You have been told countles times that one of the "secrets" to making money online is to own an opt-in list. In fact you know of many people who own opt-in lists and they make fortunes from them, so why is it that after following all the advice you can't make anything from your own list?

You dived straight in, picked a topic which seemed a good money earner and started building your list. You probably poured quite a lot of money into your list, and... You haven't made a single cent in profit!

After your third or fourth month the realization hit home that you're loosing money, big time. 1500 subscribers and only 20 or so respond to an offer, 30 if you offer a freebie, but nobody ever buys anything.

So what's gone wrong?

Well, diving straight in, picking a good money earner and thinking others will believe you for starters. Think about it for a bit, you generally only buy from an offer in an email if you know the author is reputable and talking from experience. You trust them and the more the author is known across the internet, the more you trust their judgment.

That Ezine you joined the other day because it seemed interesting, do you really trust the editor? Let's face it you've never heard of him before, would you buy anything on his recommendation? Probably not...

So why should any of your subscribers buy from your recommendation, after all, the first they heard of you was in the initial email you sent them and it's only three months down the road since then.

The truth is, the money's in the list only if your subscribers believe in, and trust you.

This platform of trust is like a new building and you will either add a few extra bricks to it, or remove a few bricks from it with very email you send, every forum post you make, every website you post your testimonial to.

You don't need the guru's to sing your praises, although they will when you build a responsive list that's big enough to get their financial attention.

Big lists don't just happen, they have to be built and they all start small. As you build your list you are building your reputation, so:

- Build your list and your abilities at the same time.
- Build your list through your own abilities, not other peoples.
- Be honest with yourself and your list.
- Always provide truthful unbiased information.
- Don't look at your list as a money earner.
- Treasure your list; your subscribers deserve the best.
- Always reply promptly to subscriber's correspondence.

Don't forget to build your online presence at the same time, the more people hear about you, or read about you, the more your reputation grows:

- Reply professionally to forum posts.
- Send honest professional testimonials to product owners.
- Make friends with other list owners.
- Conduct joint ventures with other marketers.

The bottom line with building profitable lists is if you treat your subscribers with respect and offer honest and true advice, they will in turn respect you and take you up on the offers you make. Remember this - nobody minds paying for information if they know it will help them and it's through your reputation that they will come to trust your judgment. That's a big responsibility; you can't afford to abuse it!