I have a small list comparatively speaking. But I’m often told I’m the highest converter percentage-wise. Top gurus have often remarked on how responsive, loyal and fierce my list is about me.

Makes me blush!

But there’s a reason my list is small – and I did it on purpose.

I have been invited to JV with other marketers (to “swap list promotions”) for years ever since I broke into the market with my Squidoo eBook.

Nine times out of ten, I turned them down.

I may not have minded when they promoted my eBook (because I knew it was valuable) but I’d seen some of their products and I heard some of their behind-the-scenes talk and it wasn’t anything I wanted to reciprocate.

I felt like it’s leading a lamb to slaughter in a way. I consider so many of the people on my list to be real friends. Some I don’t know, but those who interact with me – we share personal life discussions, not just marketing.

They email me if they’re going through a divorce, a health scare, or financial crisis. Can you imagine if I broke that trust for some commission?

Well pretty soon word got around that I wasn’t playing ball and for the most part, anyone who wasn’t ethical didn’t even bother approaching me.

(Part of that has to do with the fact that I’m vocal about scumbags).

I’ve been asked to join “master minds” where they cross promote to build lists and offer up phony endorsements in forums for one another.

I’ve been asked to do “free giveaways” where it’s nothing but a list builder (I did one in all these years and gave away two awesome eBooks). I only joined this one because it had some people I respected involved.

The other giveaways were full of unethical people and again, the notion of tossing an innocent person into an ocean of shark infested waters came to mind.

I’ve been asked to accept cold, hard cash if I would blast my list a solo mailing by another marketer – and to sweeten the deal, they’d promote my opt in for me.

No. No. No…to all of it.

So if anyone wants to know why my conversions out perform some others with HUGE lists it’s because my subscribers have trust in me that I would never, ever advise them to spend money on something they shouldn’t…

….and for THAT, they give me their loyalty.

Just today, for example, someone from my list emailed me asking for my affiliate link to a product I wasn’t even promoting. She told me to send her my affiliate link and here’s why: “I really, really like your style and the way you teach and help people, so I wanna buy it through your link as a small “Thank You” for your hard work.”

I have their back – and they have mine.

The product owner emailed me an affiliate link and said, “Wow they wanna buy through your link when you’re not even promoting! That’s a killer relationship with your list members ”

Yes it is.

Quit worry about the size of your list first of all. Focus on quality, not quantity. I know a ton of marketers who probably have 100,000 people on their lists and made far less than I do on a JV just because they promote anything and everything and people just think they’re shady.

You want a SOLID foundation for this online business you’re building. So even if you’ve made mistakes in the past (ie: promoted something you didn’t believe in), let’s wipe the slate clean and start building your relationship with your subscribers the right way.

If you owe your list an apology, start writing that today, please. Tell them you’re learning. Tell them you realize you may have been blinded by dollar signs or desperation when what should have mattered was THEIR best interest.

This is part two in a series of list building tutorials.

To find part one, click here: List Building Series Part 1.

To move on to part 3, click here: List Building Follow Ups Versus Broadcast Emails

Tiff

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