Here are five offline strategies that you can use to successfully promote your online affiliate marketing business:

1.    Be magnetic with your advertising.

Magnets are a great way to promote your online business. Consider buying over-sized magnets from companies such as VistaPrint and place them on your vehicle. You can customize the magnets with your business message, telephone number, and website address. This is a great guerilla marketing strategy because it is a low-cost way to make a big impression.

You can take it one step further by creating business card magnets and sticking several of them on your vehicle for potential customers to take for free. Since some people may be apprehensive about grabbing a magnet off a stranger’s car, it’s best to have a specially-designed “Take One. They’re Free!” magnet conspicuously placed on your vehicle.

Your smaller, business card magnets should serve as miniature advertisements that direct people to call you or visit your web page.

2.    Leave your business cards in local businesses.

Talk to local businesses and ask them if you can leave stacks of your business cards on their counters. You may even want to work out a reciprocal agreement where you barter a win-win situation for both you and the business owner.

For instance, you may give away free marketing consulting in exchange for leaving your cards or other advertising media where their customers can pick them up and take them as they leave.

3.    Give free public seminars.

Consider renting a room to give away a free seminar that is directly related to your business and your offerings. For instance, if you sell “How to Get Out of Debt” info-products, it’s a good idea to hold a free seminar to give away some valuable tips and tricks to potential customers.

At the end of the seminar, you can ask participants to complete information cards with their names and e-mails for your mailing list. Don’t forget to have some of your products available for immediate sale after the presentation.

4.    Give away freebies.

Pens, magnets, specially-printed hand sanitizer bottles, notepads, and any other giveaway is a great way to get your website address out to the public. Try to find products that people regularly use. People tend to get too many calendars as giveaways, so it may be best to order printed pens and other things that people will use on a daily basis. The idea is to keep your marketing message in front of them at all times.

5.    Put your money where your mouth is.

Don’t forget the power of word-of-mouth advertising. Tell your family, friends, and anyone that you come into contact with that you’ve got a free seminar coming up or you’re giving away a valuable info-product on your website.  High-impact marketing does not necessarily mean that you have to spend money for your marketing message to be weighty.

Listbuilding tactics for online businesses don’t have to be initiated online. Remember, the more channels you can use to market your business, the bigger and more profitable your Internet business will be.

Here are three ways that you can build your list and get the attention of your current subscribers by blogging:

Join Technorati
One way to optimize your blog is to put your blog in front of your prospects instead of expecting your prospects to materialize in front of you. Technorati catalogs blogs by subjects so that people who read blogs can find exactly what they’re looking for. Think of Technorati as a super search engine of blogs.

The great thing about Technorati is that you can reach thousands of prospective list subscribers that you would otherwise never have contact with. For instance, if someone is interested in sports, he can find a list of sports-related blogs cataloged on Technorati. If you’re a marketer who uses blogs to build your lists, Technorati will put you in front of people who could become not only long-term subscribers but also long-term buyers.

Exchange links with other bloggers
Team up with other bloggers in your niche market and exchange links with them. You should comment on each other’s blog posts, as well, to give more visibility to your blog to each other’s readers. Show your authority in your niche market, and invite the other blogger to do the same on your blog. This creates a win-win agreement for the two of you.

Blog often
The search engines love fresh content, so blog frequently. The more often you blog, the higher you’ll rank on the search engines. Furthermore, the higher your ranking, the more visibility you’ll have for people who want what you have to sell. If you can blog several times a week, you’ll fare better in the search engines. If you cannot post that often, schedule time to write your blog at least once a week.

Use your blog site to establish yourself as an authority in your niche market. Give away a lot of tips free. This establishes a connection with your readers because they’ll not only appreciate the information you offer, but they’ll also regard you as the “go-to” person in their niche market. Your goal is to be first in their minds when they need to buy a product, so inform them, entertain them, and give away free information to solve their problems.

In order to be successful in your marketing campaign, you’ve got to realize that listbuilding is a verb not a noun. Too many marketers think that they can create a squeeze page and let everything run on autopilot.  Not true. If you blog often and create visibility for your business, you’ll attract targeted visitors to your site and, hopefully, build a solid foundation for future sales for years to come.

If you’re tired of working hard to promote your business and want to learn how to make your business work for you, here are three ways you can use your lists to build long-term relationships with your prospects:

Think targeted, not numbers. If you’re focused mainly on the number of people on your list and not their compatibility with your product, you’re going about it the wrong way. Newbie marketers often mistakenly think that having more subscribers is equivalent to earning more profits. This is simply not true.

Successful affiliate marketers will tell you that their fortunes were made from the quality of their leads, not the numbers of people one their lists. Be very specific about your offer, and work to attract subscribers who are specifically interested in your niche market. Your marketing efforts should appeal to your target market, not the entire world.

Put the Law of Reciprocity into overdrive. Here’s the deal. The more you give away free, the more money you’ll earn in the long run. The most successful marketers give away tons of stuff free. If you approach every transaction with a greedy mindset, you’ll soon be finding yourself closing shop and looking for another hobby.

Create something of value, and give it away for free. If it is a free report, target the most pressing needs of your customer base. Use this report as an opportunity for an upsell. Give them value but don’t give it all away free. Use the free report as a lead-in to a related but much more valuable product.

Consider the lifetime value of a customer. You don’t want to make a sale; you want to build a relationship with buyers. Keep in mind that if you give your customers what they want plus more, they’re more likely to make additional purchases from you in the future. The amount of money you can expect to make over the long term with each customer is called the Lifetime Value of a Customer (LVC).

The LVC is more valuable than just the purchases he makes over the course of time. It also considers the referrals he’ll make to others (and the referrals they make to others) when he is happy with his transactions with your company. This is why you don’t want “satisfied” customers; you want customers who are thrilled with their dealings with you. If you’re focusing on the sale, you’re using the wrong approach. Consider the potential reach of a sale, not just the immediate deposit in your bank account.

Listbuilding is about building relationships. Think of it as the difference between your friends and acquaintances. Making a one-time sale is like saying hello to an acquaintance. It’s friendly, but you don’t know if you’ll ever see that person again.  A lifetime customer, however, will be the long-term “friendship” that cements the foundation of your business.

1.    Create a fan page.
Once you’ve established your Facebook account, create a fan page and invite others to it. This way you can separate your personal Facebook account from your listbuilding Facebook fan page. The last thing you want to do is saturate your friends and family with your product details. By creating a fan page, you’ll ensure that the people who become fans are interested in your affiliate offerings.

2.    Don’t confuse social networking with spamming.
If you use your Facebook fan page as an avenue to sell your products to all your fans, then you’ll be shut down very quickly. Do not send sales messages to your fans, or your page will be shut down very quickly. The rule of thumb is to inform not sell.

3.    Entertain your friends and fans.
The great thing about listbuilding via Facebook is that you can be very creative. Post videos and have fun. If just one video goes viral like wildfire, you can get a lot of great leads on your list.

Keep in mind that you’ll want to put a link on your fan page that directs your fans to an opt-in page. Don’t use your videos to sell products; use them to get people to sign up for your list. Give out great tips or engage viewers in something fun. Switch it up, so you don’t become too predictable.

4.    Don’t sell yourself too hard.
You may be very tempted to promote your products but hold back. Remember that people want to buy, but they don’t want to be sold to. Since Facebook is a social media site, most people don’t want to be slammed with sales messages. Instead, provide useful information. You may encourage fans to sign up for your list, and then–and only then–should you make special offers to them.

5.    Build relationships with your prospects.
You don’t want to make a sale; you want to attract long-term customers. On social networking sites like Facebook, it’s imperative that you let your prospective customers see a different side of you. Make it fun. Give away information–lots of it.

The most important thing to remember is that there should be no strings attached to it. The idea is that your generosity will make people want to know more about what you have to offer; therefore, they’ll click on the external link to your website and continue the relationship from there.

Listbuilding on Facebook is a subtle dance between offering helpful advice, being creative, and guiding people toward your opt-in page so they can become your customers. If you use Facebook as a selling platform, you may have your account deleted. If you provide information that is so compelling that your fans will want more of it, you’ll soon find that Facebook is a great way to build your lists for your affiliate marketing business.

1.    Purchase a domain name. Domains are inexpensive, and you can buy them on the Internet for about $10 a year. When you create a domain name, make it simple and easy to remember. Because there’s a lot of competition for domain names, you may not get your first choice. If your business is specific to a specific state or region, it’s wise to put that in your domain name (e.g. www.texas*****.com). This will draw even more location-specific traffic to your website.

2.    Get website hosting. Next, you’ll have to find a host for your domain–somewhere to house your website. There are thousands of domain companies with different plans available. If you are new to web design, find a company that has web templates so you can just type, save, and publish your website without html code. It’s best to shop around to find a plan that suits your needs. Start small at first. As you build your business, you can upgrade your hosting plan to one that will grow with your business.

3.    Transfer your domain name to your dedicated web host. Unless there’s a connection between your website and your domain name, people won’t be able to find you. Contact your hosting provider, and they can help you with this process. Most providers have round-the-clock support staff dedicated to helping people set up their websites.

4.    Set up your site. At first, you may want to begin with a simple blog. Search engines prefer blog links (deep links) to home pages, and this will help you rank higher in the search engines. Search engines also like fresh content, so blog daily. This will help your site rise in the search results when potential customers type popular search terms in the search engines.

5.    Sign up for an autoresponder account. Autoresponders are automated e-mails that go to your list. You’ll need to have one before you start taking names, so find one that makes the process as easy as possible. Once you start sending automated e-mails, make them personal. Write them as if you’re talking to one person.

6.    Create an opt-in page. This is where the listbuilding begins. Keep it simple. Offer something in exchange for your blog visitors’ names and e-mails. You can write a simple report that offers tips and tricks to solve a problem that your audience may have.

7.    Establish yourself as an authority. Blog daily to keep readers interested and to catapult your site up through the search engine page ranks. Make every post count by addressing your readers’ interests and needs.

Listbuilding is not as difficult as you may think. If you follow the 7 steps listed above, you’ll be able to build a large and growing list of targeted prospects.

Many newbie marketers assume that once someone joins their lists, the work is complete. Not so. Listbuilding is an ongoing process and does not end once a prospect provides his name and e-mail to you. Sending autoresponders is one of the most popular ways to build lists and keep prospects interested in your offering.

Here are 5 critical mistakes to avoid as you build your lists:

1.    Don’t buy email lists. Listbuilding is not just a numbers game. Novice marketers often think that the bigger their lists, the more sales they’ll make. Don’t be fooled by the numbers. You want to build qualified lists, not lists that are full of uninterested prospects. Successful Internet marketers will tell you that a smaller list of qualified prospects often outsells a much larger list of random prospects.

2.    Don’t send spam to recipients. First of all, spamming is illegal. Unless you’re willing to turn off potential customers and face harsh legal penalties, you need to steer clear of spam and anything that can be misconstrued as spam. To avoid confusion, send e-mail only to people who have voluntarily joined your list.

3.    Don’t write subject lines that sound as if your English teacher wrote them. If the subject line sounds too formal and business-like, the recipient may decide not to open your e-mail because it sounds too “salesy”. Don’t capitalize all the main words in the subject when lowercase words will work just as well. Keep subject lines personal to grab the recipient’s attention.

4.    Don’t deceive the recipient of your e-mails. Never use a deceptive subject line that implies the e-mail is about one thing only to fool the reader who opens it with something else. Prospects will unsubscribe when they feel tricked by an Internet marketer. Prospects are offended by deception, and marketers who make this mistake often find their lists shrinking in numbers.

5.    Don’t overdo it when it comes to sending e-mails. Less is often more when it comes to sending e-mails to prospects. If you send too many, you risk inundating readers with too many useless e-mails. If you don’t send enough, prospects may forget that they have signed up for your list. When you send an e-mail, provide quality content that is engaging to the reader on an as-needed basis. You can tell a story that ties into your product or offer solutions to your prospects’ problems. Prospects also appreciate how-to tips and tricks.

When listbuilding for your affiliate marketing business, it’s important to know what not to do so you can avoid some of the pitfalls that new marketers fall prey to. By avoiding novice mistakes, you can shorten your learning curve and, hopefully, shorten your path to Internet marketing success.

If you’re looking for a way to quickly increase your number of subscribers, swap lists with another Internet marketer. Newbie affiliate marketers are often unaware of this tactic, but veteran marketers do it all the time.

First, find another marketer who has a list that is comparable to your own. Now, you’re going to promote each other’s offerings. It’s best to find a marketer that is promoting a product that compliments the one you’re selling. Next, you’ll send an e-mail to his list that’s designed to drive traffic to your squeeze page. Then, he’ll send an e-mail to your list designed to drive traffic to his squeeze page. The more people that you can swap lists with, the faster you’ll build your own list.

Another effective way to build your list is to give away something for free. Using reciprocity to keep your profits in motion is an effective way to build long-term relationships with customers. Here’s how it works. Use your squeeze page to promote your giveaway. You can use this tactic before, during, and after your product launch to build excitement for your product and attract new customers. Offer incentives to subscribers who bring in new subscribers to your list. Offer bonuses for customers who get several friends to sign up. This technique has a snowball effect and can be quite profitable in the long run.

Finally, go viral. There’s a lot of power in the viral report. Knowledgeable affiliate marketers know that the more you give away, the more you’ll receive in return from your customers. Write a report that discloses vital information to your target audience. Don’t stick with the basics. Go in-depth and offer industry secrets that they’ll want to pass onto others. Most importantly, don’t charge for this report. Instead, allow subscribers to pass on this information to others via e-mail or to use it as a giveaway in their own promotions.

The goal of the viral report is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. That’s why you’ll want to give away exclusive information that is normally reserved for high-end consultations. Once you’ve built credibility, people will naturally want to opt-in to your list to see what else you have to offer. Include a link to your squeeze page so readers will be inspired to sign up for future offerings.

When it comes to listbuilding, be prepared to think outside the box. It takes more than a squeeze page to increase numbers. You’ll want to drive traffic to that squeeze page by offering subscribers something valuable. Swapping lists, giving away freebies, and going viral will exponentially increase the size of your list and your profits for years to come.

Unlike the advertising you see in popular media, which may focus on creativity and entertainment over effectiveness, Internet marketers must work consistently to put the face of the company “out there” to connect with their target market. The popularity of social networking sites like Twitter is effective because your potential customers make the choice to “follow” you, which means they’re already interested in seeing what you have to offer.

In order to be a successful marketer, you need to focus on the reach and frequency of your advertising program. The number of people you contact is referred to as the “reach” of your campaign. For Internet marketers, the frequency of your contact is important because customers cannot drive by your business, so your visibility is dependent on the contact you make with them.

The first rule of building your list is to treat your followers with respect. No one wants to be spammed, so don’t make the mistake of bombarding your followers with ads. Use Twitter to provide your followers information about you and your business. Give them some insight into your personality. Offer hints about upcoming product launches. Add links to your website. Have fun with your Twitter account, but keep in mind that your tweets are the face of your company so think before you post.

Use Twitter as your first source for sharing tips about your product or business with your target market or for offering special deals for your followers. One of the great aspects of using Twitter is that you can add links to your landing page or blog to drive more traffic to your website. You can also direct followers to your opt-in pages. Offer something free-like a report or customer discount–in exchange for their names and e-mail addresses.

When you first begin to use Twitter, you’ll notice that your followers will grow with little or no effort. One good way to increase your followers is for you to follow others who cater to your target market. This enhances your visibility, and people who do not know you will begin to follow you. Followers of your followers will also jump on board.

One of the tools you can use to enhance your Twitter account is TweetLater. TweetLater allows you to schedule your tweets for the future. If you’re going on vacation or will be on a business trip and won’t have access to your Twitter account, TweetLater will allow you to store your tweets for future distribution so you can keep your tweet stream flowing.

When planning your marketing campaign, use multiple channels to build your list. Social networking sites are a great place to begin. Listbuilding with Twitter is one of the easiest ways to expand your reach and contact your potential customers with the frequency necessary to promote your Internet marketing business.