If you’ve been around internet marketing long enough, one thing you’ve probably heard over and over again is – the money is in the list!

Heck, most people online don’t have a clue as to what that really means. When I first started online, I was oblivious as to building a list.

Of course, the real question is – can a list be productive and generate revenue?

All things considered, it’s the positive relationship with a list that truly matters. Some marketers with a small responsive list can often out perform others who are sitting on lists of thousands of people.

How can that even work?

Simply put, a responsive list is one that exists through trust and loyalty. It’s real people and real feelings that make up your list. Contrary to what some marketers believe or what they might have been taught, the people on your list are not numbers or statistics. That’s why a lot of marketers fall short in their efforts because they continually focus on the size of their list and ignore the quality of it.

One of the biggest steps towards online success is to be a marketer who provides value. Literally speaking, your presence online is to run a business and be profitable. Well guess what, most people who subscribe to your list already have an understanding of this, and if you’ve done your homework and provide value to them, they’ll eventually gain your trust and look closer at your recommendations.

If you’re really good at providing value and building a relationship, some of your list members may purchase your recommendations as a support mechanism. But, in order to reach this point with your email marketing, you’ll need to focus on your list members and treat them like actual people. Of course, if you fail to focus on what truly matters, you could end up with some common email marketing mistakes that many online marketers constantly make.

If you happen to make these mistakes, not only do you distance yourself from your list, but you’ll also reduce the trust factor you need to build. Let’s be clear with this, if you can’t build any trust with your list, your chances of generating revenue will be slim. Trust is everything.

Creating false subject lines in your emails

I’m sure most of us have seen these before, yet, it’s still a common tactic used, not only by marketers, but others as well. It’s all designed to create urgency or interest to convince people to open their email. Such things as “It’s Your Last Opportunity” “You Have A Sale” “We Need More Information” “Your Account Is in Danger.” The list goes on and on. Some can be laughable, others half-baked, but no matter what, they’re misleading. This tactic is simply a poor effort at getting people to open emails.

If your email marketing skills rely on these tactics, your continued efforts of marketing online could be in jeopardy.

A subject line is something that draws curiosity or interest. Not something that causes people to stress and open emails, only to find out that you’re advertising another product they don’t want or need. Remember, misleading people is a short-term path to failure with online marketing.

Using alternate ‘From’ address

This is a strategy that can be seen a lot today. In fact, many product producers use this strategy frequently. Some marketers often change the from address or even the name because their original list has a lot of unopen rates. There could be many reasons for this, bad promotional tactics, worthless products, constant promotions, or simply hype.

Let’s face it, your subscribers seek value. Maybe they’re looking for help with a particular subject or they just want to learn something new. It doesn’t matter what it is, nobody likes the idea of receiving countless emails and promotions. If you think all you need to do is change the name or the from address of your emails, it’s only going to cause confusion and eventually problems.

Look at it this way, how can you trust a person that uses deceptive tactics just to get your attention?

Lengthy emails don’t work

If you’re anything like me, you probably hate getting those long promotional emails. So, how long does an email need to be? Only as long as it actually needs to be. Get to the point. Make it simple. And avoid the hype.

Forgetting to format your email

Anyone who opens your email shouldn’t have to struggle to read it. Reading from screens is often more challenging versus that from print on paper. Also, use an acceptable font that is not too small and avoid being fancy by using a font that is cursive.

Keep things simple.

Forgetting to be aware of your list

The MMO niche can be one of the most forgiving when it comes to email marketing. Within this niche, marketers sometimes email multiple times each day with offers. It’s really not an acceptable practice, but a majority of the audience is often more accepting. However, if this practice is utilized within another niche such as self-help or gardening, subscribers may get a little ticked at the constant emails.

That’s why it’s important to be aware of your list members. Get to know them and try to understand them. If you experience large unsubscribe rates, try reducing the amount of email you send out. Open rates declining? If they are, test your email frequency.

This can easily be something right or wrong for you. It’s all about testing to see what works and what doesn’t. If you make the assumption that all marketers are the same and that’s just the way that it’s done, mistakes will occur. If you believe that it’s better to send email after email in order to get results, you’re definitely headed for a challenge. Get to know your list and make a commitment to understand the people on your list. Do this… and your email marketing efforts will get better.

I’m sure there are plenty of other mistakes with email marketing that you should avoid. Just keep in mind, treat your list members like you would like to be treated. And remember what I mentioned above, people are people and they should be respected. Imagine this, if you treat them good, they’ll do the same for you. How easy is that?