For beginning list building, I often recommend viral list builders, and I still use them successfully myself. Some marketers, even ones who are good at viral list building, don't like viral list builders. Not all these tools are created equal, however, and I suspect that some who don't like them, simply don't put them to good use.

A viral list builder maximizes your ability to reach potential subscribers by using other websites to promote your ezine subscription or autoresponder ecourse. It allows you to use existing subscribers to create new subscribers. These are advertising techniques that, once set up, continue to work without additional input on your part.

Some marketers are masters at making every visitor count. If you want to make every visitor count, these tools can help you do that at no cost. While some viral list builders work right on page, others only work as popups. Some work as both, and still others replace a page entirely, such as your thank you page. I want you to understand that zero cost refers to money only.

There are other costs associated with using some viral tools, such as time, a certain level of control, and the fact that you're often building someone else's list or traffic as well as your own. The trade offs can be worth it, however, if you use these tools correctly.

I happen to like List Inferno, so I'll use that one as an example. They have an easy three step sign up process, and this tool doesn't have to be a pop up, although it can be. Some people don't like pop ups, or they may conflict with the terms of service of some ad and affilate programs. Also, unlike some other list builers, List Inferno offers the ability to promote ezines on topics other than Internet Marketing.

How does it work? Basically, your traffic is used to show several ezine subscription forms on your site. Somewhere else on the web, your ezine details are presented as well. You simply enter your ezine subscription details in the List Inferno list builder and copy their code into your web pages. The more times you show a page with the code, the more chances you have of getting another subscriber.

So, for each visitor to your page, you get the opportunity to gain another subscriber. I have found the sign up rate to be particularly high with viral list builders. Once this process is started, your list building will begin to take on a life of its own with no effort on your part. After a while, things usually slow down a bit. What I do is simply use a few techniques to get things going again, and soon I have more and more subscribers. Try this once, and I think you'll be hooked.

I offer an ecourse on beginning list building in which I cover the basic elements that you need to properly build a list. One element that most list building courses tend to gloss over, is a way to reach potential subscribers.

Many people find it difficult, though to drive traffic to their sign up pages. In addition, many beginning Internet Marketers don't want to spend money on a website. Somewhere along the way, someone has told them a free website will work just as well. I recommend that you build and develop your own top level domain name website as soon as you can. In the meantime, viral list builders can often be used with free websites. Once the viral effect takes over, you should be able to earn the few dollars necessary to buy your own domain name and hosting.

One rather simple technique you can use to enhance the viral effect is to create several pages on your site, all of which have good information and proper keyword density. Place the list building code on each of those pages.

In order to generate the viral effect of the list builder, drive traffic to those pages using whatever means you normally would. Then, within your emails to your subscribers, give them a reason to visit to those pages.

In this way, each visitor from search engine results will help build your list. In addition, each subscriber can be responsible for producing several opportunities for you to gain new subscribers, a technique that will make you a viral list building champ.

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Author Kurt Schmitt works with and teaches email marketing solutions that work. If you're interested in generating more traffic and more subscribers through viral list building pick up a copy of his ecourse.