If you are into direct network marketing and you are not building a list for email marketing, you are setting yourself up for failure. It used to be that network marketers were focused entirely on finding good qualified leads and getting them to join the particular business opportunity they were promoting at the time. Once they joined the game was won. It’s not so simple anymore if you really want to be successful.

Today, success in direct network marketing just like in any form of internet marketing is dependent on one’s ability to build and develop a list – a list of subscribers who know and trust you. And I’m not talking just about your list of members in your downline. Your downline is just a subset of the list you need to be building. If you think about it, your downline isn’t really your list at all. It belongs to the network marketing company.

The list I’m talking about is one that belongs to you. Some of the people on that list may join your network marketing business opportunity and some won’t. If they do, that list becomes your downline and really belongs to the network marketing company. Who cares? They are already on your own list. They are there for you to offer other services and business opportunities over time.

So how do you go about building a list? There are many ways. But whatever you do don’t go out and buy a list. These are worthless over the long term. You need a list of subscribers who follow you. To do this you need a website. I know some people will say you don’t but people say a lot of things. Trust me, if you want to build a business that will last build a website and build a list.

You will need to add content to your website to build it out – good valuable content that will be of interest to the market segment you are targeting. For example, you may want your site to be an education and training site for new network marketers. Your content will offer them tips, techniques, tools and strategies for building their own downline and network marketing business. If you have been online for awhile you know a lot more than you probably think you do. You have a lot of value to offer.

Now most people will need some inducement to give you their email. Create a free offering that will have some real value for their business. Here again an ebook on tips and secrets for developing a downline is an example. Maybe you want to provide your subscribers with a regular newsletter on strategies that are working right now in the marketplace. The options are really limitless. Use your imagination.

As you build your list you are building one of the most valuable assets an online business or any business for that matter can have. It is a pool of people who will continue to buy from you based on the trust they put into your recommendations. Treat your list well and it will make you money for many years to come.

Todd Gleason is a frequent author on small business development and internet marketing. You can learn more about the new skills needed for direct network marketing and get a free copy of „7 Secrets to building a Productive Downline“ here.