Many people who are new to list building put their opt-in form on just one tiny area their webpage and wonder why no one is signing up.

If your opt-in form is not clearly visible and without priority placement, you’re going to get very few sign-ups.

It is a much better idea to make it very visible and “above the fold.” That means that as soon as someone lands on your webpage they should be able to see your opt-in form without having to scroll down at all.

You should also make sure that your form is large enough to read and and uses contrasting colors from the rest of your site so that people’s eyes are drawn to it. Experiment with different priority placements to determine whether the form should be on the left side, right side, or front and center.

Social proof is another amazing way to boost your sales. Nobody really likes to make the first move, in case we make the wrong one. The same can be said when people are buying an offer. They don’t want to take the risk of it being a bad buying decision.

If they see that other people have already purchased and have enjoyed the product, they will be a lot more likely to buy it themselves.

Some ways to incorporate social proof are…

• Include actual numbers when talking about results.
• Include case studies or before and after videos or pictures.
• Include some testimonials and even a picture of people who have used the product you are promoting.

You don’t have to do this within the e-mail copy itself, but you want to do it in the copy that you link to. You can even give some sales figures if you think that will boost their confidence.

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.

If you run a business that can offer case studies or data; you will get  the best results by sharing these things with your list members.

For example, if you are an expert at selling items on eBay, you can show real-life case studies from your sales last week. Show people how you write your copy, price your items, and got the most out of each sale.

This works across many different types of businesses. The point is that people like to see real-time results, and they are often impressed by and respond to them.

This works very well if you are eventually going to promote a product that you have used. So, as an eBay seller, you might have read some books that helped you get to the point you’re at now.

You can recommend the same books to other people, and earn commission from them if you don’t have your own product.

There are so many different ways that having a list can add to your bottom line. We’ve already discussed that previous customers are more likely to buy from you, but that’s not where it stops.

When you have a list, you can get people to look at your special offers and new products whenever you’d like. All it takes is a simple e-mail and you can literally pull in cash on demand.