As I went about my daily surfing I took every opportunity to subscribe to ‘10 Steps To This' and ‘7 Ways To That'
And what about the free downloads? It is a well known list building technique to offer a free e-book as an incentive to release your name and email address, and while this is a perfectly legitimate system, what it does is add fuel to the fire of your enthusiasm.
In the beginning I found all these newsletters to be a great way to access information and find out what the next big thing was or to get some free tips on how to improve my ad copy or grow my list. But as time went on I began to notice a few things.
Many of the lists that I belonged to started to send out very similar content in their newsletters. I found that as soon as I had just finished reading about why I should visit this site and sign up for X I would have another email from another guru advising me to do exactly the same thing.
While this did help to strengthen the message I really wasn't interested in reading yet another 5 minute story just to be told the same thing twice (or more).
Also as time went on my inbox became increasing filled with the names of many people that I did not recognise. Clearly I had subscribed to their newsletter at some point and for some reason but with so many emails coming in it was hard to remember what it was I thought I could learn from this person.
And as the days went by the sheer volume of emails I received seemed to sky rocket – it can be very daunting to open up your email client and find that you have over 100 emails waiting to be read – Not to mention the time it takes to filter through them all before you actually find anything of real value to your needs.
Another thing I noticed is that as the number of legitimate emails I received increased so did the amount of spam I received.
Most people will tell you when you sign up with them that they hold your privacy in a very high regard and wont share your details with anyone, but the truth of the matter is that there will always be people who will find a way to get your name and email address from these lists and before you know it you are being bombarded with ads for diet pills and Viagra and requests from overseas to open up a bank account for someone who will then share their millions with you – Yeah right!
Luckily I have quite a good email client and they have a great spam filter and I highly recommend that you find yourself a similar service because I'm sure we can all find better ways to spend our time.
My advice to anyone finding themselves in a similar position is to stop and take a step back before you give your details to anyone. Yes there are a lot of very useful newsletters out there that really can help you to move your online business forward but instead of jumping in feet first stop and think if this information really is right for you.
Think about your business and what you and it need.
• What kind of information do you want to have access to?
• How specific to your niche do you need that information to be?
• Where is the best place to get that information from?
Then once you have those answers for yourself do a search online and find 3 or 4 newsletters in that category that you think could help you.
Your next step is then just to do a little research on the sources/writers of that information and decide who you think will be able to offer you the best quality.
If you find yourself spending half your day weeding through a multitude of emails from names that you do not remember then its time to clear the garden.
Go through and unsubscribe yourself from the lists that really don't offer you any substance and leave yourself only with that which will help you to propel your business forward.
The more specific to your field of interest the better. For example if your business is involved in collectables and you need to know how to build a responsive email list then do a search for those keywords and find advice from someone who is already working in that field and has had success in building their own high quality list.
That way you'll know that the information you get will be specific to your business and may also supply you with other nuggets of valuable knowledge that you would not otherwise have been privy to.
