| Do you want to start an email list or newsletter to | | | | want to subscribe to your newsletter? What do you |
| take your business online? Or maybe you're already | | | | have to offer them in exchange for their time and |
| online and looking for a better way to connect with | | | | email address? It could be anything - information, |
| your customers. Whatever your reason - starting an | | | | discounts, free products, etc. But it has to be worth |
| email list is a great way to do it. Here are some | | | | subscribing to - on a regular basis. |
| helpful tips to get you started on your first email list. | | | | Find Traffic |
| Start with a Purpose | | | | The next item on our list should be obvious. You |
| "All communication must lead to change" - Aristotle. | | | | need traffic to start any kind of email list, no matter |
| When starting an email list, the first task you should | | | | how valuable your offering. This can be free or |
| perform is asking yourself: "What is the purpose of | | | | purchased traffic. But be sure to consider the quality |
| my email list?" If you can't answer this question, the | | | | of your source - especially when it's free. Many |
| success of your business is in serious jeopardy. Think | | | | people don't and they end up with empty or |
| about it. Know why you're talking to your customers. | | | | unresponsive email lists. There are many possible |
| If you can't help them in some way, you probably | | | | sources - Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising traffic, |
| won't make money. | | | | article marketing, joint ventures with other list |
| Gather Your Supplies | | | | owners, and organic search engine traffic from blogs |
| There are several basic items you need to start an | | | | and websites. |
| email list. While it's possible to send a basic newsletter | | | | Capture Your Visitor |
| with little more than a list of email addresses, | | | | When you've set up your auto responder, created a |
| automation is the key to success in today's fast | | | | value proposition in exchange for their email, and |
| paced marketing world. | | | | identified a quality source of traffic, it's time for the |
| Get an Auto-Responder | | | | capture mechanism. This could be anything from a |
| This is an essential component of any email | | | | simple sidebar form on your blog with a name and |
| newsletter. An 'auto-responder' let's you automatically | | | | email field, to a well written squeeze page dedicated |
| respond to any email by sending a message (or | | | | to the purpose. The exact mechanism you use |
| series of messages) of your choice. If you want to | | | | depends partially upon your source of traffic. |
| automatically send a digest of weekly blog posts, an | | | | Obviously websites with search engine traffic would |
| auto-responder can do this. Many autoresponder | | | | benefit from a capture form on every page. |
| services now offer a combination of basic | | | | Whereas PPC traffic for a specific 'buying keyphrase' |
| automation combined with email list management | | | | may convert better at a single landing page. |
| software - making adding, deleting, or changing emails | | | | When it's all said and done, you'll have a happy, |
| and messages on your list easier than ever. | | | | responsive email based audience that will provide you |
| Give Something of Value | | | | an income based on the quality of your solutions for |
| After setting up your auto-responder, it's time to | | | | years to come. |
| recall your purpose and think: Why would people | | | | |