These five tips are the fastest way to grow your list quickly and keep it growing as they are marketing fundamentals for helping you build your email list.

1 – Place your sign up form in a priority spot – right on top, up front, where it’s easily seen.  It should be on the first screen, preferably at the top or near the top of your content.  It should be in an easily-identifiable spot and should make it clear that there are good reasons for joining your email list.

2 – Use multiple signup forms.  Put them on every page of your site and if you can, have them track-able so you can see which forms are giving you the most signups.  This helps with marketing and shows you which forms, layouts, etc. may not be performing as well.

3 – Give a good reason for signing up.  People won’t just sign up for your email list building just because you ask them to.  They need a reason.  Give them free information, better access, or something else for their trouble.  They need a reason to trust you with their email address.

4 – Give an incentive whenever you can.  Your incentive is what helps email list building the most.  This ties in with number 3 and is the most fundamental marketing you’ll do to build an email list.  Free ebooks, reports, access to private areas of your site, etc. are the kinds of incentives that are cheapest and most often used.

5 – Use forwarding options.  Give your current subscribers plenty of opportunity and reason to forward your newsletters or email correspondence to their friends.  Called “word of mouse” in the industry, this is another long-term, steady wya to build an email list and it costs virtually nothing to do.

If you’re new to email marketing, you probably are still catching up on the basics.  That is OK as these posts will keep you informed of the current trends and technology behind the best email marketing techniques to help your learning curve.  Our first will also speed up your learning on the subject.

35 Guaranteed Ways to Increase Your RSS Subscribers - from Newest on the Net
While not specifically about email, this one covers a lot of marketing information that any newbie should know and will get you started. READ MORE>>

Email Design Tip of the Week: Social Media in Email – posted by Andrea Smith
Should social media be used in email? Sure! But only if it makes sense for your audience. Decide if you will link to your existing social presence, enable content sharing, or both. READ MORE >>

Twitter’s ROI: Relationships & Influence – posted by David Hoang
With CoTweet joining the ExactTarget family, we see the convergence of the power of social media and email communication; an Internet Marketing Hub to maintain relationships on both platforms. READ MORE >>

Design Tip of the Week: Notes from Google – posted by Anna Meier
Looking for a dose of inspiration to jumpstart your marketing program? Take a few notes from Google’s Marissa Mayer. She spoke at Make/Think, the AIGA design conference last October.  READ MORE >>

What’s in a bounce? – Posted by Karen Balle
Yesterday, a friend found a terrible post about bounces.  We talk about looking at your bounces and understanding what they mean in regards to your list health, but what are bounces and why should you care? READ MORE >>

Like it or not, no matter what business you’re in, marketing is going to be a part of it.  The problem is that there are so many different types of marketing out there that it’s impossible for anyone to do all of them, let alone do them well.  Depending on your business, your marketing approach will decide how effective you are at finding new clients (or getting them to find you).

Ask yourself these questions and it will get you started.

“Where do your potential clients spend their time?”  If they spend their time on Facebook, then that’s where you need to be.  If they are reading Vanity Fair Magazine, then that’s where you need to be.  If your market is local and these clients spend their time in specific places, then that’s where you need to be.  Your marketing needs to be where the people you are marketing to are.  Otherwise, you’re just wasting time and money.

“What do my potential clients want to hear?”  Note that the question isn’t “what do you THINK they want to hear,” but rather it’s “what do they want to hear?”  That’s important because a lot of freelancers go about their marketing thinking in terms of a freelancer wanting to get a client.  You need to aim your marketing at your client, so it needs to appeal to them, not appeal to you appealing to them.

“What marketing am I doing now that is working well?”  You’ve likely done some kind of marketing up to this point and some of it has probably paid off.  What was it?  Why did it pay off?  Can you repeat it?  Once you find what works, stick with it.  Feel free to explore new things, but do that exploration after you’ve maintained the fundamentals that are proven to be working.

In fact, that last one is the most commonly overlooked aspect of freelancer marketing.  Once you’ve found a way to find some freelance clients, stick with that plan and keep it working for you.

SEO Websites and Blogs – Creating a new website or blog is simple.  Especially if you do it not with the idea of making a site with a lot of professional design aspects and good looks, but instead as a site or blog focused on search engine optimization (SEO).  These are called various things, but the good ones are called AdSense-powered sites or SEO-based websites.  Far from being a scam, they are a legitimate way to make a steady income.  Best of all, it’s a lot easier than you might think, especially with the easy to use tools that are out there now.  A simple website can be built in a few hours using WordPress, free templates, and some time setting up menu-based configuration and a $10 domain name.

Start Your Own Blog – If SEO blogging isn’t for you, why not set up a blog for your own business?  These have a lot of advantages, most of them being the long-term marketing they produce.  Not only can a well-made blog increase traffic to your site (especially if you know anything about SEO), but it can build clientele for your main business over time.  Readers get an idea of your expertise and over the long term, they will often become clients when they need someone with your knowledge.  Blogging is also a good way to stretch yourself professionally as you look into aspects of your business that you might not have spent the time delving into before.

Experiment with Advertising – Try something you haven’t tried before and see if it helps your bottom line.  There are thousands of ways to advertise.  One of them might be the gold mind you’ve been looking for.

Do Short-Term and Charity Projects – If you find yourself with a little time on your hands, why not put it towards a good cause?  Set up short term projects with interns or school kids or whomever or offer your services to a charity.  No matter what your profession, there is always a worthy charity looking for your help.

Plan Personal Projects – Why not do something for yourself?  Maybe you’ve been working on a personal project that always gets put off.  Or maybe you’ve always wanted to write a novel or a few short stories and try to get published?  Well, now’s as good a time as any!

If you’ve chosen a career (part- or full-time) in freelance writing, then the first thing you’ll need to know is where you’ll be working.  Most likely, this is at home, which creates a large number of hurdles to be overcome in freelancer time management.

Rule #1: separate home from work.  While you’re working at home, in your work space, make it as separate from other aspects of your house as possible.  Make sure your spouse, children, roommates, etc. all understand that when you’re in your work zone, they should treat you as if you have left the house and are at an office somewhere in the city.  This is, for most of us, the hardest aspect of time management when working at home.  People easily forget and will walk into your space to make comments, yell things from another room, or present themselves and demand attention.  If your chosen work space has a door you can close: use it.

Rule #2: act like you are at work, not at home.  This might mean dressing up for the day, combing your hair, or whatever.  Whatever it is, it gets you in the “work mindset.”  For some of us, it’s as simple as brushing our teeth and combing our hair.  For others, it might be more elaborate and require dressing up or otherwise “feeling” professional.

Rule #3: have a schedule.  Your schedule might be fixed hard-and-fast, making your time management easier, or it might be more loose and open.  Whatever it is, try to keep it at least generally consistent.  For most of us, our freelance writing schedule is pretty arduous when you spell it out for someone.  Many of us put in 16-hour or longer days, but maybe don’t work every single day of the week.  Others put in a 9-5 and call it good.  Whatever your schedule is, stick with it.

These three simple rules should help your freelancer time management and greatly reduce your time wasted and keep your time management in check.

This doesn’t mean it’s hard or impossible for you to do on a tight budget, however.  Most of it is just getting past the traditional “look in the want ads” mindset and thinking outside the box for freelance writing jobs.

Start locally to get on your feet and build a portfolio.  Small, local newspapers and other publications are often looking for good material, especially from local writers.  In many areas, weekly or bi-weekly newspapers are willing to pay a few dollars to have you act as a freelancer, covering local events or submitting commentary.  Other annual publications, such as coupon books or local business directories are often looking for “filler” writers to produce material to fill in the margins, extra pages, and other space in their publication.  Many times, just walking in the door with a couple of samples can land you a trial position.

Freelance-specific websites and directories are another source.  While most focus on technology (Web developers and so forth), there are many with writers in mind.  These sites generally come with a price, but are worth the percentage paid from your revenue to use, as they get near-instant connections and give you access to world-wide job opportunities.

Finally, the old standby of using a printed writer’s directory (purchased or from the library) to send material to editors is always an option.  It’s slow and you can expect a 99% rejection rate, but print outlets generally pay much better than websites do and once you’re in the door, you’ll find it easier to return for more.

There are a lot of options for the freelance writing enthusiast and there are plenty of freelance writing jobs out there if you just look for them.  Go ahead and try!

To make money freelance writing, you’ll first need to be sure you have the skills to prosper.  Can you write coherently, edit yourself well, and produce quality, ready-to-print material?  If not, you should spend the time now, before your professional reputation is at stake, perfecting these skills.  It takes time, effort, and know-how to be a good writer.

Next, you should begin looking for work.  Often, in the beginning, you’ll have to “pay your dues” with low-paying jobs that require a lot of work for little financial reward.  This is the world of freelancing, no matter what your profession, and is required in order to build both a reputation and a portfolio to increase your appeal to prospective employers.

Finding jobs can take place locally, nationally, or internationally.  Usually a combination of all three.  Locally, you likely have newspapers and other publications that are always looking for more input from quality talent.  These are often the foot-in-the-door jobs for freelance writing and journalism.  Gather up your best work so far and just walk in the door to talk to them.  Smaller papers usually have a small staff and the editor is often readily available.

Nationally, look for work on national directories and website freelancing pages to find work.  This goes for international work as well.  To make money freelance writing, you’ll need to know what is people are asking for before you can bid, so be sure you know exactly what it is they’re after before you bid on a job.

As your reputation grows, so will your income.  It’s not easy to make money freelance writing, but it is very rewarding and, with time, freelance writing can really pay off.

They can use affiliate marketing to make some profits in the easiest manner and within a short span of time. How can they do that? The answer is simple. People can join any website that offers affiliate marketing programs and offer a set payment for each visit or each new client brought by the affiliates. There are ample bonuses and other perks available with these offers that most people often make more than the set amount. Bonuses are also available and thus increase the overall earning.

The best affiliates offer is not that difficult to find. People can easily visit websites that offer this service. They will find all the specifications and features of the affiliate program and will also be able to find offers that have the greatest chances of making money.

It is recommended that they should go for programs that are offered by well-known websites so as to avoid any scams. They can also use offers by major companies as it will ensure greater earnings. Chances of making money are great if people do their homework well and pick the best affiliate programs.

In addition to this general coin collecting site, I have also created several satellite sites to delve in depth on specific coin collectin niches.  The first satellite site is Key Date Lincoln Cents.  This site is all about collecting Lincoln Cents.  The best coins to collect in any series are the key date coins.  That is why I picked the name Key Date Lincoln Cents for my site about collecting lincoln pennies.

Another niche with in the coin collecting family is investing in gold.  Gold investing is one of the key reasons to invest in coin.  The price of gold greatly affects coin values and rare coin values.  My second satellite site is Gold Prices Today.  Gold Prices Today is a site bringing readers the latest gold price news and analysis.  Gold Prices Today will hopefully become a great resource for staying up to date on the gold market and understanding gold prices today.

Another satellite site that I created in the 1943 Steel Penny site.  The 1943 Steel Penny is a famous Lincoln cent and this site is an ebay store for buying these coins and other US coins.  I have been playing with ebay’s EPN program and this 1943 Steel Penny site is designed to sell coins using an ebay script.

As you can tell, I have been working hard to combine my coin collecting love with my online marketing love.  Please leave a comment about these new coin collecting sites.

I came across this video on Lifehacker today of a tour of David Allen’s office.  If you are a fan of David Allen and Getting Things Done, you will love this Getting Things Done interview with Davide Allen.  He shows you his office and how he has implemented the Getting Things Done system.  Enjoy