Everyone involved with internet business will tell you how important list building is and why you cannot succeed without a good list. However, ask them what a list is (or should be) and how it should be used and many of them will be at a loss. If list building is to be explained, the best way to do it will be to describe a list as a database of people who would be interested in the goods or services you are selling and list building as the process of expanding your base of potential customers. In other words, your list is the market you target and list building is growing that market.

The reason why people come to your site (how they come there is another subject) is because they find something there that interests them, and they want to learn more. However, the interest of a visitor does not automatically translate into a sale; as a matter of fact, the first contact almost never ends up with a sale.

The way to get sales is by building up your brand (your website and business, in other words) and the way to do this is by constantly reminding people who you are, what you have to offer and how buying from you is better than buying from anywhere else. To do this you will need to be in regular contact with them and keep sending them information that will excite their interest along with reasons why they can satisfy their need by buying from you.

A website is a faceless entity in the cyber world and to get someone to pay money to it, they will need to have trust and this can only be created by constantly offering information of value and reason why they should buy from you. The email addresses of the people you are in communication with is your list and is the most vital marketing tool you have.

Many rookies to eCommerce mistakenly think that when it comes to lists, size is all that matters. Always remember that it is not the size of the list that matters but how focused it is. There is no point in having a list of 10,000 addresses for business selling skis online if 9,900 of them are people who live in the tropics.

Spend time learning list building techniques and focus on how to build up a list of people who are really interested in what you have to sell. A conversion rate of 20% on a list of 1,000 names is better than having a conversion of 1% on a list of 10,000.