The 2 Truths About Building A List

money is in the listHow many times have you heard this statement:
the money is in the list!

I know that you’ve probably heard about this countless times, read about it in so many blogs, and good chances are that you’ve really found this out for yourself.

Well, actually this is only a half-truth.

You may then ask:

What do you mean, Elmar? Is it or is it not true? Isn’t the money in the list? Why is it only a half-truth? What is true about it and what is not?

Let me explain.

My mentor is probably one of the greatest and most well-known online marketers. In one of our first few meetings, this is what he said to me that up until now is still very much ingrained in me:

“Your List Is Your Distribution Channel And

The Relationship That You Build With Your List

Is Your Business.”

One more time, just to make sure there is no confusion here, let us run by this again:

Your list is your distribution channel and the relationship that you build with your list is your business.”

1st Truth: The Money Is In The List!

What I am saying then is that, yes, it’s true, the money is in the list. It’s really true! You have more potential to make good money with a list of 100,000 people compared to a list of 15,000 people. That’s pretty obvious, don’t you think? A bigger list translates to a possible bigger ROI, ergo, money is in the list!

But that’s just half of the equation. A half-truth. Because having a list is not enough. More than the list, what’s really important is how you deal or connect with your list. In a nutshell, we are talking about building relationships with your list.


2nd Truth: Building Relationships With Your List Is Your Business

Relationships are the foundation of your good online business.

An online business is actually one of the easily penetrable markets because all you have to do is set up a website and make it work for you. The next thing for you to do is just scour for people to market your products and services. Chances are, they all have email addresses or websites themselves or present in at least one of those social networking sites. In short, they are already habitués of the worldwide web. All you have to do is tap them and build your list.

But, just to reiterate what Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring (and now of the Elevation Group) has said, more than getting the numbers, it’s how you do with these numbers that will make a difference in your business. More than the quantity and the size, it should be the trust and the faith that people will have in you that will make your money grow.

So, Go Ahead, Build A List. But, Don’t Forget To Build Relationships With Your List, Too.
Only Then Can You Really Make Money In The List.


Are You Building Good Relationships With Your List?

Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. If you enjoyed this post, don’t forget to share, retweet, or bookmark! Thank you!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck
Elmar Sandyck

10 Comments

  1. Ilka Flood says:

    Hi Elmar,

    I totally agree. (I think we have the same mentor :) )

    Building a list alone is not enough. You need to connect with it and build relationships with the people on your list. Go beyond email. Connect on Facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc. and get to know each other. That builds the “know, like, trust” factor that is essential to monetize your list.

    Awesome post!

    Ilka

  2. Hi Elmar,
    Your article is very interesting and I have retweet it. I have understand the importance of distribution lists. Please write another article about “how to make a distribution list?” I think it will be more helpful than this article of yours.

  3. admin says:

    Hi Ilka,

    Wel yes, it could be possible we have the same mentor!
    It’s a very good one isn’t it! :-)

    You are totally right, going beyond email is essential! Connecting on the social sites with the people on your list will build you strong relationships and a very responsive list.

    Thanks for your valuable comment Ilka,

    Talk soon!

    Elmar

  4. Jack Foley says:

    So true..

    So many people are solely focused on building a list and forget about relationships..

    This is madness..!

    Thanks for sharing..

  5. admin says:

    Hi Jack,

    Indeed, it really is a common mistake. What matters most when it comes to list building is establishing and maintaining a relationship with other people :)

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Elmar

  6. Navya says:

    Hi Elmar,

    Glad to see this post, it is really interesting!!
    Maintaining good rapport increases the chances of building the list..

    Thank You
    Navya .

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