An opt-in list can be quite beneficial to any web site or internet based company. Even for a small venture such as a niche profit site an opt-in list can make a huge difference and add some extra income for your pocket. Rarely will you find an e-commerce site, big or small, that is without an opt-in list.

An opt-in list allows you to market your products and services via e-mail. With an opt-in list, your subscribers consents to receiving a newsletter or email communications from your company. Because of this, you can keep your subscribers abreast of what is currently available on your site as well as whatever is coming out.

And because there is mutual consent between the two parties, any mail sent to the list is not considered as spam mail. There is a greater chance your subscribers will successfully read your promotional materials such as catalogs, newsletters and such that are sent because they have signed up for them, meaning, they do want to be sent those items.

You’ll find when building your list, only a small percentage of your visitors will actually subscribe. Many people find promotional mails annoying but of you provide a good newsletter or promotional material, you will see your list build up and grow. You can also achieve this by having good content on your site. If people like what they see and read on your site, then they will be more likely to want more. Newsletters are a great way to attract them back to your site. A little teaser or appetizer if you will.

Other than marketing your products and services, an opt-in list can also be used to earn extra profit. Not all lists can be used though. You’ll want to first build a successful list with a large number of subscribers. The more subscribers you have, the more money you can get. Here are seven ways to make money using nothing more than your list.

1) Place advertisements. There are many companies who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with allot of subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would just rather place ads with lists that have a huge subscriber base. Your newsletter could be placed with many ads and each one spells money.

2) Sign up as an affiliate for companies that have something in common to what your site is about. Other companies can provide links and brief descriptions of what they offer, and With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This is sometimes called P4P or pay for performance.

3) You can also make deals with other companies by asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list. With every sale made by customers that have come from your list, the other company will pay you a small percentage of your sales. The more people who buys from them, the more earnings you get.

4) You can also get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list via your newsletter. Place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your newsletter. There will be those who will buy from you and when that happens, you can order the product from the other site and sell it to your buyer.

5) Sell an e-book or a compilation of your articles on your list. Manuals and how-to articles are in great demand. Many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic and subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an e-book could be offered and sold or used as an incentive.

6) Create a network out of your list. Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list is, the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.

7) Subscribers are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners.