My mailing list has never been huge. A few years ago, I launched a program that made me over $100,000 with a list of 253 names.

Even today, our mailing list is only around 1,000 names.

So, I’ve never bought into the whole “you need a list of 10,000-30,000 names to build a business.”

Which is why I love an article quoted by Tim Ferriss in his book Tools of Titans. The original article is by Kevin Kelly, and you can find it at http://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/

If you haven’t read it yet, go and read it now – I’ll wait here :)

Making a good living with 1,000 true fans is possible if you can do three things:

• Focus down with laser-like precision on the audience that most wants and needs what you do, and that you can most help. This is critical. Without it, your book will be rambling and unfocused, the kind of book that people associate with “vanity publishing”. That’s why the very first step we take when we work with our clients is to get you crystal clear on who you’re writing for, and why. That is the foundation on which the rest of your book is built.
• Get your Lifetime Value – how much money each client is worth to you on average – to where it needs to be. That was the whole premise of my book Premium! How Experts Just Like You are Charging Premium Rates for What They Know, and You Can Too!
• Convert more of the fans you already have into paying clients, which was the idea behind my book Just Sign Here! How to Sell Your Knowledge, Experience, and Advice to People Who Don’t Know They Need It. Most businesses don’t have a lead-generation problem; they have a lead-conversion problem: they spend money generating traffic that doesn’t buy. That’s why the first marketing campaign we design with our clients is usually to use the book to reach out to people who are already in your prospect list but haven’t bought yet.

The reason I’m in the business I’m in is simple: one of the easiest and most reliable ways to increase your fees and boost your closing rate is to write a bestselling book on your area of expertise.