The money is in the list. True, but it is not the whole truth.

Before the list start making you money you have to understand relationship marketing.

The biggest obstacle you face and have to overcome when you publish a newsletter or put any free or paid information out there is the fact that a lot of people have gotten used to getting junk!

Sure you can write anything for your subscribers, website visitors and customers with the sole intention of getting a payment. It works at times and you might get a few “one-time-paying” customers, but it will not be building trust and you might not get repeat orders.

Getting paid is nice but your long term business lives or dies based on how many people believe you genuinely want to help them achieve their goals and that the products you offer are of real benefit to them.

Responsive customers are born from continuing efforts to build a solid relationship with them. People connect with other people. Build trust.

When people sign up to your list, make your intentions crystal clear from the beginning (and not just to avoid spam complaints later). The first letter they get should be a personal message from you to them telling them what they can expect as a subscriber and why it’s a good idea to stay subscribed and to read every single email you send them. Make sure you keep track on how the first contact (and therefore the subscriber interests) was made.

Your new subscribers have nothing to base their opinions on except for the image you (on purpose or accidentally) present to them. That’s why it’s so important to make your intentions crystal clear right from the start.

Just about everyone who joins your list will at least read the first email you send to them and make up their minds about you based on that first email.

Now it seems obvious that your first email is the most important.

Don’t leave it up to your readers to figure out why you have a newsletter because they won’t come up with a good reason. Tell them why. Tell them why they should want to be a subscriber and stay subscribed and why they should listen to what you have to say.

Evaluate your current image. How people see you mainly has to do with the type of person you purposely or accidentally present for them to see. Portray the image of someone who your readers can see themselves looking to for answers, guidance and support on the way to achieving their goals.

You have to remove yourself from the crowd and do what it takes to show your subscribers that you are different from the average free information publishing crowd.

Basically, only people who do what others aren’t doing get noticed. Relationship marketing goes well with Niche marketing! Remember, how was the first contact made? Focus your first email on the “niche” what brought you together. When the relationship is built and the trust is established you can expand the topics.

Take some time to figure out what others in your niche (your competitors) are doing so you can see how to consciously make yourself look better than they do.

Reflect that in you first emails and you are on your way to build a solid relationship with money in your list!

Fred Lotgering
LotCon Biz Solutions