A lucrative mailing list is not about how big the list is but about how accurate
it is in allowing you to communicate with your real market and not with every Tom, Dick or Harriet. Anyone can crate a huge jumble of email addresses and start mailing them, but getting even a 1% positive response will be lucky.
Lucrative list building is based upon developing a mailing list that allows you to focus your attention on your real market - those who are most likely to buy from you. The best way to do this is to set up a squeeze page with a valuable freebie - something that is related to your business so that people who register to get it are those who already have an interest in what you are selling.
Make the page as easy to read and navigate as possible because filling it with ads and links will distract people and they may click on the links before registering their email addresses.
Keep the page short and to the point so the visitors can get directly to what is offered to them and react to that - too much material and too many words will distract them or cause them to lose patience in trying to find what's in it for them and leave without opting in.
Because visitors usually spend just a few second glancing at a page before deciding if they want to spend time on it, you need to have a headline that catches their interest immediately - something about the download and how it will benefit them. Keep the opt in box simple and direct; make it clear that this is quick and easy to fill up - ask for too much information and the visitor may resent the invasion of his privacy and wonder what you are up to.
Place a clear statement that after opting in there is a simple way to opt out if people wish to - knowing that they can change their minds later makes the decision to opt in easier.
After people register they will expect fast results but while giving them the download link immediately is okay, a better option would be to email them the link as this will enable you to check if the email address is valid and keep your mailing list full of only working email addresses. Do not let talk of huge lists mislead you - lucrative list building is all about having a list of people who are really potential customers and not just people who's addresses you have come across or bought - that is a waste of your time.