John Audette has learned that sponsorships can make list management a profit center. He started the I-Sales discussion list to advertise his own press release delivery service , then began moderating the Link Exchange list . He found himself making a profit from what he thought was his marketing time after adding ads and automating the process using Revnet's Groupmaster program. Audette's also launched a business to track ads offered as hyperlinks on shared lists. Best of all, the technology is cheap.
Any business can have a list.
Audette, who says he has 30,000 members on his various lists, also offered some good advice on using the technology. The moderator must be passionate about the topic, they must have the discipline do this every day, and from time to time you need to stimulate discussion, or steer it gently, and provide a nurturing atmosphere. Setting up a list may take just a few minutes and cost a few dollars, he concludes, but a successful list is a community demanding hands-on management. Comdex in Las Vegas. Next month we're speaking at Comdex Miami and then jetting to Internet World in New York.