Day after day after day. Week after week.

I finally gave in and purchased his product recently (it’s in a field WAY outside marketing).

Why did I stay on his list for so long? And why did I finally pony up the cashola for his product?

It’s because he had taught me to respond. Just like he taught everyone on his list to respond.

How did he do it? Lucky for you, I’m a sharing guy.

Here are three things he did to build a responsive list…

1. He Built Rapport With His Readers

2. He Created Excitement And Anticipation

3. He Expanded His Line Of Products

Let’s look briefly at each one

1. He Built Rapport With His Readers

The guy told stories. He made it personal. Over the two years, I got to know him through his emails. And here’s the clincher…

I look forward to getting his emails! Even though I get hundreds a day, I read his first.

That’s powerful. If you can get your readers to look forward to getting your stuff, you can tap into that monee tree like a faucet.

So, build rapport with your readers by making your stuff personal.

2. He Created Excitement And Anticipation

It never failed. He told me all the time…

“Hey, watch out for what I’ve got planned next Wednesday.”

or…

“During the last week of this month, I’m gonna do something really special for you. Watch your e-mail.”

He got his list excited about things he had planned. I caught myself always wishing the day would hurry up and get here so he’d uncover his surprise for me.

My buddy Jeff Walker does this brilliantly. If you’re not on his list at…

http://www.sixinseven.com

… you should be. Read the e-mails you get from Jeff. You’ll know EXACTLY what I’m talking about here.

When you build YOUR lists, try to excite and ignite them by making ‘em look foward to your stuff.

3. He Expanded His Line Of Products

One thing that always made me envious about this guy is how fast he created products for his list. The dude was like a machine!

It seemed like he was coming out with something every couple of weeks for us to buy.

Now, this is important, so listen up here…

If you want to teach your list to RESPOND, you have to give them something to respond to over and over.

Read that last sentence again.

Give your list something to buy (either your products or affiliate products). Give them something to do (fill out surveys, tell you what they want, tell you where to stuff your latest product).

Then, do it over and over. Train your list to RESPOND.

Last Thoughts

Building lists is great. But, if you build a dead list, you’re just wasting your time.

You have to build RESPONSIVE lists. You want people to WANT to buy your stuff. You want them to look forward to buying your stuff.

I have a friend who makes more moolah with his list of under 1,000 than other knuckleheads make with lists of 100,000.

I’m serious.

A responsive list can support your entire business.

1. Partner with large email database list owners and offer to cross promote each oher. The list owner will advertise your event, product, or service to their email database and you’ll offer to do the same to your list.

2. Create your own blog which is an online journal with frequently updated posts to entertain and excite existing and potential customers. It’s more personal and immediate then a website and keeps people engaged and hopefully coming back for more. You can even create one for free at http://www.blogger.com.

3. If you want to increase word-of-mouth fast, do something beyond normal industry expectations. For example, Mr. Lube offers fast and affordable tune-up service to customers right on the spot, without having to leave the car, while offering coffee, cappuccino, and a fresh newspaper.

4. Always ask happy clients for endorsements or testimonials and put them on your website and other marketing collateral. They’re worth their weight in gold. Try to get some recognizable names in your community for additional cachet.

5. Put a special offer or product advertorial on every invoice and statement you send out. Likewise, you can also negotiate a deal with another company to advertise your product or service on all their invoices for a percentage of revenues from placed orders.

6. Make your business cards stand out and be natural keepers. Offer important information on the back such as emergency phone numbers, a map, or special dates to remember. Have a slogan that offers a powerful benefit statement to your prospective customer.

7. Offer special bonus packages with your product or service offering. Get corporate sponsors to give away products as part of the bonus package in exchange for free exposure.

8. Align your business with a cause or charity. Give back to your community. Customers appreciate doing business with companies that are bettering their communities and the environment and being good corporate citizens.

9. Find an angle that makes your work controversial. The banning of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, reviewed as “trashy and vicious,” was a blessing in disguise. Twain made a poster advertising the ban, which significantly increased sales.

10. Post frequently in online message boards/forums relevant to your business or expertise. Include your signature and offer tips and valuable advice. Eventually you will begin gaining word-of-mouth exposure as a leader in your field. Posting messages with your company information also helps to increase your search engine rankings and drive traffic to your site.