You must get the people on your list to open your emails, or you do not have the opportunity to begin building a relationship with them. This is why the subject line of your email is so important.

The first thing we all look at is to see who the email is from. If we recognize the name and want to hear from that person, we will open the email and read it. Make sure to brand yourself so that you use the same name in each of your emails.

The subject line is also more attractive and likely to be opened by our prospects if we personalize it. You can merge the first name of the person you are writing to into the subject line and also into the body of the email. Make sure to have an attention grabbing headline that is worthy of opening. Also, deliver on the promise of your subject line in the body of your email. If you use something like:

firstname, here’s something to help you write articles faster

then make sure you have included this information on article marketing in your message. Remember that you are continuing to build trust with people, so deliver on your promise and you will do just that.

There are many tried and true subject lines that have worked well when tested over the past few years, but you may be better off to just write naturally and let your list know how much you care about serving them and their needs. Build those relationships and your bottom line will continue to grow.

Remember why someone joined your list in the first place. Then stay on this topic and provide the very best content and information to them on a regular basis. I am not saying that you shouldn’t include other information in your newsletter, ezine, or email broadcasts, but make sure there is a reason for you to digress.

Think about this for just a moment. If you have signed up here to receive tips on how to make money from a very small list, you would not expect to see a post about blogging for small business or how to write an eBook. Even though you may also be interested in these othe topics, it is not the reason you are subscribed to this blog’s updates. (Make sure you are subscribed to receive updates. I post twice a week on how to make huge profits from a tiny list.)

If you are not sure what your list wants to hear about from you, as them. The people who are interested will be happy to tell you what they want to learn from you. Turn that into an opportunity to connect with more people and to give them exactly what they are looking for.

I talk here about the many different ways to make money with your small list, but why is that so important? If you think about it, a small list means something different to everyone. I was at a conference recently, and a man was telling me about his small list. When I asked how many people he had, the answer shocked me. He told me that he only had about 20,000 names on his list, and that was why he was setting up his business the way he was. His niche was one where the people who were making money typically had more than 100,000 prospects. That is definitely not the norm, no matter which niche you are in.

My idea of a small list is one with just a few hundred names. I believe it is important to make money with a list that size so you can create a marketing plan that will work well for your niche. That may be to give your prospects good content and tips on a regular basis, to invite them to a teleseminar regularly, and to ask them to click on a link to read your articles and blog posts. You will make money by promoting your own and affiliate products and services to them on a regular basis. As long as you give more than you take, people will tend to stay with you and buy from you.

Sometimes we assume that because our clients found us on the internet that we must continue to work with them only online. Nothing could be further from the truth! You can build great rapport with your list by taking them offline as quickly as possible.

As soon as someone signs up for one of your products, courses, or services, send them a postcard or an envelope with a small gift. These ‘lumpy’ packages are lots of fun, and can contain anything from an eraser to a notepad. The point is that you are reaching out to them in a way your competitors likely are not.

Better yet, pick up the phone and thank them personally for their purchase. Ask them if they have any questions about what they have just ordered. I started doing this early on, and was amazed that many people had never received such a call. Many of them went on to spend more money with me during the next 30 days. This was because they felt I was accessible to them and would be more inclined to help them to achieve their goals.

This site may be devoted to teaching you how to make huge profits from your small list, but never forget that building your list is the most important part of your online business. Every day you must engage in at least one activity that will help you to add names to your list.

You will want to create several different opt-in pages that will attract different segments of your market. For example, I have recently added a page that will help me to reach the work at home mom’s that would benefit from what I am teaching online. That page looks very different from one that attracts men in their 30’s or people over 50 who are struggling with technology. Even though I serve all of these markets, the initial page they sign up for will look very different.

Write articles, post to your blog, use Twitter and Facebook, and hold regular teleseminars to reach more people and have them join your list. List building and marketing is a worthwhile activity that will increase your bottom line.

Alex Mandossian was the first person to teach the concept of student, affiliate, partner. What he means by this is that you are first connected with people online when they are students of what you are sharing online. They can then become affiliates and promote what you are doing, and finally they may put themselves in the position of being a partner.

With your list, tell them about this concept and offer them the opportunity to become a joint venture partner as soon as they are ready. It will not matter what niche they are in, and the results are completely up to you. Form these strategic alliances early on with the people who have trusted you to send them regular information on your topic. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

I can remember the first internet contest I was ever involved with. It was the winter of 2008, nearly two years ago now, and Alex Mandossian was holding a contest for his affiliates. I was already a raving fan, so the idea of letting my list know about his programs was a simple decision for me. What I did not expect, because I was so new online and my list was so small, was to tie for 12th place with Christina Hills! I won several prizes, including a cash prize, and from then on I was hooked on the idea of contests.

You can hold contests for your list. Be creative with this, and ask them to comment on your blog or answer a trivia question. You will be amazed at the response you will receive when you simply ask people to respond and join you for a contest. The prize y0u offer can be anything from a digital eBook or report to a physical gift that can be mailed to their home. A cash prize is also greatly appreciated.

The most important thing here is to get your prospects involved and leave them with a good feeling. Announce the results to your list so that everyone can be included in the outcome. People still remember when I was a winner in Alex’s contest, because he sent an email to his list and I blogged about it.

When we are first starting out online, the main concern is to be serious and to treat our business as though it were a corporation. After some point I think everyone realizes that part of the reason we became entrepreneurs in the first place was to make our own rules and to have some fun with our business.

So lighten up, and share some humor and anecdotes with your list. They will enjoy seeing that you are human. Tell them what happened at your daughter’s birthday party when it started raining, or how your fifth grade  teacher found you online and signed up for your list. Sharing this type of information with your people deepens the connection they share with you, and makes it even more likely they will want to do business with you in the future.

When you are marketing to your list you will want to make a schedule for what types of messages you want to send. In the beginning I recommend setting up three messages at a time. One should be a helpful tip or other information on your niche topic. The next one can be a link to an article or a blog post you have written that is about a topic that would be of interest to your prospect. They may not be aware that you have a blog or are writing articles, so this is an excellent way to share that with them. The third message can be more promotional, where you are telling them about an affiliate product they may be interested in, or one of your products or services.

The first two emails earn you the right to send the third one. My experience has been that my list appreciates my free content and information so much, they are excited when I share something they can purchase. Make a schedule for the next month, sending an email every three days or so. If you mail about 9 or 10 times during the month, three of the messages can easily promote something for sale. This is a nice mix and will build trust with your people while also giving you an opportunity to monetize your online business.

All of us are on someone’s list. Every time you give your name and email address in exchange for a free report or other gift, you are added to that person’s list. Yet no one likes to be thought of as just another number. We all want to think that the person is truly interested in us as individuals. So, how do you achieve this?

Personalize your messages. Use your prospect’s first name in the subject line and within the body of the email. Speak to them as though you were writing to only them, and not to a hundred or a thousand people at once. The greatest compliment you will ever receive is when someone replies to your autoresponder message, thinking you wrote that message just to them.

This is the way to let your list know that you care about them and what they want.