Any business today, be it online or off needs a solid foundation, without one a business will topple.

Think of your business as a skyscraper, each level or floor is a different function within your business. Your skyscraper may contain a newsletter floor, an automated follow-up floor, a floor for free reports, an eCourse floor, a networking floor and so on. The height of your particular skyscraper (business) depends upon how many floors or functions operate within your business, each is important and one does not function without a strong foundation.

The "foundation" of all of these floors is based upon email marketing.

Think about it for a second. Your skyscraper did not start to build it's floors without first starting with email marketing and the building of a good, solid list. You certainly would not have a newsletter floor without a list. If you didn't have a list, then who would you send your newsletter to? No need for an automated follow-up floor, because if you didn't do email marketing, you didn't gather an email address from a prospect, therefore there is no need to follow-up.

Look at your "skyscraper" and you will notice that email marketing is its foundation and that ALL of your floors center around email marketing.

Ok, so we have determined that email marketing is the foundation of your business. We are referring to ebusiness here, however, in the "real world" you have lists as well, client lists, business cards you have collected of prospects, and of course have put them into a database, or "list." The point is, although we are focusing on eBusiness, the foundation is the same regardless if it is a business online or off, it just has a different label.

When we refer to foundation, typically we refer to a building and any architect will tell you the deeper the foundation, the taller the building. How tall the building is able to stand will is related to how deep the foundation is laid.

Your "skyscraper" (building) works on the same premise. You don't need just a list - you require a "deep" foundation of email marketing.

So, with that said, what do I mean by deep? Ah, ok, before you read further, grab that coffee, settle into your chair, read and learn, for once you have learned about the foundation of YOUR "skyscraper" there are no limits to how tall it will be. Ready??? Ok, let's get rolling.

Diversity - we mentioned floors, a newsletter floor, eCourse floor, and automatic follow up floor. Do we use our email marketing to build just one list and use that list for all our floors? No, we have lists and even sub-lists, lists being the operative word here meaning we have more than just one, we have many lists. When you buy stocks you don't put your money into just one, right? No, you diversify. you spread your money around. With email marketing we build and spread ourselves around and have more than one means of generating and building our lists.

Effective - having several lists is fantastic! But, (yes, have to hate those "buts") you have to know how to work them effectively to get the maximum advantage out of them. Quantity is great, but it doesn't mean "jack" if there is no quality. You need to know how to work those lists in order to turn a prospect into a customer.

Education - you can't just throw on the "Siberia Polyester Suit" and expect to hard sell your prospects or subscribers. You need to build trust and create a rapport with them. You do that by educating them. Give them something that will help them, give them good, quality content and valuable information that they can sink their teeth into. You are essentially building a relationship with them. In the 'real world" you get to know your customers because they come back to your store, time and time again, why? People will do business with people they know, like and trust, it is no different online. Give your prospects information they can use and you will create the trust, rapport and yes, they will buy from you.

Proactive - you have to think ahead, constantly and consistently think about ways to build your lists and to provide your prospects with good content. Keep putting that content out there in front of them so they can keep purchasing from you. If you develop a product of your own or use someone else's think ahead, ask yourself, now what can I do to make this more effective and deepen my foundation. Can you include something that would add value that builds upon the relationship you have with your prospect while at the same time adds to your lists? Think proactively and as they say "outside the box!"

Well now, you have a good working knowledge of what a "deep" foundation with respect to your skyscraper and that, that foundation is "email marketing." You understand that diversity is where it's at, the more out there building lists for you the better. Once you have these lists you need to be effective in how you work them and to do that you educate them. Give them something that they can sink their teeth into and use in their own business. Build that relationship with them, build the trust and rapport and they will buy from you again and again. Finally, you have learned to always think ahead and always ask yourself "how can I use this to build a list?"

There is nothing more important than building lists. Everything you do should be structured around adding more prospects - with their permission - to some sort of list you have going, be it your newsletter, your eCourse, a free eBook, whatever the case may be. your function as the Architect of your skyscraper is to build and keep building the foundation, through email marketing and YOUR lists.

How do you build lists and grow an even deeper foundation? Well, I already gave you a few ideas, build your lists through offering a newsletter, eCourse and Free Reports, the possibilities are only as limited as your imagination.

Need a little more help??

Then checkout Autopilot Income Streams - this eBook is one that I highly recommend and use on a consistent basis. It will help you develop eCourses - which can be turned into a Report or eBook and use as an effective viral marketing tool. Check it out http://www.profitspace.com/ais

Denise Ryder is a Marketing Coach writing from her home office in Northern Ontario (Canada). Imagine What You Could Accomplish With a Marketing Coach in Your Back Pocket! Take the No Cost TEST DRIVE!

http://www.profitspace.com/coach