versions of Getresponse, Sendfree, Freeautobot. Go to their sites and sign up to use their service. The problem I have with these free auto-responders is that they have limitations. You cannot email your list with them, so,what’s the point of having a list you cannot communicate with at the touch of a button? I strongly recommend the auto-responder I use and you can even use it for a whole month free and figure out if you want to stick with it. If you are interested in using the same auto-responder I use for a whole month, just click here!

Step No 2-Now that you have an auto-responder, look for a free article or report on the idea you want to base your Internet business on and paste it on the auto-responder. You need not write the article or report but one written by you quickly establishes you as an
expert.

Step No 3-Now, place a classified advert in the newspapers or magazines, depending on what your idea is. For instance, if your Internet business idea is related to health, I suggest you place your advert in health journals or the health section of national newspapers.If it is on beauty, try using either City People or Encomium. Essentially, what I am saying is: place your advert in a media, which your selected target market reads.

2 Ways to Build Your List with Getresponse

I know you may be wondering. ‘Iyabo. don’t I need a website to build my list?’ My
answer to that is ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Yes, because you can decide to cut your costs low
when you are starting out by just advertising your auto-responder address like-cashsystem@getresponse.com.  Anybody that sends an email to the address will definitely be added to your list. Now, you can also decide to have a website with a form which you ask people to fill in order to join your list. I use all my websites to build my list, so, you can find an example of this at http://startyourdreambiz.com. This is the wisest thing to do if you want to survive online. For me, it’s pure online business suicide to have a website without a form with which you can capture email addresses so as to be able to contact your list with any offer you may have in the future. Even if you are a promoting a product on your website, you can have a small pop up form that appears when the person wants to leave your site, offering a freebie if he or she can fill in their contact details. There has been so much controversy over the use of pop ups. Some Internet entrepreneurs use it but others find it annoying. I do too, so, you will never find a pop up form on any of my sites. The ball is in your court; you really have to decide what you want to do.

Note: These tips will work for you if your target market consists strictly of Nigerians. If your target market consists of people abroad, it’s a different kettle of fish.

With the above tips, anybody can build a list for Internet business success right here in Nigeria!

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