For the last several podcast episodes, we've been covering all manner of marketing tactics. Creating webinars, building urgency, writing copy. And we've taken a deep soul-searching dive into the personal "why's" and "how's" of online entrepreneurship. This week, we're bringing it all back home. It's time to refocus on the foundation of every successful online business: Your email list. This week and next week, I'm devoting the podcast to some list-building straight talk. And if you're thinking "Come on, Amy--I want the black-belt stuff that will take my business to the next level!" ... then this episode might be especially for you. Here's how you know if you need this episode: If you’ve been working on your business for over a year now and you have less than 4,000 people on your email list If you’re not growing your email list by at least 75 new leads a week If you already have a solid list but it’s not converting into sales or sign-ups If you are struggling with confidence in your business and are feeling "less than" or comparing yourself to everybody If you ever launched anything in your business and your results were lackluster (i.e., you sold only one or two of your products when you thought you were going to sell 100) If you truly love the business you're creating and are passionate about seeing it succeed--in other words, if you're in this for the long haul If you answered yes to any of those things, here's the first thing I want you to do after listening to today's episode. Download the short one-page inquiry that I created just for you. It's going to help you sort through the obstacles that are holding you back from building a healthy, growing list. EPISODE FREEBIE Get Amy's Cheat Sheet: "Uncover Your List Building Obstacles" FREE DOWNLOAD Let me say at the outset that, for all my talk about the crucial importance of list-building, I truly understand the difficulty involved. When you're in the beginning days and months of your business, it feels like every opportunity is more important than the simple, daily effort of building your email list. But I learned from the sad experience of my very first product launch just how essential the list really is. Listen to the podcast episode for the full story--it's eye-opening. For now, let's just say that with all the bells and whistles of my program design and the sparkle of my marketing strategy, the promotion totally tanked. The reason? I had a weak email list. I couldn't understand it. I'd been networking with all the right people, even getting invited to speaking engagements and guest blog spots, and I'd spared no effort to create an amazing product. But because I was not actively focused on list building, I wasn't able to build the business that I really wanted. (By the way, when I say “actively” focusing on it, I mean that I would think about my list every day...but it was that horrible “I should be doing this, I’m far behind, I know I need a list" kind of thinking.) Everything else about my business just seemed more important, in those stressful early days. That's why I've created this download for you--to help you think through what is pulling your attention away from the cornerstone of building your business. Once you understand why it's so easy to focus on other things, you'll be able to turn the trend around and start seeing the results you want. EPISODE FREEBIE Get Amy's Cheat Sheet: "Uncover Your List Building Obstacles" FREE DOWNLOAD Listen to today's episode first--it will really help you with the mindset around list-building, and allow you to process the questions honestly. And when you're done, drop me a comment to let me know what you're thinking! What is your mindset when it comes to building your list? How are your efforts coming along?