I need to start with a confession.
When I first thought about “building a list” (back in 2016, around the same time Stranger Things dropped its first season and the internet collectively lost its mind over Eggos) I… didn’t.
I told myself:
“Later. When I have my act together. When I have a killer freebie. When I’m less busy.”
Which sounds reasonable until you realize — and I learned this the hard way — that “later” is just “never” in a nicer outfit.
And here’s the real gut punch: the cost of waiting isn’t just “oh well, I lost some subscribers.” It’s more like… you’ve been letting months of trust, sales, and even the future version of your business rot in a back drawer you forgot existed.
The Compounding Trust Effect
Think about compound interest. Money grows faster over time.
Trust does the same thing — only you can’t deposit it in a bank and watch numbers go up. It’s invisible, maddeningly so. You don’t notice it stacking until the day you suddenly realize people are replying to your emails like you’re an old friend they’ve known since middle school.
When you delay? That “trust clock” doesn’t just pause — it never starts ticking.
I once signed up for a tiny newsletter from a woman who sold handmade journals. She sent a short note every Friday morning. No sales pitch. Just coffee-fueled musings about paper grain and fountain pen ink. Six months in, she released a limited-run journal… and I bought two. Why? Because she’d been there. Consistently. Like a lamp that’s always on when you walk into the room.
Quick start idea: Send something next week. Doesn’t have to be fancy — a tip, a checklist, even a story about a mistake you made. The point is to hit “send” so the compounding begins.
The Shrinking Relationship Window
There’s this small, slippery window between “I’ve heard of you” and “I trust you enough to buy.”
When you wait to start your list, you slam that window shut. Or at least, you make it so tiny you have to shove offers through like crumpled receipts.
And here’s the kicker: the bigger your launch dream, the more time you need on the front end. Selling a $27 template pack? You could warm them up in a week. A $2,000 coaching program? You’d better have been showing up for months — ideally, long enough for them to feel like you’ve been in their corner forever.
I’ve done both. The difference in ease? Night and day. One feels like a conversation with a neighbor over the fence. The other feels like cold-calling in the middle of dinner.
Mini action: Work backwards. Want to launch in December? Start building in June. And yes, I mean this June.
Testing Your Message Takes Time
Here’s something nobody likes to admit: your first guess about what your audience wants? Probably wrong.
I once wrote what I thought was a brilliant series on productivity hacks. My subscribers clicked politely. But when I tossed out a random email about “how to price your offers without flinching,” it was like lighting a match in a dark room — clicks, replies, questions, the works.
If I’d waited until launch to discover that? Disaster.
Your list is your lab. You throw ideas in, see what bubbles, and adjust before the stakes are high. Waiting robs you of that messy, precious testing period.
Try this: Send two links in your next email — one to a how-to, one to a story. Watch which one wins. Then, you know what to double down on.
Story Arcs Need Lead Time
People don’t just buy products. They buy into stories.
Your story — the ongoing one, the one made of scrappy behind-the-scenes moments and odd Tuesday-night thoughts — needs time to build. Months, maybe years.
When I finally signed up for a local baker’s class, it wasn’t because I was dying to bake bread (I have the patience of a goldfish). It was because I’d been watching her journey for years on Instagram — the early-morning deliveries, the flour-streaked apron selfies, the small victories and public flops. I felt like part of her story already.
Start your list now, and you’re giving yourself space to weave that kind of narrative. Delay, and your offers will always feel like awkward cold opens.
Trust Debt Is Real
Think of trust like a bank account. Send a helpful email? Deposit. Share a quick win? Deposit.
When you wait to start your list, you rack up something I call “trust debt.” Later, when you finally need to sell, you’ll have to make a giant, sweaty balloon payment. More persuasion. More discounts. More of that icky “please like me” energy that nobody enjoys — not even you.
Start small: One high-value email a week. Even if it’s just three sentences and a link. Build the balance now.
The Invisible Price Tag
The reason the cost of waiting is so dangerous is because you can’t see it. No flashing red “YOU’RE LOSING SALES” sign. Just quiet… nothing.
But it’s happening. Right now.
Today’s lost trust won’t be there in six months. The people who could have been buyers will be… somewhere else. Reading someone else’s emails. Buying someone else’s thing.
Your Next Step (No Excuses)
You don’t need a “perfect” freebie. You don’t need 10,000 followers. You don’t even need a proper welcome sequence yet.
You just need to start. Right now.
That’s exactly what my 30-Day List Accelerator is for — one tiny, doable step each day so you can go from “thinking about it” to “I actually have a list that’s growing” in a month.
📩 Join here and make today the day you start the trust clock.
Because in six months, you can either have people who know you, trust you, and buy from you… or you can still be telling yourself you’ll “start later.”
And trust me — “later” gets expensive.
Thanks for reading and if you want a free way to learn the ropes on building a list and earning affiliate commissions click the image below and check out Master Affiliate Commissions.
0 comments