Like every webmaster or online marketer I kept hearing from Day One how vitally important it was to build your own opt-in or permission based contact list. It would be the key to building traffic and revenue from your site or online marketing. The one key element you must have.

But building a list is easier said than done, anyone who has tried to build a list will know this fact. I soon realized I needed help with my list building...

I have an art background, that's not important, but it did show me how to learn or dissect a subject. All artists develop a hands-on "let's dig in and dissect this creature" attitude; they learn by exploring and studying the masters/techniques that have worked in the past.

This inquisitive learning becomes a second skin.

It was extremely helpful when I started to build my lists. I first examined how other well known marketers were building their lists. One common theme that keep repeating itself was: free gifts.

Almost all these marketers gave away a free gift: report, ebook, ecourse, article, software program, marketing tips or knowledge -- all in exchange for the name and email of their visitors.