If you're a long-term affiliate marketer, you already know the importance of developing a list of subscribers that you contact on a consistent basis. Even if you're new to Internet Marketing, you've most likely heard the saying "the money is in the list."

It is unfortunate that ISPs/ESPs are doing so much spam blocking that some people have given up on list building altogether. They are fearful or frustrated that their message is not getting out, and that they are wasting valuable time.

If you happen to be one of these people, stop stressing and start building - faster! Email technology is getting better, and this concern is being addressed on a wide-scale basis. When you build a list the reputable way, using a double opt-in system, you have a lot less to worry about.

Here are some things you can do to increase the odds of getting your messages delivered. And, at the same time, you will increase the traffic to your site.

(1) Send a message to your list at least once every two weeks (once a week would be better) so they remember who you are. They will be more likely to open your email this way because they are used to seeing your messages in their email box.

(2) Make the emails short messages. People tend to scan emails for material they're interested in, so make it a short message, with powerful information included.

(3) Write a short line of teaser copy, give a sentence or two of your content, and then make the reader click to your site to read the rest. At your site provide the rest of the information: contextual advertising, affiliate links, etc.

Most people read their email by quickly scanning the messages. If it is a sales pitch, and they're not in the buying mood, they go on to the next message and look for something more interesting. Your message will probably be deleted in the near future.

However, if there is intriguing copy, most likely the link will be clicked on and the article will be read. You might even get lucky enough to have your email flagged for reading later.

People feel less hurried when they are reading from a web site than when they are going through email.

This means that when they get to a site, they're more likely to stay longer. This makes the person who sent the email very happy because he has been successful in his mission to attract readers to the web site. The following is what actually happened:

The reader went to the web site.

The writers' web traffic count went up.

The reader was in the correct frame of mind and visited with the intention of reading the content.

Because the reader stayed longer, the writer's “stickiness” rate went up.

The best possible scenario is that a sale is made! Either an affiliate sale or an Adsense click on the way out will make the email effort a success!