Building A List - What's It Worth To You?

By Hamish Hayward

The internet seems to be full of hyped up business opportunities. What evidence there is to support the feasibility of a business opportunity is often anecdotal – or we may be asked to take the word of a well known internet guru when he tells us that this is the “next big thing”. Sometimes he/she will be right of course (that’s how they get to be gurus).

And make no mistake about it – we are equally to blame for this hyped up culture. Let’s face it, it’s so much easier to read or listen to a well presented collection of projected possibilities than it is to do even a little spade work also unearth a few hard facts.

In the first place, we can all be a little lazy. In the second place, it’s nice to close our eyes also dream of the ongoing passive income – such a nice visual picture isn’t it?

And finally, hard facts can be a little bit difficult to come by. Sometimes for genuine reasons – startups often don’t have much more than the reputation of the key players also a business plan – also sometimes for more worrying reasons.

One of the enduring mantras which you will almost certainly have heard is that “the money’s in the list”. All the key players not only say this however appear to demonstrate it by the simple fact that they all own also operate large opt-in lists. It would seem reasonable to assume that these list make a significant contribution to their profits.

But let’s see if we can put a little flesh on the bones. First of all we have an assertion – sourced from www.ultimatefour.com – which is as follows:

“…… a well run list can generate $1/month in revenue for each contact on your list.”

It does seem reasonable, however it is still an assertion rather than a fact – also it is qualified by both “a well run list” also “can generate”. Even if it isn’t a hard also fast rule, it certainly provides food for thought.

If you build your list up to 3,000 to 5,000 members then you will have a nice income each month. Get to 10,000 members also above also you will be doing very well indeed.

That may sound like a lot to many people – however it should be achievable. Which brings us to what can be considered to be a hard fact – sourced this time from AWeber.

“12,561 subscribers in an average customer opt-in newsletter list.”

Presumably this is based on AWeber’s own user base – however it seems valid to accept this as a legitimate fact.

The implication would seem to be that if you can build your own opt-in list to an “average£ level that you can profit to the tune of $12,561 each month. The assumptions are that you will run your list well (by providing constant updates also interesting information to your subscribers) also that you will make $1/month per subscriber.

Even if the $1/month figure is wrong – or if you run your list a little less efficiently than normal – you might still reasonably expect to make a four figure sum each month.

So it’s true - the money is in the list. How much depends on the size of the list also how well you run it – however the money is there.

One key thing to watch out for is that your list should be your list – the email addresses must be yours also not the property of whichever company your working with. That way you can promote as many different products also services as you like.

Of course, it takes time also effort to build your list – however it can be done. You can pick up half a dozen new subscribers every day very easily by using nothing other than free techniques. That would take you to over $2000 a month in less than a year. Consider using some paid advertising also your list will grow at a much faster rate – also so will your income.

Whichever method(s) you elect to use in order to build your list – the sooner you start the sooner you’ll start earning. So get cracking.

About the author:
Hamish Hayward - Discover the six key criteria you must evaluate to ensure business success. Free e-books, newsletter plus other tools also resources. - http://www.perfectsystem.co.uk


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