Newbies at Information Marketing are taught that "the money is in the list". But is this really true or should we change this to read that the money is in the relationship that you build with the people on that list? The latter is, I have to say, much more in keeping with my view.

My view is that a big list should not be the primary aim of information marketers. The focus should be on a list with which you have a great relationship with, who trust you and will then buy from you seems to my way of thinking, a better aim.

So, size doesn't matter, instead I believe we should still be looking at the profit that we get per subscriber. Having said that, however, we really must avoid the trap that many internet marketers tumble in to, where they see those people, that have signed up to their autoresponder series looking for help and guidance, as nothing more than prospects to be sold to.

There would seem to be two camps out there, with two different business models.

Blueprint Model 1

Here the principle is to make as many folk as you can sign up to your autoresponder list as it is possible to do. Next you email them often, perhaps even on a daily basis, with your promotions. You understand fully that this model of operating will mean many of the list getting fed up and that they will unsubscribe very quickly, or just stop reading your emails when they get delivered. You've not built any long term relationship with the list which means that you will need to keep replacing subscribers that drop out with new ones.

Model 2

The focus here is on inviting people to sign up to your list where you provide them with some value that they appreciate. This is aimed at building up some trust and then, when this is established, you make a few related offers to them.

So what are the differences to your business?

In the first example the aim is for a speedy short term gain. The high drop off rate from the list means that you are constantly needing to add people to make up for those who depart.

In the case of the second model you understand right from the start that you can expect lower short term profits. In the long run you should, however, expect to make much greater profits from a loyal subscriber base. Because more people are remaining with you and, hopefully also recommending you to others, should mean that your list building activities, although still a necessary part of your business, will not have to feature as large in the mix.

You still need to crunch your numbers, however. Pay attention to: New subscribers to your list; the opening rate of your messages; the clicks they make from links in your email messages; unsubscribe rates and the profit generated per subscriber.

So, in a nutshell, this is the two different ways to build a list and making money from them using an autoresponder email series.