We've all heard it that in order to stay in business online you need to build a Targeted 'Opt-In' list.

Well... I truly have to agree with that simply because this is where you'll always have a consistent source of FREE Targeted traffic(also referred to as 'Sticky Traffic') to promote your offers or related information to for years to come.

It just makes sense, wouldn't you say?

And, we all know that 'Email' is where $MONEY$ is truly made when it comes to marketing your business online because it gives You ability to Follow-Up your potential customers until they decide to buy from You.

But, problem that usually takes place is that people don't know where to start when it comes to building there own targeted Opt-In list.

Now, for those of you that are new Internet marketing and don't know what a 'Opt-In' list is, here's a quick definition:

An 'Opt-In' list is simply a database of peoples Names and Email Addresses that have subscribed to an email list via a web form giving that list owner permission to send them periodic emails on topic they are interested in.

Notice how I said, "giving that list owner permission to send them email".

When they subscribe to your Opt-In list they are giving You permission to send them offers or related information on topic they are interested in, this is known as 'Permission Email Marketing'.

This is ABSOLUTE safest form of email marketing where You won't get accused of 'SPAM'.

This is very important that You understand this from beginning.

So, now that you have a clear idea in your mind of what an Opt-In list is and how it will benefit You and your business, I guess it's time to share with you simple 'Ten Step Process' that I have put together for you on How-To build your own targeted Opt-In list that you can email your offers to at any given time for $Profit$.

Step #1. Pick your Target market or Niche.

This is a very important step because this is where you need to figure out who your target market is going to be for Product or Service your going to offer.

So, for example, if I was interested in selling a book related to Internet Marketing, well then, my target market would be Internet Marketing related.

Step #2. Can your Target market or Niche be reach online?

This step is where you need to do a little research on whether or not your particular target market can be reached online.

In order to do this you need to do some keyword research using keywords related to your target market.

You can do this by using Overture keyword research tool located at URL I've provided below.

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Simply type in keywords related to your target market in form provided.

This will give you a detailed history of how many searches have been made in last 30 days on keywords related to your target market.

As a general rule, if your targeted keywords aren't pulling in 15,000 or more searches per month, then this is a market I wouldn't pursue simply because there isn't much demand for it.

Step #3. Are they making money in this Niche?

This is where you need to do some research on your competition to see if people are spending any money in this Niche.

You can do this by going to Google at http://www.google.com and type in your targeted keywords related to your Niche in form provided.

This will give you a list of search results.

Those results are your competition, but even more important, to right you'll notice little ads.

These are paid ads offered through Google Adwords.

This means that somebody is willing to pay to advertise and is paying attention to this particular Niche and must be making money if they're willing to pay for advertising.

That's good news for you.

Step #4. Use Forums to find your Target markets problems.

Forums are a great place to find out exactly what your potential customers TOP problems are by simply scanning there posts and looking for most common threads.

By doing this you'll be able to know right away what your target markets TOP problems are and how you can help solve there problem.

If you are going to have a web presence for your small business, it only makes sense that it should actually help you get more business. In order to do so, your website design should focus on performing only one function – and that’s to convey your sales message to your site visitors in an effective and efficient manner.

No matter what your web designer tells you, simplicity is best when building your small business website. While having a website with lots of bright colors and flashy interactive graphics might win web design awards, it will probably not help you win customers. In fact, more complicated your web design, higher risk that your sales message will be lost amidst all fancy bells and whistles on your site.

For most small businesses, a simple and elegant four or five page website is all they need to get job done. As an added bonus, such sites are inexpensive when compared to flashier multimedia sites. If you want your small business website to increase your profits instead of emptying your pocketbook, pay close attention to following design guidelines when you build your site.

Make Your Website Easy to Read In order for your website to get sales and/or leads, your small business website design needs to be user and consumer-friendly - that means it needs to be easy to read. So, short sentences and paragraphs, dark text on white (or very, very light) backgrounds and lots of white space should be norm.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll say it again - purpose of having a website for your small business isn’t to win design awards. It’s to convey information about your product or service that guides consumer toward making a buying decision in your favor.

If you think that dark websites and colored text on colored backgrounds looks better, you may be right. However, as I mentioned earlier loud colors and excessive graphics only serve to distract attention from sales message contained in your site content and makes your site harder to read. Remember: keep it simple and you’ll keep sale.