You’ve heard it over and over, “The Money is in the List”, followed by some sort of pitch for a list-building product or system.

That’s what Internet Marketers have been pitching for years… And, in a general sense, they are absolutely correct. If you don’t have a list of prospects or customers, you will not be able to generate as much revenue as you can without one.

All Lists are not created equal.

But, having a list and having a Good List are not the same thing.

Some companies make their living by providing lists. They collect email addresses and contact information using their specialized methods, and then offer them to you for a price. It is a good business model, one that has been around for decades. Someone wants to promote to a certain market, and these lists can help.

But, regardless of how well-targeted they are, each of those contacts on the list are cold-calls for you. None of them have ever heard of you, let alone be interested in anything you have to say. These aren’t Prospects, they’re Suspects. I suspect you’ll not get much Respect from them.

Your approach to this list is like tossing mud against the wall and seeing how much will stick. What a great way to treat your potential customers.

The Real List

Your Real List is one that contains people who know you – who have elected to hear from you – at least once. They are receptive to an approach if not an offer. They are Prospects, not Suspects.

You get these Prospects by enticing them to Opt IN to your newsletter, or email tips or to get your free Report. You have built in them enough interest or trust that they WANT to hear more from you.

Instead of finding them and cold-calling until they submit, they have found you through their interest in your niche. They sought your topic out of the Internet, and here they are. NOW you get to impress them with your knowledge and command of the topic – your Authority.

The Money Is In the Relationships

It is better to have the name of someone who knows you than is is to have just a name. It is better to get them to know you through meaningful contacts than to bulk-blast them with junk.

As you collect names of those interested in your topic, you begin to develop in them a special relationship. You are helpful. you are interesting, you are unique. You continue to tell the truth.

You can’t force them to become your friend, but you can help them trust you and your information.

Trust Is the Crucial Key.

Everybody wants to make a sale. Not everybody wants to make an effort.

It takes dedication and long hours devoted to building trusting business relationships. Trust is hard to develop and easy to lose. Your battle is not with your competitors, but with yourself. You need to be truthful and trusting at every turn.

Claim to have a guarantee? Better honor it faster than you promise. Claim to show the true path? Better have all the trail signs in place and complete. Claim to be interested in their success? Better prove it by offering success tools.

Step away from any one of your promises for even a second, and BAM! your trust dissolves. And you won’t get a second chance to rebuild it.

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old.

This comes from a song we used to sing around the campfires. One is Silver, and the Other is Gold. And you can’t tell the difference.

As you establish relationships, make it your goal to be friendly and helpful, and to retain as many Prospects on your list as possible. Keep them by offering them truth and value.

Establish routines that allow you to contact them with useful information. Keep your interactions low-key, and don’t flood their inbox with selling.

And seek out new Prospects. Always be prospecting, and converting them into fans.

Conclusion

It isn’t the LIST, it’s who is IN the list. If they seek you out, don’t let them down. Treat them like you want to be treated.

 Congratulations on stepping out for more independence. We’ve been selling online for about 5 years, and find the freedom and flexibility it gives us to be wonderful. I hope you can weather the frustrations (like you’ve encountered early) and reach some profitability. I’m happy to help as I can.

We personally don’t do any drop-shipping, but we try to own and ship our own products. However, I usually advise that you begin by selling a product that people buy… (An author once wrote about writing… “I usually try to leave out the words that people don’t read…)

Success in online marketing is the same as in a regular store: Have the Right Product at the Right Price at the Right Time.

I’m  pretty confident that just about anything you select as viable will continue to sell during recessions. If you had a regular store, then I’d worry. But, the Internet is such a great, big, pool of potential customers, that you’ll pretty much always find plenty of people whose life-decisions have included your product as an essential purchase.

But, selecting products (or first markets) is the most important decision to make in launching any business. Online is no different. I usually advise that you begin the process by writing down areas that you enjoy or that you know something about. You can sell what you know better than what you know nothing about. Credibility and authority are vital in an online business.

For example, I know about and enjoy tools and wood-crafting, but I don’t much enjoy fabric and sewing. (Sandi does.) Both are sort of crafty and creative, but different people are attracted to each of these areas, and not many are attracted to both. This begins to define an available market for me to try to serve. Your list should include several to choose from. 

Next, I think of all the kinds of problems, or solutions to problems, or gaps in what the market offers inside this market area. I try not to think from my own perspective, but from the general public. (A fisherman doesn’t bait his hook with food the fisherman likes, but with food the fish like…)

I look online for forums or blogs that specialize in my selected market, and I review the postings and comments – looking for these gaps or opportunities. Look on Yahoo Answers to see what people might be looking for to buy. This is all valuable research that will help you zero in on the right products to evaluate.

Then, you can begin to evaluate products in terms of price, profitability, and marketing methods.

Your Market comes before Product. Potential Profits come before Products.

Now, removing your own thoughts and feelings about what might be “cool” or desirable, select your product(s) to begin selling. Your market should determine the products, not you. You are only one out of the potential thousands of customers you need to please.

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know how else I can help.

John L

But, as much as I hate to admit it, there are others with plenty more knowledge and experience you can learn from. I learn every day.

One of them is Jack Humphrey. He runs a Blog of breaking and important marketing information, focused mostly on using social sites to better advantage. He is also the force behind the Authority Site Center.

But, he, too, refers to others to become more informed and skilled in marketing. He posted a list of his Top-7 Marketing Blogs. You can read it here: The Best Marketing Blogs Right Now.

Some of them you might already read regularly. I found some I had not seen before, and have added them to my reading list.

You should do the same.

John L