A mailing list is a list of people who signed up to receive your mailings, such as newsletters, ecourses, ebooks, and other emails.  There are many benefits to having a huge mailing list.  Here are a few reasons why you will want to start building one today.

There is an old saying that says, “The money is in the follow up”, and that holds true for your list.  Your mailing list provides you a way of staying in touch with people who have visited your website.  Maybe they didn’t buy anything the first time they visited your site.  However, if you stay in touch with them on a regular basis, they may turn into a loyal customer.

There are several types of mailing list formats to choose from.  You may want to include each kind on your website.  You can offer a general newsletter that people can subscribe to.  This is a great way to keep people informed on the updates you have made to your site.  You can include excerpts from any articles you recently added with links to the full text.  If you offer podcasts, you can include information about upcoming information you will be featuring, etc.




You can also choose to have a tips list or ecourse.  People love numbers and are eager to sign up for a tips list, such as “15 ways to get organized today” or “50 ways to work from home”, etc.  These tips can be small emails that are delivered daily to your mailing list.  An ecourse is a great way to promote your information products.  You can include a tiny bit of information and deliver a daily or weekly lesson to your mailing list.

The best way to manage a mailing list is through an autoresponder service.  When you sign up for such a service, you can create a list and load email messages into it.  When someone signs up for your list, they will automatically start to receive the messages you have already written.  Each person will receive message 1, and the autoresponder will continue to send the messages in the order you selected.

While the main purpose of having a mailing list is to promote products, your visitors will be eager to sign up for them if you provide helpful information.  With your mailing lists, you will want to include a “p.s” after the body of the message.  These will grab your readers’ attention.  You can use this space to include your affiliate links for other products you are promoting.  Your mailing list will allow you to cross promote your products and services and turn “fence sitters” into customers.