Ever since I started writing this Skills 2 Money series we’ve talked about key marketing concepts and lead generation. Over the past week the focus was mostly on e-mail marketing and converting leads.

That’s all great and dandy but what good is it, if we’re NOT building a relationship our list and nurturing it at the same time.

Yes…this takes time, effort, and patience. But it’s what we need to do if we want to start getting consumers to pull out their Mastercards, Amex’s, and Visssssa’s to buy our stuff.

If this sound to complicated and time consuming, no worries. When you start your e-mail marketing campaign it will start smoothing out. Sending emails doesn’t have to be complicated. Actually short messages work better on email, so let’s do this.

Fact: According to the Direct Marketing Association email marketing will return $43 per dollar invested. And no other marketing is that effective.

Six Ways to Build Your Email List

Consistent Communication

With so many companies, bloggers, marketers having lists out there, you might not be the only person trying to get in their inbox. Keeping on top of their inbox, keeps you on top of their mind. Next time they need someone in your field, guess who their gonna call first? The person who sent that boring, long email months ago, or the one who’s been giving me great tips, valuable information, and staying in contact with me on a weekly basis?

Pretty up those email

Branding isn’t everything, but it’s something. When I say think of a big Yellow M with and a clown…What are you thinking of? Branding matters (thank you Pamela Wilson). Use images, graphics, colors, logos whatever you got to stay memorable to your prospects. Not only does it build trust, but makes you unique and separate you from the rest.

Be Human

A great way to start building a relationship is by fostering a personal connection. A big reason reason to why people buy Apple(™) products is not because their so good, but because of what they believe in and what they stand for. Offering the latest news, updates, photos, links and personal stories humanizes you and builds trust. But always remind them of your products and services.

Customize it to Their Needs

Not every one of your leads is going to have the same purposes and attitude. Try sending out different messages to a group. For example, ask them: what are you struggling with now? What can I do to help you right now? Hey if you can figure out what their age, sex, and where they live, you can really tailor the message. See the power of email?

Collect the data

A big mistake noobies make is they just send away and don’t analyze. By using a good email service provider, you can get data on how many people opened your email, how many clicked on your links, retweeted, etc…This give you the power to know what people liked and how to keep your list happy.

Grab them Everywhere

That’s right! Anywhere and everywhere you can have your forms is important. Unless getting more leads isn’t your goal. On your website try to make it easy for people to see email forms. Using complementary colors to attract attention to your forms works great.

Don’t forget that it’s not all about the money. These are peoples time and information you’re getting.

They are real people with real names, don’t waste their valuable time, and don’t fill their inboxes with spam.

If they’ve given you permission to contact them, the least you can do is respect that relationship. These are just six ways you can build and nurture a successful email list.

Everyone one of these tips has helped me grow my lists exponentially and I know if you apply these they will do the same for you.

Is there a reason why you haven’t used email marketing? Let me know in the comments.