The light bulb has finally started flashing in your head and you realize that you need an opt-in list to make money on the Internet. You've read hundreds of articles on the subject and sought expert advice. You've head all the stories of people creating a profitable business with opt-in lists.

With that light bulb still flashing away you finally decide to do something about it - start a list of your own. But how do you get started? And better yet, how do you build a list big enough to generate an income from?

It can be pretty scary when you're first starting out. Do you need a web site? An opt-in form? Should you use an autoresponder service or a script on your own site? How should you format the messages? How many should you send a week? The list goes on and on.

The answers to a lot of these questions will greatly depend on how experienced you are on the Internet. If you have no knowledge of CGI or PHP, then hosting your own script may not be an option. If you don't know HTML or don't have direct access to your on-line files, then editing your pages to insert the code for an opt-in form will not be possible.

These, unfortunately, are just some of the obstacles that you will need to overcome if you want to give this 'Internet Thing' a go. Having your own web site is almost a necessity. Without one, you would only be able to promote other people's products (as they would have their own web sites for you to send traffic to through your affiliate links).

Below are three easy ways that you can use to start building your opt-in list:

• Offer a free report that contains links back to your web site or even includes an opt-in form on one of the main pages. You can also make it necessary for your visitors to fill out your opt-in form before they can access the report.

• Join some of the Fire Sales and Giveaways that other marketers are running (sometimes called Joint Ventures). Add your gift to the site and when visitors want to download your gift make them fill out your opt-in form first.

• Exchange ads with other opt-in list owners. You run an ad for them and they run an ad for you. Granted you probably won't be able to join up with someone who has a huge list (as they won't be getting much exposure in return) but if you can find other lists that are of a similar size to yours, you should be in with a chance.

• Building a profitable opt-in list won't happen overnight, but it will happen. Keep at it and be creative. Try things outside of the box; put a twist on an old idea. And most of all - be persistent.