Now, there’s a saying in email marketing (and direct mail marketing for that matter) that goes like this: It’s all in the list. In other words, without a good email list, your marketing efforts will be crippled. Building your own list is the best way to create a highly targeted subscriber base that responds to your message.

Here are some tips to help you build a strong list for email marketing.

• Place signup forms on all pages of your website—Not everyone is going to be arriving at your website through the homepage. Because so many people use search engines, visitors could land on the deeper pages of your website. That’s why it’s so important to have signup forms for your email list on every page of your website. To get the highest response, place your signup box above the fold, and have a simple call to action by it (e.g. Get a FREE copy of my new eBook (Insert Title Here) when you sign up for our email list!). Some studies have shown that placing a simple privacy disclaimer, like, “We value your privacy”, underneath the signup form can also improve your conversion rate.

• Have a signup link in all emails you send–If you’re like me, you’re emailing back and forth with clients, prospects, and colleagues all day long. One simple thing you can do to get a few more subscribers is to include a signup link for your email list in your email signature. Again, offer a straightforward call to action encouraging readers to sign up.

• Offer a freebie for signing up—Sometimes, you need to give people an extra incentive for taking the action you desire. One of the most effective ways to motivate visitors to subscribe to your website is to offer them a freebie in exchange for doing so. This can be something as simple as an eBook or a whitepaper. You could even try to tempt them with a special coupon offering a discount on your products or services.

• Keep the registration process simple—If your registration form has 20 entry fields, you’re doing it wrong. Remember, people are generally a little wary about giving you their information as it is, so forcing them to complete a long, detailed registration form is only going to scare them off. Ask only for the most basic information (name, email address, location) so that they can signup in just seconds. The easier you make it to sign up for your email list, the higher the number of people that will sign up.

• Have a physical signup list at your store and at events you attend—Look offline to build up your email list. If you have a physical storefront, have a signup list in your store, or you can ask customers at checkout if they’d like to subscribe to your newsletter for special deals. Also, if you attend trade shows and conferences, bring a signup list with you for your booth.

Do you use email marketing for your business? Share your experiences in the replies.

Can you tell us the quick history about yourself, and what drives you to succeed?
As a small child (yes I’m 6’5 now, but I was small once) I spent all of my time being creative, attempting to be artistic and always trying to make people laugh. I never saw myself going to college but did it to appease my parents and now know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without that life experience (read: NOT education). I graduated in 2005 with a degree in Graphic Design and was already working part-time for Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) and did so for 3 ½ years. At the same time I was working there I was continuing to network and flex my creative muscles by starting a web design company of my own with a college friend. Once that business was self-sustaining, I parted ways with what ended up being a great couple years of work/life experience but truly showed me that I was not meant for a 9-5 work environment. After leaving the corporate world and working for myself I began to realize that the more effort I put in, the more results I saw… not just because more effort brings more opportunities, which it does, but because people liked me, trusted me and put value you in my opinion. A year after leaving my 9-5 job, I had helped create ¼ of a million dollar revenue generating company but knew there was more for me and knew social media could open some interesting doors. On one of the many late nights I spend perusing the web in August ’08 the light bulb went off: TONS of companies print t-shirts, want people to wear them and want to gain exposure somehow. That night the domain IWearYourShirt.com was purchased and the idea turned into a business model where a guy wears a t-shirt and gets paid to promote that company through social media for a day. The website was live in October, the first day was sold on November 11, 2008 and I had 5 ½ months of shirt-wearing sold when January 1, 2009 rolled around.

We know you are a younggogetter, but I am sure there is more to you than that. What are some other things you have done prior to you current job or things you are currently working on?
Obviously I’ve put in 27 years of practice in wearing t-shirts, so that’s been pretty rough. But seriously, I’ve always been a social butterfly, always willing to try new things and always telling people that life is too short to do things that suck. As far as work experience goes, I started out as a produce boy at a small grocery store, pumped gas, was a Verizon cell phone salesman and about 20 other random jobs that all made me the person I am today (but sucked). I had aspirations to play basketball professionally but had two unfortunately knee injuries which may or may not have led me to my current situation, so how can I really complain? Right now I am really focused on building my personal brand, leveraging that to make money and most importantly providing value for companies that buy into Jason Sadler.

What has been your biggest asset while building your IWearYourShirt.com?
Nothing… and I mean NOTHING has helped me more than working my ass off, being super dedicated and having a really supportive family, girlfriend and group of friends (and dog). It’s one thing to work 16 hours in a day, but it’s a whole other ball game when your Mom and Grama are in your live video show every single day at 3pm EST. I’ve seen my fair share of copycats and each one of them has made me push that extra bit harder each day. I’m 100% open and transparent with my audience and try to be as accessible as possible. You know from first-hand experience, it took me nearly 2 weeks to get this interview back to you. It’s not that I didn’t want to do it, it’s just that I put so much effort in promoting every day’s t-shirt sponsor and juggle my personal and online life at the same time.

Adversely, what has been your biggest vice?
Being creative every single day for over 300 days straight. I haven’t taken a day off and have only missed my live video show 3 times this year. I really enjoy spreading the word about each new company and interacting with my audience daily. That’s what makes it easy to go to bed at 2am and wake up at 7-9am, depending on when my dog Plaxico wants to go out.

What can we expect next from the talented Jason Sadler in the near future?
I’m really focused on trying to carve out my own niche in advertising. It’s no secret that magazine ads, billboards, banner ads and other mediums are hurting and not returning ROI. You could easily spend $1000+ on getting a company to create a YouTube video, Live Video show, creatively/honestly written blog posts, Tweets, Facebook Profile & Flickr photos and all the other stuff I do in ONE day for a company. But even if you spent all that money, would anyone be there to consume it? No. I’ve only been building my personal brand publicly for about a year and think I have a long way to go before people will pay thousands of dollars to have 50 people wear their company’s t-shirt, but that’s my goal. Imagine the power of 50 people, who are connected to… I don’t know, 5,000 total people each wearing a shirt for a day and talking about via social media. That’s a minimum of 250,000 people being exposed to your brand. I’m scaling IWearYourShirt.com slowly and hoping to reach that goal and keeping a consistent value. Anyone could put an ad on craigslist to get 50 people to wear a t-shirt, but do all of those people have a social media following and understand how to be genuine and fun to watch/listen to?

I’ve also been really excited to start speaking at conferences, doing social media consulting for companies and I have a marketing consultancy that will be launching at some point in 2010!

Everyone starts to feel burn out on a project every now and then. What do you do to keep yourself motivated and focused?
Step out of my comfort zone. I really love my couch in my living room and the town that I live in (Jacksonville, FL), but sometimes just picking up and going somewhere else is a huge creative motivator. I love taking my dog Plaxico to the beach, letting him poop in the sand thinking about how I could possibly monetize that. Not the actual poop, but maybe create that poop-spray from that awful movie “Envy”? That and Chick-Fil-a breakfast always gives me a good kick start!

Can you give us three tools that you use every single day to make your life as a younggogetter more efficient, productive, or fun?
Tweetie, Ustream.tv and the iPhone. Oh, and if I can add a 4th one, it would be the free Macbook Pro that http://SoundVisionLibrary.com bought me!

What is your favourite quote?
It should probably be something said by Einstein, JFK or someone else who is way smarter than me. But I’m bad at remembering quotes unless they are from Will Ferrell movies: “MOM!! The meatloaf…..”

And last but not least, if you could give one piece of advice to fellow Young Go Getters, what would it be?
Don’t try to be someone you’re not and stop working for crappy companies. There are so many other companies out there that need talented people, you are never stuck at a dead-end job and should focus on what you are truly passionate about. A true entrepreneur doesn’t complain about their situation, they figure out how to innovate and move on.

Air Jordans pretty much made Nike the massive success, and is still the #1 shoe in the world! JLO and Martha Stewart are two more great examples of how a brand can make a person a celebrity or a celebrity make a brand. So how do you start and promote your own personal brand? Let’s take a look at some simple keys.

What’s the advantage of a personal brand?

Personal brands, like any brand, attempt to influence people and create recognition. One huge advantage of a personal brand over a business brand is that they are easily movable as well as easier to trust. Yes, easier to trust. It’s all based around psychology, and in a world that’s always telling us what we want in order to make a sale, we have become very untrusting of business. The minute we think we’re being sold to, we tend to block out whatever information is at hand. However, when you see a celebrity or person that you like or can relate to, you’re naturally more trusting of the brand and the products associated with that brand.

How do you build a personal brand?

Personal brands are easy to start but hard to grow. The key to branding is using technology as well as establishing credibility. A good starting point is twitter or a website. Using technology to get ahead is a time consuming difficult market, bit can make you a celebrity in time. Look at some of the famous youtubers, tech shows, and even bottom rung celebrities becoming famous again.

The hardest but probably most successful way to create a personal brand is to build something amazing using your natural talents. This doesn’t mean you have to start out on your own either. Take a look at any popular Disney or Nickelodeon actor for some great examples. Almost every popular tv actor has gone on to start their own movie, singing, clothing, etc. Mylie Cyrus, Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes are just a few young entrepreneurs in the making. To leverage an institution’s credibility, choose a great one and become part of it. Learn how the business works, and be the best in your workplace. This will automatically lead to success if the company has a strong name and brand.

Build your brand now

You’re probably already using facebook, twitter, linkedin, blogs, and forums so why not gear these technologies to start building your brand now? Start with a logo and a name and stick with it. If you haven’t noticed, popular brands almost never change (take Google for example). Start putting that logo and link to your website or whatever all over the internet. Put it in your signature for emails and forums. Create groups and use social media to communicate with others that have the same interest as you. There are literally hundreds of ways to promote your name with no cost, but it’s a matter of finding what works best for you and remaining committed to always stay involved with those methods.

The sales of eBooks have been rising significantly over the past few years. Today, millions of dollars are generated each month from eBooks. In fact, $14 million in sales of eBooks took place in June of 2009. This was a 136% increase in sales over June 2008. In other words, the market for eBooks is there, and it’s constantly growing.

So, why should you consider writing an eBook? Here are just a few benefits to consider.

• It creates a stream of passive income—Remember earlier when I mentioned putting more money in your pocket? One of the best ways to do this is to create a stream of passive income. Writing and selling an eBook can do just that. Once you put in the initial time of writing your eBook, you can let affiliates market it for you (paying them a commission of course) and just sit back while the sales roll in. Look, your eBook isn’t going to make you rich, but it can certainly fatten up your wallet.

• It positions you as an expert in your field—Writing an eBook instantly creates the perception that you’re an expert in your field. Think about it. Who are you likelier to trust: Someone who claims they know how to repair cars or someone who has written and sold many copies of a book about repairing cars? As an entrepreneur, you’re always fighting to build trust with your target audience. Writing a great eBook can help you earn some of that trust and respect.

• It can be used to grow your email list—Even if you decide not to sell your eBook, it can still be very profitable for you. Many savvy businesses offer free eBooks to website visitors who sign up for their email list. This entices them to provide you with their email address, and it allows you to build relationships with them and to market to them in the future. If you have an effective email marketing strategy in place, this can pay off many times over. In fact, email marketing generates over $45 on average for every $1 spent. It’s the most effective form of direct marketing when done properly.

If you’re interested in writing an eBook, here are a few pieces of advice to get your started.

• Determine which subjects you’re knowledgeable in

• Perform keyword research to find out what your target audience is interested in

• Take your time writing and editing your eBook to make sure it’s as good as it can be

• Make sure your eBook is actually useful, not just an advertisement for your products or services

• Connect with an affiliate program (like ClickBank) to promote your eBook

Have you written an eBook? Was it successful? Share your experiences in the replies.

Credibility over Competition

One of the problems with a highly competitive attitude is the sacrifices that are made to win. To be really competitive against your rivals you have to outdo, outbid, or outlast in some way, and this mentality may hurt your credibility in the long run. To better understand this, let’s take a look at a testimonial from a freelancer in the web industry:

There has been a huge boom in web design and development in the last decade. This demand has created thousand upon thousands of new web design agencies. When I first started my business, I was hungry and determined to outdo the other guys. I started focusing on price to make me competitive and preferable to the market. What I found out was that not only was I still being outbid (mainly by oversea companies), but I was also losing money on the bids I did land, causing me to feel forced into cutting corners to make the project profitable. This went against my core work ethic and moral fiber and I quickly changed, refocusing on quality and service instead of cost or time. This has led me to much greater success as my clients truly valued my work and began to make referrals passing my name from business to businesses.

Can you handle it?

Many of us entrepreneurs and business owners know what it’s like to work a 16 hour day. I’m sure many even do that on a regular basis.. but at what cost? If you’re married, perhaps you’ve noticed that your long hours at work are taking their toll on your marriage causing fights and causing the words “work-a-holic” to ring in your ears. Maybe your friends are complaining that you haven’t gone out for a beer in over a month, or haven’t returned their phone calls. Fill in the blank for your situation. You know if this is an issue in your life or not. Sometimes outdoing the other guys means doing yourself in. Do you want to be someone that’s always climbing the never-ending stack of work?

Why Compete when you can Co-exist?

If your competition isn’t directly hurting you, why compete at all. Take a hint from all the web related industries in the world.. most of which are publicly sharing their knowledge on the web and are in fact even sharing the profits! What kind of a business model is that?! Well confusing as it may be, we are in a generation of FREE where businesses really do give away free stuff, and entrepreneurs grow and share in the wealth together.

Putting it all together

All this is, is a reality check. Wake up. You’re in the 21st Century and new ideas and business models are springing up all around you. Maybe competition isn’t an option for you, and maybe this is of no value. But if you take away one concept, let it be this.. you’re probably not the first and you’re definitely not the last. What’s more important to you to accomplish with your business.. a selfish and reproachful attitude that benefits nobody but you, or a lasting effect and name that others remember and share?

@thederekjohnson – College dropout CEO of @Tatango & @Derek_Media.

@skanwar – Partner at Jet Cooper. Part marketer, part geek. Ruthless go-getter, your friend. Evangelist, listener.

@GenYjobs – Co-Founder & CEO of Koda.us. KODA is Social Recruiting – changing the way new talent connects with companies to find jobs. (@kodaus)

@bbunderground – A Blackberry Evangelist speading the Blackberry word …and The Only Real Blackberry Social Network, for users, and abusers

@wesbos – I’m a Web Designer thats into Wordpress, CSS, & Jquery. I love vintage bikes. I’m an Internet Astronaut.

You can also follow us a @younggogetter, happy tweets! Also please leave a link to your twitter account in the comments below so we can get to know you!

LeBron James. And yes, the last sentence was full of puns.

LeBron “The One” James. The 24 year old basketball wunderkind who has made leaps and bounds from a young age at doing things well. We know he dominates on the basketball court as part of the Cavaliers but did you know that he has been a force to be reckoned with in the personal branding world? LeBron has taken full control of how his image is seen by people around the world. He understands that he has alot of influence through corporate endorsements and decided to create his own path to secure his dream of becoming the first billion dollar sports brand.

Yes, billion dollar.

Check out this video interview from 60 Minutes which gives us some insight into the thinking of the branding smart guy.

A client is much like a test, requiring a good amount of time and study to understand their needs and answer their questions. Start by researching the company or client you are selling to, gathering any interesting information you can. When you are gathering this information, try to answer these questions:

• What do you know about their business?
• Why you think your product or service would be great for them?
• What is their demographic and how can you target it successfully?
• What is the benefit for both parties?

The preparation stage is your opportunity to shine. If you can show that you know their business and have their best interest in mind, you’ll have made not only a great lead and potential sale, but a loyal customer for future return.

Don’t forget that part of preparation is getting a good night sleep; it will make your day that much easier and you will be that much sharper. After you wake up the next day, sit down and set up your goals for that day. This will help ensure that you don’t forget anything and that you cover all the points you want to hit during the meeting.

Listen Closely

When your client is talking be sure to listen and takes notes! This will not only help you, but it will show your client that you are organized and pay attention to detail. Make eye contact and respond often while talking, it’s easy to get distracted and nod in agreement but not really take in the information the client is presenting. It’s important to find a balance with eye contact, matching the client’s behavior but also keeping a couple points in mind: too much eye contact can make them uncomfortable and too can make them think you lack confidence or aren’t paying attention.

While you’re listening be sure to analyze the client’s speech and behaviors. You can find all sorts of clues about their personality and background that will help you with you relate to them on a personal level as well as strengthen your sales pitch. You should associate your customer’s interests and values while you are stating the benefits of your product, using their own words to reinforce why they need to buy from you.

Keep in Contact

Always follow up with your client, whether you get the sale or not. If you did land the sale its nice to catch any problems early so you can fix them before your customer gets frustrated, and if you didn’t land the sale, you will be far more likely to have the client return to you in the future if you’re still in contact. This will increase your customer satisfaction and turn customers into loyal friends to continue business.

• Free Online Business Classes
  This is no joke, I’ve personally read through and “taken” these courses and they are a really good starting point to learn the all encompassing characteristics of starting a business. Take this as a base or starter knowledge and add to it!
  Link: myownbusiness.org
• Free Contracts and Legal Forms
  Please don’t use these forms literally as your own, but take a look and download some of these forms, they can really help you avoid the costs of having a lawyer write them up for you. There are obvious pros and cons to this approach, but either way these contracts can be useful to reference.
  Link: sessions.edu
• Getting Real: A practical approach to business
  This is a free ebook by 37signals. Whether your business is web related or not, this is a great book on practical business principles and I highly recommend it to any business owner or entrepreneur.
  Link: gettingreal.37signals.com
• Calculating Costs and Invoices
  Many start-ups struggle with pricing and the balance between the business triangle (cost vs quality vs time). This article is by Andy Rutledge and will help you take invoicing to another level by analyzing your clients and having a basic understanding of how to profile clients’ psyche.
  Link: andyrutledge.com
• Pay Me Please
  Starting a business will quickly lead to the discovery that your accounting skills are as important as your primary skill/product/service. Questions arise such as: When should I bill? How much should I charge? What kind of pricing structure should I use? These questions are answered very well by Matt Griffin.
  Link: mirificampress.com

I’m a sucker for inspirational/motivational speeches. Apart from feeling good at the end, they are a great way to shake you out from a slump of neutral emotions and plateaued energy. But even with those great benefits, how many speeches have caused you to only act in the now? How many of those speeches have guaranteed long term impact and innovation?

I’m glad you’re asking yourself that question because I think I might have something that will not only cause you to think about what you can do now but what you will be able to do (read: sustained impact). I’m a big fan of Seth Godin, notable marketer and blogger who talks about the effectiveness of how to reach individuals and keep their attention. In his TED talk, Seth discusses his latest book, Tribes, which looks at sustaining movements and making use of the new tools that are available to us to make them happen.

This is one of those times where a motivational talk has merit that lasts for a long, long time. Take a look and come back to it frequently.