There is no getting around the fact that an Internet marketer, no matter what the size of the business, cannot earn any money at all without a ‘list’. In addition to ensuring that it is an ever-growing list, the marketer must constantly make the effort to make sure that the list stays responsive and healthy. But why build a list? Simply because lists convert into customers and customers mean money - which is why the business exists in the first place. For an Internet marketer, the process of building a list begins from day one. There are certain prerequisites to building a list. They are:

• A website: the first thing is to make a website, particularly one whose domain name relates to the marketer’s niche. There are different tools available that can be used to shortlist domain names so that they instantly come up in a search engine’s result page and lead the visitor to that website.
• Web hosting: Naturally, the next thing is to get the website hosted. Rather than get a web hosting service that is basic and cheap, it makes sense to get one that can accommodate the growing business. It is better to get a hosting service that will let the business have more than one domain. Most affiliate marketing businesses also start blogs in addition to their websites and so it is recommended that the web hosting service chosen must take into account future expansion of the business.
• Autoresponder service: this is a must have for any list building activity as it can automate the entire email communication and follow up processes. When the email ids and names are input into the autoresponder with the necessary templates, the marketer can safely email his list without the problem of being labeled a spammer. There are different kinds of autoresponders available, with some less expensive than others based on the services they offer. It is important to select one that guarantees delivery of the email messages into the recipient’s inbox.
• A squeeze page: This is an invaluable component of the list building process after the website, hosting account and the autoresponder are set up. The squeeze page is a succinct web page that just has crucial information about the affiliate product or service and contains an optin box for the visitor to sign up. Just brief bulleted points about the offer with an attention grabbing headline, and telling the visitor what is in it for them. Even if an affiliate marketer does not have a website, they can build their list with a squeeze page while getting started in online marketing!

How Responsive Is The List?

For any degree of success in online marketing, the list must be big and responsive. This means the people who sign up with the website must do so voluntarily and because they like the information that they are getting there. In addition to this, they are also willing to receive periodic emails telling them about promotional offers and other information. This develops trust between the marketer and the subscriber so that they are ready to act upon any products or services that are recommended by the marketer.

Ways To Grow The List

Since earning money is the primary aim of any affiliate marketer, the optin email list must be continuously built, maintained and monitored. Some effective list building methods are:

• Through online ezines, newsletters and Ecourses – almost everyone surfing the Internet is looking for useful information. By providing it to them through a newsletter or ecourse as a bonus for signing up with the website, the email list can be built rapidly. Ecourses can run to several parts depending on the information being shared.
• Through article writing and then distributing these articles to article directories and allowing others to publish them with the author bio and resource box intact, where visitors can sign up.
• Free ebooks and reports are an effective list building method and can be as short as a few pages. Sending one to the visitors in exchange for signing up will build the list. Affiliate marketers usually include their affiliate links so that they can convert these subscribers into sales.