In this installment of List Building Tips, I’m going to discuss social sites. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve become a member of at least one of these. After reading this article, you’re going to know how to take advantage of them in order to build your list WITHOUT getting people all ticked off.

I hope you paid careful attention to that last line because it’s very important. When you’re dealing with social sites like Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube, you’re getting into an area where you have direct contact with the people using that same media. Well, as direct as possible online. Certainly it’s more personal than putting up a squeeze page that some random prospect lands on.

With social media, you have to be VERY careful. You’re building a more intimate relationship. At least I hope you are. So let’s begin with that.

Unlike that squeeze pages where you’re just trying to get some targeted traffic to sign up with your list, with social media you’re looking to build actual relationships even BEFORE these people get onto your list.

For example, let’s say your interest is music. You’re going to invite people to your Facebook or Twitter page who are interested in music. You’re then going to discuss the topic at hand. The conversations are going to be casual and friendly. In essence, you’re making friends. It is important that you understand this.

After the relationship has solidified itself somewhat, you can then start to “recommend” things to these friends. Maybe you’ll recommend a video for them to watch or a CD to purchase. It doesn’t have to be anything that is personally yours. In fact, at the beginning, it’s a good idea to recommend OTHER people’s things. This way you don’t come off as a salesperson.

As the relationship grows, you can start recommending things that are more your own, including your list. Let’s say you have a list that notifies people of the latest music releases. You can let your Facebook followers know about it. Anybody interested in what you have to share will probably join your list. After all, you’ve already earned their trust by being a good friend.

From there, as long as you are professional about it and make it clear up front that you could be recommending musical related items that they could purchase, you can send little promotions to your list. Maybe you really liked the latest CD by XYZ band. You can send them your review of it with an Amazon link at the end of it.

The key to making this whole process work is to build a relationship FIRST. Let these people get to know you. Let them see that you’re not just trying to sell them stuff. Remember, this is a relationship FIRST and an opportunity to build a list SECOND.

If you do that, building a list off of social media can be very rewarding and profitable at the same time.

And who knows? You just might make some really neat friends in the process.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want more great list building tips? Check out my review of Paul Myers’ Profit Plan VI at Profit Plan VI and pick up 162 ways to build a large and responsive list.