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In this issue:
• Marketing Article: 3 Ways To Build A Quick Profitable Opt In List
• Marketing Article: Postcard Marketing Checklist: 5 Things to Consider Before You Mail

The following paragraphs summarize the work of opt-in list experts who are completely familiar with all the aspects of opt-in lists. Heed their advice to avoid any opt-in list surprises.

You finally realize that you need a good opt-in list. After reading countless articles and sought expert advices and have read many success stories of people creating a small fortune with opt-in lists you finally decide to have one of your own. Then it happens, you think you have known everything there is to know about opt-in lists and have followed their advices to the T and you still weren’t able to make a profit.

In fact, you may be losing money. You maybe hiring writers to help you out, or there are some expenses incurred, even if you have a big list, but only a very small percentage actually buys from you, your still losing profit. You’ll realize that after a few months when you see your statistics and sales figures.

So what could have gone wrong? Why have others succeeded where you have failed? The most common mistake is that you dived straight right in. You chose a topic where you think could be quite popular and would earn you money. This just not the case. Just because you wrote people from the list doesn’t mean they are going to buy instantly.

Here I will offer more advice, for those who have started an opt-in list and have failed, you can rejuvenate your failed venture. For those who are starting, here are three quick and easy ways to build a profitable opt-in list.

1) Get your customers to trust you and your products first. Just launching your opt-in list would not make you an expert and a believable seller. Put many articles first before you start an opt-in list. Write about the topic you know and have started and used for your site. Try to put forums first to gain knowledge about your customers about their wants and needs and target those wants and needs.

Join forums from other sites as well. Provide expert advices and recommendations. When you feel that people trust you already, you will be able to start your own opt-in list. You can build a base as well with other forum users. You can ask them to join your list. Friends are always good customers. Put up a link to your site so that they may be able to see what you're business is all about.

If you find yourself confused by what you've read to this point, don't despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

The certain truth is, the money will only come in when the consumers and subscribers believe and trust in you. They want a product or service that could be a good exchange for their money. People are not going to buy something out of your recommendation if they don’t know you.

2) Find a product or service that people want and need. Although it may not be your forte, if you provide a service and product that you have researched and learned about well, you can carry it on forward. Invest your time, effort and money that you could sell as well as the buyers or subscribers of your opt-in list can use.

While it is true that it is best to sell something that you have interest in, there are not many people who have the same interest as you if you decide to sell something that is not entirely popular or profitable. Do your research well and you would see the profits come in. Also provide your subscribers with promotional material that they could actually use and spread around.

3) Make friends with other opt-in list users. This is basically beneficial especially if it is someone who has already launched a successful opt-in list. These are people that have the experience in this venture and experience is still the best teacher. While there are many articles available for you in the internet to use, there is nothing like getting a first hand account from someone you trust.

Experienced opt-in list users will be able to tell you what to do and what not to do because they have gone through it. While different situations occur for different people, the general concept can still be very helpful. There are many things to avoid and these people will be able to tell you which ones.

Building a profitable opt-in list don’t just happen overnight. There are many preparations and effort to do. Opt-in lists are built from scratch, as your list grows, you should also maintain the quality of your list. Keep it organized and manageable. Get or hire help if need be, just make sure that your subscribers are happy and satisfied and they will be willing to buy from you.

Now you can understand why there's a growing interest in opt-in list. When people start looking for more information about opt-in lists, you'll be in a position to meet their needs.

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Mats Lonnstrom is the owner of Promoteoptions.com. Reach Ton's of Freë Ebooks, Software, Scripts, Audio...etc... In one Place. You can reach Mats at: http://promoteoptions.com/GiveAwaysInOnePlace/

Associations and non-profit groups are a powerful resource for building and expanding networking and business opportunities, finding jobs, evaluating goods and services, and industry publications.

Our database puts you in direct contact with these organizations.

Your postcard-marketing program can benefit from a good checklist. Checklists keep us focused on the task at hand and help us remember all of the finer points. Doctors use them. Mechanics use them. And yes, postcard marketers use them -- at least those who take postcard marketing seriously.

The checklist that follows is not all-inclusive, but is meant to provide a solid enough list to get your postcard marketing campaign underway.

The List

Your mailing list (a.k.a. database) should be the result of asking tough questions and doing some hard research. To build a good mailing list, you need to find out who wants and needs the products / services you sell.

If you're mailing to your customer base, your list requirements are simple -- just mail to your best customers. But if you're mailing to "strangers" in the hopes of making them customers, you'll have more homework to do.

Questions to ask:

* Have you obtained your list from a reputable list vendor?

* If using your in-house list, have you checked it for accuracy, duplication, etc?

* Does your list match your message? Is your message relevant to your list?

The Headline

Direct mail postcards have a major advantage over their enveloped counterparts -- immediate impact, right out of the mailbox. This is where your headline comes into play. The reader will give your postcard a "golden glimpse" during which you have a chance to pull them in. Whether you do so or not will depend largely on your headline.

Questions to ask:

* Does you headline identify your target audience?

* Does your headline promise a benefit?

* Is your headline clear and to the point?

* Did you test your headline to make sure people understand at first glance?

The Offer

In postcard marketing, it's the offer that generates the response. It answers the reader's fundamental questions: "What's in it for me? Why should I bother? How is this worth my time?"

The offer is usually related to the product or service being sold, but it doesn't actually have to be that product or service. A company selling software might offer a discount on the software, a free trial, a free 28-page software buyer's guide, or a number of other things related to what they are selling.

When using direct mail by itself (not in conjunction with TV or radio), it's best to keep your offer related to your product. You're not after "freebie hunters" with no real interest in what you're selling. You're after qualified prospects -- the kind of people who might actually buy your product or service.

Questions to ask:

* Is the offer related to your product or service?

* Does it have enough of a perceived value to generate a response?

* Have you described the value of your offer (dollar amount, time savings, etc.)?

* Is the offer specific and relevant to the reader?

The Call-to-Action

Think of the call-to-action as a road sign. It points readers to the offer and tells them how to capitalize on it. It is part of the offer, but it also needs to be considered on its own.

If the offer is a 30-day free trial, the call-to-action might be the bold sentence that says: "Sign up for your free trial at www.fakeswebsite.com/trial."

Questions to ask:

* Is your call-to-action simple and easy to understand?

* Does it stand out from the copy around it?

* Does it make responding easy?

* Does it offer multiple ways to respond (web address, 800#, etc.)?

The Tracking

One of the great things about postcard marketing is that it's fairly simple to track. Compare the number of postcards you sent out to the number of responses you get back, and you've measured your response rate. You can then compare the results of two mailings to see which postcard performs better.

For instance, you might send the same postcard to the same audience but with different offers. The offer that pulls the biggest response wins. The other one goes away.

Question to ask:

* First off, do you have a tracking program?

* Have you considered the technical details of tracking responses?

* Do you know what elements you want to test (headline, offer, etc.)?

* How will you modify your postcard if it doesn’t get the response you want?

Conclusion

As your postcard marketing program evolves, so too will your checklist. Before long, you'll have a list of things that have worked well for you (as well as those that haven't). And that's a valuable checklist to have!

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Brandon Cornett is the editor of PostcardSmart.com, the Internet's largest library of postcard marketing advice. For more expert articles on postcard marketing, visit http://www.PostcardSmart.com