Consistency is key

How often should you contact your personal mailing list?

Often enough for them to remember who you are.

Today I noticed an email from someone whose name I recognized from a forum, but it was not someone with whom I correspond. I opened the email to learn that I was a member of his mailing list. There was a link in the message to, of course, unsubscribe from the list as is required by CAN-SPAM laws, but also a link to check the details of my subscription. Looking at where and when I signed up for the list, I STILL couldn't remember subscribing, nor could I even conjure up the reason why I would have subscribed in the first place. I wasn't particularly interested in the topic of his message in my inbox, so I unsubscribed.

Please, please, please ... build and develop a relationship with your subscribers. I recommend doing so by: 1. maintaining contact often enough for them to remember who you are, and 2. sticking to the topic that got them to subscribe in the first place. Don't put out an autoresponder series about cooking, then send out messages about NASCAR racing. It leaves the subscribers feeling like they've fallen victim to the old "bait and switch" routine: lure in a sucker with one proposition, then shove a different one in their face once they are in. They will lose trust in you, and they will unsubscribe in a heartbeat.

If you run out of things to talk about, use PLR articles for ideas, or personalize and rewrite them when pressed for time. But stick with the topic you started out with.

WIN Free Adsense Real Estate

Our partner in crime, Jon Atwood (of Zootware, Inc), has been raking in the cash from Adsense with his content niche sites. Now, he wants to share his success. He and Pat Lovell (of Lovell Technology) are launching a new service, Adsense Real Estate, where they will create Adsense-ready sites for you.

In preparation for the launch, Jon and Pat are giving away two free memberships. All you have to do is go to their blog and post a reply. Just follow the directions in the post dated August 15, 2006.

Official launch date is August 29. You definitely want to check out Adsense Real Estate and get in early! Sign up for their early-bird list and stay in-the-know. This is going to be HOT.

Using Free Reports to Build Your List

Another great way to build a personal mailing list is to offer a free product for signing up. Information products do especially well because we can never know too much.

Offering good, solid, reliable information for free starts off your relationship with your subscribers on the right foot. It inspires trust. It brands you as an expert. That combination makes you the person to turn to, to listen to, for advice and for guidance. It turns your subscriber list into warm leads and potential customers.

"But I don't know enough about anything to write a useful report," you say. Sure you do! What do people ask your opinion on? What do they seek your advice about? Do you have the green thumb in the family? Do you always manage to make a complete meal out of whatever happens to be in the refrigerator at the time? Is accessorizing outfits your specialty? Are you the organized one at the office? Someone, at this very minute, is out on the internet desperately seeking your help!

What are you most passionate about? Are you a Civil War buff? Do you always have the latest update on your favorite soap operas? Do you collect comic books or baseball cards? Do you home-brew beer? You would be surprised at how many people on the internet share your passion.

Don't have time to write from scratch? That's where PLR articles come in handy. You can modify and personalize them to suit your needs. Or you can use their ideas to jumpstart your creative juices.

Although you are giving away the reports for free, there are options for monetizing them. You can make a branded PDF file out of your report, give it away for free, then allow your subscribers to do the same. But you can offer to re-brand the report for them, for a fee. How can you do that? For a limited time, there is a free tool available for that. Take a look here.