Building Lists, Building Relationships

Have you ever 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's true about it and what's 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 could mean a bigger ROI, ergo, money is in the list!

But that's just half of the equation. A half-truth. Because it's not enough to just have a list. 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 the then 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?