"I rarely encourage clients to sell via one-step, because leads; people who've raised their hands can have so much value worked well over time." - Dan Kennedy.

There's an absolute wealth of marketing wisdom in Dan's statement. It's impossible to do justice to all of it in this short space. So lets get into it and give you some important food for thought...

You'll decide to either market to a list, or not. And I know that some marketers just don't want to be bothered with list generation, for a variety of reasons. That's fine. So if you're sitting on the fence about it... just understand that you can be walking away from a LOT of money if you don't have a list.

If you take your business seriously, then you already know the life-time value of your customers. How much revenue the average customer will bring to you over the time they're doing business with you.

Armed with that knowledge, you're able to know exactly how much you can spend to acquire new leads. The smartest marketers know how to break-even to build their lists. And they also know how much that new lead will be worth over time.

Notice how Dan worded his statement...

"...so much value worked well over time."

The key phrase there is, 'worked well.' I'll tell you something. Many businesses flat out do not get it in that area. When their lists either die from attrition, or become unresponsive, it becomes the business kiss of death. And then they wonder what happened.

Simply no excuse for it because it's SO easy to prevent. You just need to know how to do that.

I'm sure many of you know about the Law of Reciprocity. Simply stated, giving someone something... or doing something for another person, will compel them to feel obligated to do something for you. Of course, that 'something' for you is giving you business.

But stop and think about this for a moment...

People online have come to expect the freebie. The free report, white paper, short ebook... whatever, in exchange for contact information and your continued marketing efforts. It has become a standard for doing business online. Unfortunately this expectation has only served to dilute, if not eliminate, the power of reciprocity. And if your freebie is poor, then you can almost forget any compelling feelings to give you something in return. You'll immediately become bland and boring because you'll be lumped in that vague group of online businesses that all look the same. Or worse...

People will label you as a scam, or just someone who wants to make a fast buck. But...

All is certainly not lost... IF you provide good quality information. And you can still harness reciprocity's power in your marketing. How?

By continuing to provide information of high perceived value in your follow-up emails. But do it with a twist and some common sense. Just think about human nature and it'll become clear.

First... spark intrigue. Create some suspense and the desire for more. One way to do that is by NOT revealing everything. Don't give the farm away in your free reports and ebooks. Now this isn't anything new. But I'll tell you something I've seen a lot.

I've seen free reports and ebooks that offered lots of good information. But they failed to create any burning desire. There was no sense of intrigue. No sense of, "I gotta know more about this NOW!"

Let me ask you... when you see a newspaper ad selling whatever, and there's a picture of an attractive woman wearing a bikini... does that picture make you want to buy?

NO! Probably doesn't. You see that so much people become blind to it... for the most part. It has no selling value. Or, for lots of guys maybe it might catch their attention. They might check out the hot girl and then move on.

You can be regarded as a respectful, professional marketer simply by treating your list with respect. That means NOT bombarding with a constant stream of, "You Gotta Check This Out NOW!" Don't beat them up with constant, hard selling.

Keep a continuous rapport with them. Talk to them. Give them substance and good information while sparking an intense desire to know more. Share your self with them and they'll come to think of you as something more than a marketer.

I've been marketing to lists for many years. And I've had subscribers stay with me for almost as long. It's a skill you can learn and develop. And done right, with the right backend offers... you'll take your bottom line to whole new levels.

Copyright (c) 2008 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.