While all elements of the e-mail are important, you will want to focus on the subject line.

If people don’t like what they see and are not enticed to click, they simply will not open your message. On the other hand, if your headline is attention-grabbing, they can’t help but click on your message to see it. Once they’ve opened your e-mail, it’s going to be that much easier to build your relationship and make sales.

No matter whether you’re promoting an affiliate product or you’re providing your own, you need to make sure you presell the product.

Preselling means to warm up your reader BEFORE he/she is sent to the sales page.

That means using good copywriting skills right within your e-mail that will show people that the product that you’re recommending is one that they actually need. Empathize with the reader, and show that this is a product that can do exactly what they need it to do.

That doesn’t mean you’re going to hype the product at all or lie. You can certainly make a lot of sales without making false claims about anything.

It will be easier than you think to presell to your customers if you are promoting a product that you truly believe in.

What many list owners end up doing is creating their own products (if they don’t have them already).

This gives you ultimate control over what you’re offering to your list, as you are the one who decides what goes into the product. This is amazing, because after a while you will have gotten a feel for what the members of your list really need. This allows you to zero in on their wishes and hand-deliver them a product you know they’ll be happy to pay for.

It can also be more beneficial to promote your own products, since you don’t have to split the commission as an affiliate. This can be more lucrative in the end.

Having your own product can also brand you as an expert. As soon as people see your name on a book or other product, they know that you are a serious person in your field.

Some marketers are focused on making the sale right away. However, you may want to consider holding off until you are at least a few messages into email sequence.

Now, this rule doesn’t apply if people sign up to get a coupon or special product offer. Then they would expect that they are going to be sold to right away.

An example of this type of notification list would be  www.PLRSO.com

It’s an excellent case study of how Jimmy D. Brown uses a notification style list and sells to them from the get-go.

In fact,  people sign up just to receive these special offers. If you want to create a list of “buyers” you may wish to sign up for his list – even if it’s just to analyze his methods.

However if your list members signed up to get some valuable information, they may not take too kindly to getting pitched to right away. This is something you may want to test, but you need to think about the relationship first and the money later in most cases.

One way to make money with your list is to promote affiliate products. The chances are good that no matter which niche you’re in, you can find relevant products that people will respond to.

These might be information products, physical products, or even services.

The important thing is that you check the product yourself for quality to make sure it’s something that you will feel good about putting your stamp of approval on.

Many list owners make the mistake of simply choosing offers based upon their commission without checking to make sure it’s something that their readers can actually use. By hand-selecting what you promote, you’ll gain the trust of your list members and they will be more likely to buy from you in the future.

In doubt? Don’t promote.

Choosing a domain name might seem way too basic for a guide on list building. However, if you don’t have a trustworthy domain name it can affect your list building abilities in a negative way.

Your domain is important because you’re going to place your list’s opt-in form in several different places. Having a good domain will ensure that people visit your site in the first place, and see your opt-in form.

Some tips. Choose a domain that…

Ends with .com or .org (not .biz or .info)
Has no numbers, if possible.
Is easy to spell.
Is short.
Is not hyphenated.

You can purchase domain names at  www.GoDaddy.com

Just because you have an autoresponder sequence set up does not mean it has to be a one-sided conversation. You can get a lot of valuable information simply by surveying your list members every so often and asking for input.

Give them some sort of incentive for filling out a survey for you (free report, audio, video, discount coupon, or free service), and you’ll gain access to what they really need and want from your list. This helps build your relationship with your readers because they feel like they are valued and that you really care about them and their needs.

How do you set up a survey?

You can simply have them reply to your e-mail messages, or you can set up a more formal poll or survey. There are many popular options out there, with one of the well known ones being SurveyMonkey.com.