List Building - What Is The Most Important Benefit?

If you're new to list building, you may just be wondering what
all the fuss is about? What's so important about list building
you may be asking? Why should it be the first task any webmaster
and/or marketer should do? More importantly, you may be wondering
what is the number one benefit of building your list?

Without a doubt, one of the greatest benefits for building a list
of contacts, is developing a lasting mutual relationship with a
vast number of people who you probably wouldn't normally be
communicating with on a regular basis. It is this relationship
which is the most important benefit of building your list. You
must make a lasting impression and build a lasting relationship
with your contacts or subscribers in order for your list to work.

Many webmasters and marketers fail to realize that a list of
contacts, even a very large one, is virtually useless unless you
form and nurture a relationship with these subscribers. This
relationship must be built on trust and respect, one where both
parties benefit from being a part of the list. It truly is a give
and take interaction, where everyone gets what they want.

Building such a relationship is not easy, it can take years of
experience to get right. First and foremost, a subscriber on your
list or newsletter must feel wanted, but also they must get
something of value from being one of your subscribers. In most
cases this "something" will be valuable information which they
can use with their website or online marketing. In some cases, it
could be special deals, discounts or even bonuses if they
purchase through your links, but usually it consists of
information the subscriber needs.

Many people make the mistake that this should be some
earth-shaking information, but in reality, anyone who runs a
website for several years already has some valuable information
to give to someone who is just starting a site. In other words,
your knowledge will be valuable to someone if you can construct
your lists to get subscribers who need and appreciate your
information. It may also be helpful to specialize in a certain
topic and concentrate all your learning around this topic. Then
before long you will be considered an expert, someone who
everyone wants to hear from in one form or another.

If you build this lasting relationship with a large group of
contacts, you will always have willing targeted visitors to your
sites. These repeat visitors will prove to be a great benefit for
any webmaster. You will also have a large group of targeted
prospects who will be interested in your offers and/or products.
Handle this relationship right and you will also have a large
list of potential customers, ready to open their wallets if the
price is right.

So the next time someone mentions list building, you should
realize building a large list of contacts is only the first step
and often the easiest part. In this age of Twitter and Facebook,
building a large group of contacts can be done almost overnight.
However, these contacts are useless unless you build a mutual
relationship and then and only then will you see the true benefit
of list building.