With every "guru" preaching, "The money is in the list." Are you starting to realize the importance of having your own? If not then you should really get with the program.

With tons of articles and books on how to grow your list, there are really four main things you need to know to do it efficiently.

The first is put a nice looking web form at the bottom of your site right after the content. Try to make it look like a mini capture page, you could even put a dashed box around it for looks or go to www.freelist-pro.com. There are many people out there that say when you ask for someone's information on the first page it's too soon.

You have to remember something, that visitor may only be on your site for 10 seconds. Wouldn't you want those 10 seconds spent subscribing to your newsletter? The simpler the better when it comes to opt-in forms. Just ask for the email and name, maybe even just their first name. A nice incentive is to offer some valuable bonuses just for signing up.

After they sign in their name direct them to a bonus page where you give them their bonuses.

The second is to make your website impressive in the eyes of your visitor. What would the visitor be looking for on your site? You need to have numerous high content articles and a solid design. Don't concentrate on fancy graphics because tests show that content out pulls graphics any day of the week.

Deliver value to your visitor and they will sign up for your newsletter if they think they can learn more from you. Also, make sure your website loads fast. Even though we are truly in the age of the cable modem, not everyone is up to speed yet!

The third is to provide good customer service. This truly makes the difference in most customer’s eyes. Your list should be treated like your most prized possession. Make sure you are answering questions and helping people as much as possible, they will return if they have a pleasant experience with you. Also, a return customer will spend much more than a new one and also recommend you to friends.

The fourth is crucial to your success and that is to keep the list private and spam free. If you lose trust with your customers then you will never get them back. Never sell or distribute anyone's email address EVER, this is very important or go to www.build-own-list.com. The trusting bond you have with your list must never be broken. If you are looking at quick profits by selling your list then you shouldn't be growing a list in the first place.