That’s only partially true, and many Information Marketers fail because they miss one key factor:

The money is in the relationship with the list.

As a marketer, you have to contend with prospects who’ve grown accustomed to getting useless information from all over the place.  Some people release products that don’t do anything to help their clients because they’re focused entirely on making sales instead of taking care of the people responsible for those sales.

If that’s your plan of attack, this article won’t help you.

In all of your business efforts, it’s absolutely essential that you provide value to your audience.  You have to show them that you care about them and not just about getting paid.

In order to have a responsive list of clients and prospects, people who want to hear from you and look forward to receiving your messages, you must make a conscious decision to put forth the effort necessary to build solid relationships with them.

Building relationships with your audience is not difficult.  It simply takes time and effort and a genuine desire to help them.  Remember these three rules - and follow them:

Perception is Reality

When someone joins your mailing list, immediately send them a personal message to let them know what they can expect and how consuming every message from you will be of great benefit to them.  Your welcome message sets the tone for everything you do for the duration of the relationship.  If you are truly focused on helping your clients, but that doesn’t come across in your messages, you’ll be perceived as just one of the masses.  And that perception is the reality in the eyes of your reader.  Make a conscious effort to ensure everything you do shows them that you are the kind of person they would want to do business with.

Show Them You Care

Ask your clients and prospects what they care about.  Draw them into interaction with you so that it becomes a two-way communication.  If they need help, give it to them.  If they’re excited about a breakthrough, celebrate it with them.  Do this periodically so that your clients grow accustomed to exchanging information with you.  The more your subscribers communicate with you, the more they will realize they can trust you.

Write Personally

Relationships become strong when people see you as a real person and not a machine.  That comes from sharing yourself.  When your write to your clients and subscribers, write to one person.  Include personal stories in your communications and completely get rid of the word “we”.  Focus on helping your clients and prospects reach their goals and solve their problems, and they will listen to you.

Three simple rules, but following them will solidify your relationship with your clients and prospects.  Follow them faithfully, and watch your business grow.

Here are 10 tips to gaining – and keeping – your clients’ and prospects’ trust.

1.    Be honest.  Enough said.

2.    Demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about.  Send out helpful tips on a regular basis.  Use videos on your websites to show your subscribers how to do things.  Provide high-quality articles with good content.  Most importantly, develop products that give them results!

3.    Offer and honor guarantees.  You need to stand behind your product and let your clients know that you genuinely believe you can help them.  If for any reason a client is dissatisfied, give them their money back.  Develop a reputation as someone it’s a pleasure to do business with.

4.    Make it quick and easy to opt out of your mailing list.  Not only is it the law for online mailing lists, but it’s also just good business practice.  Your goal is to market to people who are interested in your solutions and recommendations.  If someone wants to leave your list, that’s a good thing!  That keeps you from spending time on someone who isn’t really a viable prospect.  Of course, if people start leaving your list in droves, that’s definitely not a good thing and you need to find out what’s going on.

5.    Give free information, tools, and resources.  To be successful, you will need to focus on truly helping other people.  Sometimes that means you give something away that will help them and ignore getting paid for it.  Believe it or not, knowing that your focus is on helping them makes them willing to spend more money with you when you ask.

6.    Ask your subscribers what they want, and give it to them.  If several of your subscribers give you feedback, and you don’t do anything with it, they will feel ignored, and the trust factor drops drastically.  Listen to them; that’s really the only way to know what they want.

7.    Protect their information.  Do not share your mailing list with anyone, at any time, for any reason.  Your subscribers raised their hands and said they wanted to hear from you.  That does not mean they want to hear from Joe Marketer down the street.

8.    Share yourself.  Let your subscribers get to know you.  In your promotional materials, give them little tidbits about you, your family, your upcoming vacation, or any other interesting tidbit.  Share your humor and the things that touch you.  Don’t fill your marketing messages with “me me me,” but do let them know who you are.

9.    Spend some time every month doing research into what’s happening in your field, and talk about that in your communications with your subscribers.  Warn them about issues that might affect them, clue them in on new and innovative ideas, teach them new ways to apply things.

10.    Be consistent.  If you say you’re going to do something, then do it.  If something happens that will prevent you from following through on a promise, tell them!  Once you’ve set an expectation, be sure to meet it.

Establishing and maintaining trust is an ongoing process.  Once you’ve gained the trust of your subscribers, nurture it.  Do everything you can to reinforce it because it means the difference between sales and getting a part-time job at Sam’s Mini Mart.

List building encompasses all of those things you do every day to:

•    Find targeted prospects by getting your message in front of the right people.

•    Put them on your prospect list by enticing them to sign up.

•    Put them on your customer list by persuading them to make a purchase.

•    Put them on your VIP list by convincing them to spend even more with you.

Simply put, list building is your business.

Here are three powerful but rarely implemented ideas to help you move your subscribers from your prospect list to your VIP list:

1.    Free Consultation

Offer all of your prospects (and perhaps some of your clients) a free telephone consultation to help them work through their most challenging issue.

The offer can be part of your mailing list sign up process, or you might want to send out the offer for a consultation as part of your regular mail or e-mail campaign.  You could also simply drop a postcard in the mail and tell them how to get their free session.

It’s easy to set up a form on your website for them to register and tell you when they’re available so you’ll be able to set appointments with them.  Or you can have them call in to your call center to set the appointment.

The free consultation gives you true interaction with your client or prospect so they really feel a connection with you.  It opens the door for you to really help them immediately.  It also gives you the opportunity to find out what kinds of products and services will satisfy their wants and needs, so you can completely focus your marketing and truly help them.

2.    Birthday Club

Once someone has made a purchase from you – or when they’ve spent a certain amount of money with you that you pre-determine – put them on a list to which you send birthday cards every year.  You might also want to send them cards at other times during the year to remind them you’re available to help them and to keep your name fresh in their mind.

Sending out birthday cards can be time consuming if you go to the store, select and buy the cards, write the messages, address and stamp the envelopes, and get them in the mail – and do it every month.

One possible solution is to outsource it.  Hire someone to take care of all of the details and all you have to do is make sure it’s been taken care of.  There is also software available that will help with some aspects like addressing and stamping envelopes for you.

You might also consider sending gifts to your VIP customers in your Birthday Club.  This could be one of your own products or services or it could be totally unrelated to your business like a funny mug or even a gift basket.

3.    Client Advisory Panel

Asking someone for their opinion tells them you value them.  Asking your VIP clients for their opinion makes them treasure the relationship you have established even more.

Set up a Client Advisory Panel where you allow your VIP clients to sign up for one year.  As members of the panel, they will receive all of your new products that year for free.  In exchange, they must agree to consume the material and give you honest feedback.

Simply set up a web page for them to sign up and drop them an invitation in the mail that asks them to visit that page and sign up.  Highlight the benefits of participating and show your appreciation.

A responsive list is one that consistently responds to your offers in a positive way.  With all of the advertising and marketing messages constantly bombarding them, the best way to ensure your list remains responsive is to build a strong relationship with them.  You need to stand out from the crowd with your prospects and clients.

Implementing all of three of these tactics can make a world of difference in your business.