Five tips for building a high-quality list that leads to sales

The number one priority of any newsletter publisher is growing the subscriber list. Why? The more people who subscribe, the more people you have who are potential customers. However, quality is equally as important as quantity. By "high-quality," I mean a list of readers who will remain with you for years, people who will eagerly look forward to your newsletter. Below are five tips for growing such a list:

1. When you network, ask people you meet if you can sign them up for your newsletter. The number one cardinal sin in networking is trying to close the sale right after meeting someone new. Rather than push your services, push your newsletter. It's a great way to have people get to know you on a "trail-basis."

2. Contact your professional trade organization for their member list.
A few trade organizations provide their chapter lists to members for free while others charge a modest fee for the national list. Once you get the list, send your colleagues a direct mail letter, with your free newsletter being the offer.

3. Recommend other good newsletters in your newsletter.
I'm a firm believer in "sharing the wealth." If you think your readers would enjoy another newsletter, by all means, recommend it. Usually people are so surprised at being positively noticed, they'll give you a reciprocal recommendation, resulting in many new subscribers.

4. For presentations, include your newsletter info on the last PowerPoint slide.
That last slide on PowerPoint presentations is valuable real estate. Don't use it to list only your name and company name. Put your newsletter URL there instead.

5. Develop a no-cost guide people can download at your site.
Offering high-value content on your site is always a good thing. Writer a press release about your no-cost guide or report and send it trade publications. Give people the option of subscribing to your newsletter at the same time they download the guide.