The List Is The Thing

Many companies begin their online sales ventures with the
wrong strategy to build long term success. Thinking that
a website is the core of their business leads them to
focus on getting website visitors.


Making the site "sticky", by using a member-only area or
a community feature such as chat or a forum, may get some
of your visitors to come back for more. Unfortunately, the
large part of your viewers may not use these features, and
being in a hurry, they are just a click away from another
new and interesting website. Many of your "hits" are just
that, a quick click, and they're gone forever.


The visitor that clicked away likely found your site by
using a search engine. They were interested in the search
term that was one of your site's keywords. That means that
they may be your "target customer".


Isn't it a shame that you only had one chance to sell this
visitor on your product or service? Don't you wish that you
could follow-up on that "lead" at a later time? With a
better offer or a different related product?


You can.


The focus of your online sales business "has" to be
capturing lead information (email addresses) and building
a database of prospects and previous customers. This
"house list" enables you to keep in touch with your leads,
building a relationship and your credibility over time.
The website is an important part of the sales "machine",
but is not the primary focus, building your house list is.


Many people might think that the value of a house list is
determined by the number of leads it contains. This is
true, to a point. Affecting the value even more is the
quality of the leads, or subscribers. A small list that is
highly targeted, with responsive leads, is more valuable
than a large list that is not targeted.


Quality comes from the methods used to build the house
list. You want leads to opt-in, or subscribe, to your list.
These people are interested in your niche, or they wouldn't
have joined the list. Using emails from one of those " One
Million Email Addresses For $10" CDs will get little or no
response. You will also be labeled as a spammer. Buying
subscribers from list brokers is another option, but you
have to be certain that the leads opted-in to the list. If
not, they are practically worthless.


Build "your" house list, do it properly using opt-in
methods, and reap the rewards of a responsive and loyal
group of contacts. Follow-up with your leads on a regular
basis, and you'll have it made.