What could a 18-year old entrepreneur who enjoys blogging, creating sites and products, teach you about list building that you don’t know already?

Read the answer in today’s interview with Jason Pereira …

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My name’s Jason Pereira. I’m an 18 year old entrepreneur who specializes in website development, products and blogging. My main internet marketing blog is located at TheUniversityKid.com

When, how and why did you get started with blogging @ TheUniversityKid.com?

I actually started blogging in 2007 as part of a competition with a few online friends to see whether any of us could reach $15,000 in six months. I was 15. The blog was setup to document my progress – and I loved blogging so much I continued to blog even after the competition was over. Although I sold the blog in April 2009 as I didn’t have the time to run it anymore, I recently bought it back in January 2010 for $3,000 and have big plans for it.

What is your experience with list building so far?

I quite like list building. My first experience with list building started way back at the beginning of 2008 – an informal list of website buyers which was made on instant messenger programs like MSN, Skype etc. I didn’t know what Aweber was at the time, and even if I did I didn’t have a credit card to sign up for it. That list has made me five figures so far. My first experience with a ‘conventional’ list was using Email Aces – although I had around 150-200 people opt in the first day, the service was so terrible I eventually restarted with Aweber. I’ve used list building to add to my income on both my niche sites as well as my internet marketing websites, although I believe I haven’t yet mastered list building in the IM niche.

What are the TOP areas I should concentrate on when building my list first time?

I believe you should give your subscribers a top class product after they opt in – this can be an eBook, course, video series, entirely up to you. I also believe that you should have a way for them to be able to see the quality of it before they trust you with their email address – on a blog for example, they can read your posts before they decide whether they want to opt in. On a squeeze page, you should put a sample of the product (a screenshot of it, testimonials, video, something like that). And of course build a relationship with your subscribers, don’t spam them and only promote high quality stuff.

Do you have a formula for writing subject lines that get opened?

I’ve found that figures (for example, Learn How He Made $1,000 With This…) or questions (What Do You Want To Know About X?) tend to work best.

What would you say is the one most important thing you’ve learned about writing openings?

Don’t mislead, don’t overhype and don’t be boring. That’s three but I’d say the second is the most important. J

What about getting clicks?

Same as above, but be as intriguing as possible and give them a reason to click through (for example give them half of a story or bullet points to a method and make subscribers click through to get the full deal).

So how do you make money with your list[s]?

By promoting products to them and indirectly as well (the greater my list size, the more people that read my blog, meaning the higher I can sell ads for, for example).

Who are you learning from or getting inspiration when it comes to writing your emails?

Alex Goad is a legend, while I definitely respect people like Michel Fortin. Although most IM ‘gurus’ are hated for the way they promote to their lists, it clearly works – as $1mill days and hours have shown.

What are your list building plans for the future? And what do you expect others do once they finish reading your interview?

I plan to take my blog to 10,000 subscribers, build huge lists in at least 4-5 niches and promote more effectively to them.

Thank you for sharing your list building wisdom with us!

P.S. If you have any questions or suggestions on today’s interview, comment below [I want to hear from you]…

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