Why you should have an opt in list

05/12/05

As e-commerce heats up and changes the way business is done in the world today, it will become increasingly important to have your own in-house list of prospects and customers. It is the most valuable asset a business could have. It is the lifeblood of your business and is where the lions share of your profitability will come from. Why? To get a new customer is the most costly activity you can take part in. When you figure your marketing costs, your costs to convert a customer, your fulfillment costs a shocking truth is revealed. It may of cost you $75 to get just one sale. If your profit on that item is only $25 you're $50 in the hole. And no, you can't make it up by "doing volume".

Hopefully you have a back-end system of other products and services to offer that customer so you can take the unprofitable transaction and turn it into a profitable relationship. This is where e-mail marketing excels. With low-cost e-mail technology, what was too expensive in the off line world of marketing, such as direct mail, is suddenly very attractive. You can communicate, educate, up sell and resell your customers for pennies. Not for thousands it would cost with postal mail.

You also get an unlimited number of chances to convert prospects to first-time buyers. The most critical step in the sales process. Once someone buys from you, trust starts to build and they will be more inclined to buy more from you in the future, adding to your profitability.

No other marketing medium can offer one-to-one relationship building like e-mail. With the personalization technology that is available today you can build trust much faster and with less expense than at any time in history. And you can do it worldwide instantly.

Always remember the higher the level of trust, the higher your level of sales. People buy from people who they know and trust. They always have and always will. No amount of technology will change that.

Now the major reasons why you want to have an opt-in list is threefold.

1. You have a valuable asset that can continue to produce income for you by re-working your list on a regular basis. Either selling other related products. (yours or others). Selling more of a consumable item. Or getting referrals from satisfied customers.

2. You have a valuable asset that you can leverage through doing list swaps with other marketers. Plus you can also expand the size of your list by solicitingtheir customers to join your list.

3. You have a valuable asset that you can sell in the future. As e-commerce heats up there will be many companies looking to purchase ready-made customer bases. Yours could be on of them. Having your own opt-in list could mean your worry-free retirement.

These are just some of the reasons you'll went to get started immediately

by Adrian Kennelly

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