“The money is in the list”.

I realized that this phrase was the one thing I heard more often than any other since I entered the online marketing business.

The reason I heard it so frequently was because: It’s true.

You will not be able to find a successful internet marketer who doesn’t have an email list.

They all have them and use their lists extensively to create ongoing streams of profit.

Conversely, I’ve heard numerous successful marketers who bemoaned the fact that they didn’t start collecting emails when they began actively marketing.

They started collecting emails later in their careers and lost hundreds, or even thousands, of email addresses and potential customers.

And, they all regret it daily.

Your email list is your most valuable business asset. Your websites could be harmed by Google updates, your ad accounts could be shut down, but, if you had an email list, you would still have a business.

The people on your email list are solely yours. You control that list and no power (Google, Facebook) can take it away from you.

A responsive email list can be marketed to for years into the future. Internet marketer, Michael Cheney, says that for every email he sends, he earns $500-$5,000. That’s for every single email!

That’s as close to “push button money” as you’ll ever come.

List building is a skill set that every aspiring marketer must master. If you can only master one skill, make sure it’s this.

The Big Mistake

Unfortunately, many marketers are guilty of making a huge mistake with their lists.

It’s a mistake which costs them countless dollars in lost sales.

Let me illustrate what I mean. The most basic sales funnel is when traffic is sent by a marketer directly to a sales page. This is called “direct linking” and is the least effective method.

Very few, if any, sales are made and there’s no attempt to build an email list

The next method is a funnel where traffic is first sent to an opt in (or landing or squeeze) page and email addresses are captured.

The opt in page usually offers something of perceived value in exchange for the visitors’ email address. This “ethical bribe” or ”lead magnet” can be an ebook, checklist, report or a video—anything of value to the visitor.

Then the visitor is once again sent directly to the sales page. Unfortunately, this will only yield small results. The customer has not been pre-framed for the sales pitch, but rather, is hit with it out of the blue.

In addition, it often happens that the opt in page, lead magnet and sales offer are not at all congruent.

This is a huge mistake at the cost of many lost sales. Rather than leading to a sale, it often leads to the buyer’s confusion.

And, a confused mind always says “no”. It adds up to lost traffic, lost sales, lost time, lost effort and lost money.

The Solution

There’s a right way to do this.

First, remove any chance for confusion on your prospect’s part. Make certain your opt in page, lead magnet and offer are congruent. Don’t offer a free ebook on dog training and then try to sell beauty products to middle aged women.

It won’t work

Next step, and this is crucial, send your visitors to a “bridge” page. This page serves as a bridge for visitors that takes them smoothly from the opt in page to the sales page.

It pre-frames the prospect about your offer. It explains all its benefits and how it can help them reach their desired outcomes. It creates a smooth transition for the visitor and leads them to the conclusion that they should invest in your offer.

Your bridge page should also include one valuable piece of information or strategy from your product. Let the prospect know that the product contains more of the same. This is a particularly effective.

Here’s a summary of what this looks like:

• Traffic goes to your opt in page

• Your visitor is added to your email list

• Your visitor is taken to your bridge which pre-frames them for the offer

• Your visitor is taken to your sales page

You’ve now successfully added subscribers to your email list and, if done this way, made sales of your offer.

If you would like to master email marketing and learn all the secrets of creating effective email campaigns, click the button below for more important information.