When you go to a live seminar, you may not be going with the intention of building your list, but you should be. You'll meet people who have much larger lists than you do, and if you can strike up a relationship, your list can grow almost overnight.

But at first, you're not going to know a lot of people, which basically means at some point you might be a little uncomfortable. That's the way it works with everyone when they start going to seminars. You're standing around, you don't know anyone, and you're trying to figure out what to say without sounding dumb.

Respected people in the online marketing community may be a bit intimidating, but they are the people who will help you to build your list, if you handle it right. Here are some pointers for making the best of a live seminar:

* Take your laptop and get an extended-life battery for it. That way you can work a lot longer without having to plug-in. Plus, write to your list when you can, and make them feel as if they're at the seminar with you.

* Bring three or four copies of your website on paper with you. Why? Because no one else will think of doing it, and when you get the chance to ask questions of someone you respect in the industry, you can just say, 'My question's about my website. Can you give me any suggestions on how I can improve my conversion or my sales letter? Here it is, on paper.'

* Don't bring a whole bucket-load of extra books and marketing materials. You'll be inundated with information anyway.

* Bring business cards, but don't focus on giving them out. Focus on getting other people's business cards.

* Don't pay attention to all of the people who are in your situation right now'don't listen to them, at all. Most of them don't know what they're talking about and they probably won't have very big lists. Or, if they do have big lists, they don't know what to do with them. This isn't a judgment call. Most people aren't that good at marketing because they haven't taken the time to get good at it. It requires a willingness to expand out of your current comfort zone in order to learn a new skill set.

* If there are one or two people who you really think you should get to know and meet, say, 'I heard you introduce yourself. I do 'this (whatever your business is, not "I'm intererested in building a list")' and I'm interested in making my business grow bigger. I'd love to talk to you'can I buy you lunch'?

The most important tip is to listen and learn. But what you learn won't do you any good, without a list of customers. Go to a seminar with a solid intention saying, 'If I could learn how to produce $3,000 a month with my current business and I could do that in the next 30 days.' Or, "I want to build a list of 5,000 people within three months."

Setting specific goals will help you achieve them, on a mental level. Doing this gives you something to work towards and a roadmap to follow. More often than not, people say, 'I just want to make as much money as fast as I can," or, "I want to build a big list.' That's just plain stupid.

Have some very clear goals set, even if they're not entirely real, and you're just setting goals in order to have them when you get to the seminar. Listing specific goals is incredibly beneficial because it will help to focus your questions and your mind with all of the things that you're learning. If you have a general goal, you're literally going to miss the majority of opportunities that will be presented to you. But if you go there with the right mindset and you're prepared, you could walk away with some pretty good business relationships and though you may not know it, a potentially huge list.