That’s right!

I’m advising…no I’m demanding that you to stop wasting your valuable time and hard-earned money on list-building right now!

Why?

Because it’s probably not working for you the way you thought it would AND I’ve got something better for you. Something that will be much less hard work and make you a lot more money over the course of your business.

Seth Godin coined the term ‘Tribe’.

Dan Kennedy uses “Herd”.

I’ve also heard the term “Raving Fan”…whatever you call it, you’ve got to stop thinking about people as names on a list and start finding out about what ‘your people’ are passionate about, what values they hold true and most importantly what agreements they adhere to when they go from being an ‘interested prospect’ to a ‘customer for life’. (Check out the March 2011 Gold Letter page 4 for more on Process).

The Bad News

Maybe that seems like more work.

If you notice above I didn’t say it wouldn’t be work-I just said it wouldn’t be HARD work. This exercise takes more mental fortitude, something which most of your competitors won’t want to strain themselves with-but are more than willing to throw more wasted money at the situation.

But what if you’ve heard… ‘the money is in the list’.

Listen, if I handed you ANY list to start promoting yourself or your offer to would you immediately start raking in the dough? Probably not.  It’s a delicate balance of message, media and market to make large sums of money. While fast cash can be made from a cold list and a weak brand-long term riches are in niches where there is a strong tribe or herd that can be corralled.

The Good News

With this idea that a list is a tribe or a herd then you don’t need a large list. You can have a very small list of really dedicated and loyal fans or followers and still be able to bring in a consistent profit each month.

To Your Increased Online Visibility and Profitability,

Mande White, MBA

GKIC Miami Chapter Marketing Director