Creating your own marketing list is invaluable. So valuable, in fact, that if you plan on being an internet marketer, you simply must engage in regular list building. But how do you do it? It’s not hard.

List building requires that you capture an address – for the internet, an email address. In these days of rampant spam and concerns about privacy, that means you have to give someone a compelling reason to offer their email address and with it, you want to solicit their permission to send them mail. It’s called “opt-in.”

Compelling reasons for offering an email address might include things like: free demo software, free whitepapers or articles, a request for sales literature, or signing up for a newsletter. Offering these things, together with some reassurance that the email address won’t be misused is a good way to get addresses.

You’ve got an address… now what? It’s a good idea when someone sends you an email address to do two things: first, send them a confirming email by autoresponder asking them to confirm right away that they want what you were offering. This makes the list “double-opt-in;” second, send them the free thing they requested!

When you’ve accumulated a good volume of names you should make sure that you maintain certain other information associated with the name. Include for example, the date acquired, the offer under which it was acquired (free whitepaper, etc.), the first and last name, and if it’s a business, the company name. Frankly, the more information the merrier! You want this information because it will help you determine the list’s value. The data speaks to how old the address is. The offer that produced the address tells you something about the nature of the person’s response behavior and interests, and the name and company information allows you to personalize communications to them.

As internet marketing heats-up, good quality lists will be the critical weapon to the successful marketing. Don’t be caught without one!