Four List Building Tactics

Your list, the people who sign up to hear what you have to say, should be the most valuable part of your business. You should treat these people with the utmost respect because they have CHOSEN to opt in and listen what you have to say.rnI get invited to a lot of events, sometimes to speak and sometimes, just to network. There are always lots of people at these events and, of course, there is always an exchange of business cards. It’s standard practice.rnWhat amazes me, however, is how many people go to events to collect business cards for the primary purpose of building their list. Without fail, after every event, I get a few new newsletters popping up in my inbox. This seems to be the number one tactic out there – collect cards and then add them to the list.rnIf you are guilty of doing this, please stop that practice RIGHT NOW!rnThere is a myth out there that the bigger the size of your list, the better. This is absolutely not true. People buy from people they like and trust. If you add them to your newsletter list without permission, you just violated trust and made yourself a little bit less likeable.rnThe size of your list is not what is most important. The true measure of a list is its quality.rnMy personal list is small and I am okay with it. You see, every single person who is on my list either gave me their card and specifically asked me to sign them up, or they have signed themselves up via my website. I really don’t want someone on my list if they don’t want to be. I like to know that the information I share through my newsletter is being read and utilized by everyone who receives it. I do want to see my list continue to grow in size, but only if it happens because more people are interested in what I have to say, not because I committed the cardinal business card sin.rnHere are four ways to grow your list: rn1. Offer people a free gift when they sign up.rnMake this gift as good as you possibly can. Give them some of your best stuff because this is the very first impression they get of what you have to offer. If you market an awesome gift, but the actual content of that gift sucks – guess what. Unsubscribes happen.rn2. Be ConsistentrnIf you say you are going to send tips out to help people each week, do it. You have an obligation to deliver your content to your subscriber when you say you will. And for the record, monthly is the worst way to go. If you care about your subscriber list, you will want to offer them valuable content on a regular basis.rn3. Do What You Say You Will DornWhen you say that you are going to deliver tips to help with A, B, C in business – do it! Your list wants to read great content from you, not hear about the latest gimmick, nor do they want to be spammed with all of your affiliate crap on a regular basis. Deliver the value you promised when you asked them to opt in. If you do this your newsletter will be read each week because your list knows there is value in it.rn4. Protect Email AddressesrnWhen people opt in to hear from you that does not mean they want to hear from you and all of your closest friends. Respect and value that your list wants to hear your message; never share their name and email with other people looking to build their list.rnList building is not just about growing the size of your list, it is also about protecting and keeping those who express an interest in you engaged. Treat these people like you would your best clients and remember: it is the quality that matters, not the quantity.