And make no mistake about it - we are equally to blame for this hyped up culture. Let's face it, it's so much easier to read or listen to a well presented collection of projected possibilities than it is to do even a little spade work and unearth a few hard facts.

In the first place, we can all be a little lazy. In the second place, it's nice to close our eyes and dream of the ongoing passive income - such a nice visual picture isn't it?

And finally, hard facts can be a little bit difficult to come by. Sometimes for genuine reasons - startups often don't have much more than the reputation of the key players and a business plan - and sometimes for more worrying reasons.

One of the enduring mantras which you will almost certainly have heard is that "the money's in the list". All the key players not only say this but appear to demonstrate it by the simple fact that they all own and operate large opt-in lists. It would seem reasonable to assume that these list make a significant contribution to their profits.

But let's see if we can put a little flesh on the bones. First of all we have an assertion - sourced from www.ultimatefour.com - which is as follows:

"…… a well run list can generate $1/month in revenue for each contact on your list."

It does seem reasonable, but it is still an assertion rather than a fact - and it is qualified by both "a well run list" and "can generate". Even if it isn't a hard and fast rule, it certainly provides food for thought.

That may sound like a lot to many people - but it should be achievable. Which brings us to what can be considered to be a hard fact - sourced this time from AWeber.

"12,561 subscribers in an average customer opt-in newsletter list."

Presumably this is based on AWeber's own user base - but it seems valid to accept this as a legitimate fact.

The implication would seem to be that if you can build your own opt-in list to an "average£ level that you can profit to the tune of $12,561 each month. The assumptions are that you will run your list well (by providing constant updates and interesting information to your subscribers) and that you will make $1/month per subscriber.

Even if the $1/month figure is wrong - or if you run your list a little less efficiently than normal - you might still reasonably expect to make a 4 figure sum each month.

So it's true - the money is in the list. How much depends on the size of the list and how well you run it - but the money is there.

One key thing to watch out for is that your list should be your list - the email addresses must be yours and not the property of whichever company your working with. That way you can promote as many different products and services as you like.

Of course, it takes time and effort to build your list - but it can be done. You can pick up half a dozen new subscribers every day very easily by using nothing other than free techniques. That would take you to over $2000 a month in less than a year. Consider using some paid advertising and your list will grow at a much faster rate - and so will your income.

Whichever method(s) you elect to use in order to build your list - the sooner you start the sooner you'll start earning. So get cracking.
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