Posted by A popular saying among internet marketers is, “The money is in the list.” Other similar phrases abound but the basic meaning is once you sell to one person on your list, the likelihood of them purchasing from you again increases dramatically.
Why is this true?
It goes back to good old fashioned sales and customer service. If someone likes you and trusts you, they will more likely purchase from you than a complete and total stranger. Likewise, if they have already purchased from you and they like your product and received good customer service, that memory will last and they will purchase from you again.
Think of your own real life experiences going into a brick and mortar business. Were you greeted when you arrived? Did anyone ask if you needed help while you shopped? Was someone available to answer your questions or to search their stock room for a different size?
If the business owner was genuinely happy to see you in his store and went out of his way to make sure you were happy, you will remember this experience and think of this store again in the future, even if you didn’t make a purchase that same day. This is an example of liking and trusting the business owner.
If, however, you didn’t see anyone in charge and felt like you were being ignored, what are the chances you’d go back there? Slim to none, I would guess. The same situation is true for those with online businesses.
Potential customers want to know who you are first, to know that you’re trustworthy, before they spend money with you. Once you have proven yourself and have met their expectations, these same customers will remember your name and come back in the future.
It’s part of human nature. Who wants to repeat a bad experience on purpose? Generally we all prefer to have good experiences with our purchases, whether online or offline.
Equipment Necessary for List Building
Absolutely every single business owner should have a list and that includes brick and mortar offices or stores as well as online business owners.
The vast majority of people use email these days and this is the easiest way to stay in touch with customers. Even if you don’t have a website yet (and you absolutely should have a website!) it’s very simple to set up a list and startgrowing it.
A list is nothing more than the names and emails of people who want to receive notices of special offers, new product lines and/or regular newsletters. However, it’s widely recommended that you use a third party email marketing service to keep these names organized and to abide by the CAN- SPAM rules and regulations.
The free Yahoo and Google email accounts are certainly budget-friendly but if you start sending hundreds of emails from those email addresses, you will certainly be flagged as a spammer based on the volume of emails you send.
You’ll need to do a search of email marketing services but two of the best are Aweber and Get Response. There is a monthly fee for each and there are certain limitations to how large your list can get before the price increases but both are just fine for starting out and both offer either free or $1 trials.
Once you create your account, you’re ready to create your list. This consists of a few steps, such as naming your list, adding your company branding and contact information, as well as adding a signature that is attached to every email you send. Both of these email providers have very easy-to-follow setup wizards that make the process stress-free.