Having only a couple of hundred dollars to begin building a list with isn't much, but it can be done. If you were just focused on numbers and wanted to generate the biggest list in the shortest amount of time, I would use ListOpt's list builder is a co-registration service that is a lead generation service. It will help you to build your subscriber base quickly, easily, and inexpensively, with targeted double opt-in subscribers to your newsletter. ListOpt would be a great way to get you started.
On the other hand, if you want to start building a really good quality list, you are probably not going to be building it as fast. A great way to start off is by creating keyword targeted articles. Then I'd take that couple of hundred dollars and I'd buy an article submission software or I'd use something like Article Submitter Pro or SubmitYourArticles.com. This will not only get your articles out there so the search engines can send you traffic, but it is also going to save you a lot of time and hassle. However, you've got to be good at writing articles. If not, you'll have to spend more money to pay someone to write them for you.
The next thing you want to do is make sure that those articles have a good bio or resource box driving traffic back to your squeeze page. Remember, having a squeeze page is one of the keys to your online success, so you want to make sure you don't skip this vital step.
The one thing you have to know is that with a small budget, it's either going to take time, money, or both. If you don't have much money to play with then you're going to have to put some time in. Another thing that you might want to do is invest in some tracking software. The reason I say this is because when you begin to have traffic coming in, it would be great to split-test your squeeze page to see how well it is converting. You'll need to do this so that you have the best optin on your website. If your optin page is poor, you'll need to increase your conversions and increase your opt-ins on your page so that you actually have an easier time and get more bang for your buck.
Testing and tracking will allow you to see which areas you'll need to zero in on to increase those conversions. Although you're spending money on article software and ghostwriters to write your articles for you, you'll make more money for the amount of money you've spent several times over because you're investing your time and money into things that work. If you invest your dollars in the right places, there's no limit to how far your business can grow.
