Marketing Your Best Seller 109 How do you do that? Start with your friends and family, and then begin collecting the emails of every person you meet and entering them into your database. Also, create an opt- in box on your website or blog. Peo- ple who check that box will then start receiving your newsletter. Always give them the option to opt out if they want. By using your database, you can also introduce or promote other people who have a message that would be meaningful to your list. For example, if you have written a book about divorce, you might include in your newslet- ter an article written by a friend about communicating to kids during the end of a marriage. Your list will probably appreciate the article, and your friend gets a little more exposure. It’s a win- win situation. A good thing sells itself. If you provide value—like free tips and information to your database—they’ll keep coming back, they’ll tell their friends about you, and your database will grow. But if you try to sell them to death, it won’t matter if there are a million people on your list. 吀栀ey will not want to buy anything from you, and your list will become cold. Treat your database as you would treat your best friends. Be respectful, fun, playful, and basically be your- self. People will be drawn to you if you simply keep pro- viding value!