Whatever niche you're in you have probably gathered by now that without a significant e-mail list of potential prospects it's pretty difficult to generate sales online. This is because most people don't buy on the first visit to a Web site even if it offers exactly what they're looking for. In fact research has show in can take up to 7 or more marketing attempts before a customers gets his or her wallet out.

This being the case, it's imperative that you build up a list of prospects that you can market to on a regular basis. All the big names in Internet marketing have huge lists hence the phrase "the money is in the list" although this isn't entirely true(a truer phrase would be "the money is in the relationship you have with your list). One thing is for sure is that without a good list your dead in the water.

Why? Think about it. If you don't have a list you're at the mercy of traffic generation techniques where the system can change at the drop of a hat. Consider pay-per-click advertising. It used to be cheap for selected keywords and you could bid for about 10-15 cents a click. Now you could pay $2 -$3 or even more a click depending on your niche.

With a large and growing list YOU control the traffic. You send out one broadcast to your list from your auto-responder and depending on your click through rate you can drive hundreds or even thousands of visitors to any site on the web.

So how do you go about doing it and how do the so called "guru's" build their list into the thousands so fast. In the Internet marketing niche one of the best ways is through Giveaway events. These events are held year round and usually coincide with holiday's such as the fourth of July, Thanksgiving, etc. Essentially a group of marketers get together and agree to giveaway gifts (either their own or someone else's) in exchange for members joining their lists via their squeeze or landing pages.

A big giveaway can have hundreds of people looking to join as members take advantage of what's being offered for free. If your gifts are good and most events allow you to add at least one product, then you may receive 50 to 100 or even more subscribers from each event. Often times these sites will allow you to upgrade as a contributor. This allows you to pay a fee in return for being able to list multiple products (more products, bigger list). It may also allow you to provide a one time offer.

A one time offer, as the name suggests, will only be offered once and is usually a lot cheaper than the member could buy anywhere else. This enables the gift contributor to earn some cash from the giveaway as well as building his list.

The second technique is a form of join venture (JV) known as an ad swap. Here two marketers both with similar size lists agree to e-mail each others lists thereby building subscribers together. The problem in the past is that it needed an element of trust that both parties will indeed do this and that they are being honest about the size of their lists. This problem has recently been rectified by a site called safe swaps where Internet marketer's can join and list sizes can be verified.

Finally probably the best way to build your list is to have your own in-house affiliate program if you own your own product or Web site. This way affiliates build your list for you in the hope that they will benefit from sales of your product. A good affiliate program which offers a high percentage commission to affiliates can truly build a list at lightning speed.

Use these techniques to build your lists, find partners and generate money online. By doing so, you can excel at Internet marketing and start building lasting relationships that will produce dividends for years to come. To learn about the system I've personally used to educate myself about these techniques, click here. Often times having someone else show you how to take advantage of these opportunities is the best and fastest way to start making money online.