The term 'opt-in' should already be familiar. Briefly, it's when an interested party exchanges his/her name and email address for requested information (a free report, a free mini-course, monthly ezine, etc.). By 'opting-in', or volunteering their email address, a person has given you permission to send them additional information and offers via email.

However, and this is key, to build a strong opt-in list, you must offer your prospects something of value. People are too busy these days, and they are being bombarded by information constantly. To break through clutter, your information must be perceived as important and timely. Position your product or service as a solution to a current problem, concern or pain, and you have a much better chance of creating a life-long customer.

Spam - The 'Dark Side' of Internet Marketing

ONLY SEND EMAILS TO THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN YOU PERMISSION TO DO SO, by responding to a legitimate opt-in offer! To not do so is to spam, and risk sudden suspension of your web site and ISP account. In a word, don't.

That said, you must think creatively for ways to capture those golden names and email addresses. Include fields for ezine sign-ups on every page of your site, or add a simple form that will automatically capture name/email addresses. If you offer free information in exchange, connect these sign-up opportunities with an autoresponder (capturing names into a mailing list) and your prospect can be sent requested information instantaneously, saving a lot of time and hassle.

Here are some more ideas for building your opt-in list. In exchange for prospects giving you a contact name and email address, you could:

*Offer to notify them when updates happen on your website, or when there are important changes in your industry or its resources (becoming THE source of targeted information for your clients)

*Offer to contact them when a special promotion runs on a product or service

*Offer a daily tip/weekly/monthly or quarterly newsletter (this is an extremely popular and effective, since you are providing people with free and valuable information. It also establishes your credibility as an expert in your chosen field)

*Provide a special report (or series of special reports or a series of 'mini-courses') on a topic of interest

*Register your ezine with ezine directories: manually, at http://www.freezineweb.com/more-directories.html or with automated ezine submission software at eZineAnnouncer (http://wetrack.it/eza/af.citi?514)

To bring in off-site traffic to build your list, you could:

*Write a testimonial for your favorite product, in exchange for your name and link to your website being noted at bottom *Write an article and submit it to other like-minded ezines to publish, including a compelling 4-6 line resource box at bottom stating your name, credentials, and web site address

*After your list is large enough to calculate your conversion rate/return on investment (ROI) - around 500 mark - you could purchase additional traffic at co-registration sites. Some to investigate: http://www.list-builder.com, http://www.zmedia.com and http://www.sparklist.com

Remember, The Gold Is In The List!

Once you have built a targeted, opt-in email list, you now have a pool of prospects to market to. Always respect your list, and treat it like goldmine it is. Vow to only provide quality and value, and you will be on your way towards building a profitable business on Internet!

Targeting your niche market via search engines can be a very efficient and effective way of pinpointing your visitors with most potential to buy your products and services. With a little planning, you can determine exactly who visits your site and who doesn’t. How? Well, by using search terms throughout your site that are geared specifically towards your own niche markets. We’re going to show you how to do it right now.

Take a minute to write down specific markets your products and services are aimed at. Now drill down even further. Do you service only one country, State or city? Are you mainly targeting men in their twenties? Parents? Low-income earners?

To give you an example, let’s take a fictional florist located in Miami, Florida who specializes in wedding bouquets. Their target markets would be something like this:

- women in their early to late twenties - people living in Miami and surrounding suburbs - brides-to-be living in Miami and surrounding suburbs - dating males - couples (especially around Valentine’s Day)

There are probably more potential markets than this, but let’s stop there. Ok, now that you have narrowed down your target market/s, try to get inside their heads. If you were a single parent/ frequent traveler/ retiree, what would YOU type in to search engines to find goods and services offered on your own site?

Start writing down these search terms as they come to mind. Using our florist example again, relevant search terms could include:

- flowers - roses - bouquets - Valentine’s Day - wedding flowers - florists - gifts