(Of course there's third kind -- business owner who brings in specialist and actually acts on his suggestions -- but these types are too few to mention, as evidenced by too-few outstanding brands on Internet today.)

But Maybe You're The Fourth Type...

That is, you KNOW you need a specialist for many of your important business functions, but you just can't afford them right now. What can you do in meantime?

You can do as I do, and try these 3 simple steps:

ASK!

Sooner or later you'll be needing services outside of your expertise. And once you accept these services, you'll be opening yourself up to new opportunities!

For instance, you can maximize your interaction with your service providers by making them your sort-of consultants as well. They're bound to be authorities in their field, after all, and you're already in a business relationship together.

Ask them questions (no matter how stupid they sound), and seek their guidance (no matter how stupid you'll seem to look).

As long as you make it clear that you just want help in deciding what's best for you, and as long as they're sincere about helping their clients (like you!) succeed, then they shouldn't mind your requests.

Truth is, I personally WISH that more clients would ask more questions about packages I offer at Guaranteed-Hits.Com.

Although I already give them easy-to-choose-from packages on my site, I could help clients so much more if they would just ASK me questions. If they told me EXACTLY what they needed, then I could more easily SOLVE all non-traffic problems they have.

After all, guaranteed hits service may have a price -- but consultation with me is always FREE.

(And now that you know that, remember to ask me your questions via email at TatianaV@chello.nl)

=)

Next...

LISTEN!

Remember: there will always be times when advice you hear won't SEEM like such good advice at all (like root canals and broccoli soup).

But if they truly come from experts (and will ideally be supported by others in field) then best thing you can do is to believe them and TRY.

LEARN!

Finally, keep in mind that all of life (and all of business) is a learning process.

Everyday we keep trying things, and we observe whether they create positive or negative effects.

Then we either do them again (if effect was positive) or change strategies (if effect was negative).

Either way, we always need to re-asses where we are at each point in our lives, and then take necessary steps to move forward.

Success and failure, after all, are not definitions for this person or that. They are simply places we all visit from time to time, giving us endless choice of where we really want to stay.

P.S. "But wait a minute!" you say, "You haven't told me biggest-mistake-I'm-supposed-to-avoid yet!"

Well actually, I already HAVE.

The mistake is "not asking." Because not asking means "not listening," and not listening means "not learning" -- and ultimately never finding out what's best for you and your business.

I hope you listened and learned from that.

And by way, thank you for asking. =)

© Tatiana Velitchkov

Considering that a signature line is an important part of any solo sales letter that you may send, promote your list in that fashion as well.

5. Use pop-up windows on your site to promote your list.

While you hear it said that pop-up windows aggravate many visitors, it seems to be primarily unrelated pop-ups from other sites that cause most disdain.

A small 400 X 400 pop-up window that promotes your list, your incentive items, or your newsletter will generally be well received by a visitor to your website. After all, she has already expressed an interest simply by visiting.

Our own testing has proven that a tastefully done pop-up window with a sign-up box included will pull as much as 80% more response than a stationary sign-up box on any webpage.

6. Joint venture with other list owners.

Subscribe to lists of other marketer's who have a common business focus with you. Read newsletters, ads and updates to decide which of list owners you wish to become involved with.

Then contact each one, offering to recommend their list to your list, in return for their doing same for you. This technique is sometimes referred to as 'ad-swapping' and is a relatively common practice among newsletter and ezine publishers. However, we do recommend that you investigate quality of material published by any list owner before you involve yourself.

7. Aggressively submit to list directories.

This technique will not normally bring in floods of new subscribers, but it is a tried and true method of consistently increasing your list.

Enter an online search in Yahoo or any major search engine using search terms 'newsletter directory,' 'ezine directory,' and 'list directory.' Your search will return dozens of resource sites where you can promote your list for additional exposure. In most cases, your only investment will be your time.

These are not only workable techniques for building your own opt-in mailing list. Oftentimes, new and innovative idea is one that gains most subscribers. So feel free to use your own imagination and ingenuity to augment these techniques or devise completely new ones. You will be rewarded handsomely in long run.