Build a list or create a product?

Marlon Sanders, a contributor to my site, just sent out a message to his list, asking the question, "Which first? Build list or create product?" It's a great question, but I don't think he answered it adequately.

Let me see if I can help him.

Truth is, you need to be doing both. But which should you do first?

If you're starting from scratch—no product, no list—which do you choose to focus your energies on?

The problem is, if you're just starting out in Internet marketing, you don't have any credibility.

You haven't developed trust with anyone, so getting them to give you their name and e-mail address—the basis of your list—will be very difficult.

(You can purchase e-mail addresses, yes, but that's a very poor way to get qualified prospects for products that you want to promote. It's also very likely to land you in hot water with spam complaints. I don't recommend it.)

Creating a product, on the other hand, opens doors to opportunities to build your list.

Not only does every sale add to your list, but with the right JV partner(s), you'll have access to their lists—without a list of your own!

I'm convinced that attempting to build your list first is like putting the cart before the horse. If, instead, you create a product, you create the leverage you need to build your list much faster.

Marlon wants you to buy his Info-Product Dashboard, a point-and-click system for creating your own information product. If it works anything like his Affiliate Dashboard, which I own, you can't go wrong.

If you use it.

My own $7 Secrets report should get you started.

If you use it.

Don't put it off any longer: read through $7 Secrets once again (all of it, not just page 32) and put it to use.