5 Ways To Grow Your Email List Quickly If you don’t have an email list for your on-line or brick and mortar business, you should really begin working to build one. When I first decided to start blogging in 2014, it was just as an outlet for my thoughts, initially. Then, later, it became information based. I truly didn’t even think about growing my email list, or the benefits of it. I’m so grateful, for the people that subscribed anyway, because my site was of benefit to them in some way. However, as I’ve grown, and my content has changed and my audience’s avatar has changed, growing my email list, has become one of the main goals of my business model. In the age of social media marketing with Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, you can virtually advertise your business for free, with the exception of their paid ads. And that's great! Wonderful! But, those platforms can shutdown or go down at any point! Instagram had a couple of those instances, in the past few months. So, although, these sites are great for gaining followers, the goal is to get them from the app to your site, and from just browsing your site, to becoming a part of your list! Because if those apps ever go away for good, your audience and your customer's go with them! When I decided to go in a different direction with my website, at the end of January, I scrapped my entire email list and decided to start over from scratch. I wanted to grow my email list to 1,000 subscribers within 3 months. I decided 1,000 was a good number, because it would be enough to allow me to gauge my metrics in Mailchimp. With email marketing it’s important you understand your numbers. These are click rate, bounce rate, open rate etc. 5 subscribers or even 20 subscribers wouldn't provide you with an accurate assessment of how your blog or site material is actually performing. And truth be told, even 1,000 subscribers is not nearly enough, but it's a good starting point. And remember we ALL start at 0. To begin growing my list, I created one opt-in and gained almost 600 new subscribers in one week, but the first 500 came within 24 hours. A month later I had close to 1,000. Of course, a few people may unsubscribe, once they get the freebie, but that’s to be expected. The ones who stay are the ones you must focus on cultivating and growing your relationship with. I recommend #MailChimp if you’re starting from scratch. This is not a paid promotion and no, I don’t have an affiliate link with them. I am recommending them for beginners because:
1. CREATE AN OPT-IN FREEBIEIn order to continue to grow your email list, create simple but practical freebies, that will simplify things in your client’s/customer’s lives. If you know your audience, and your client’s/customer’s avatar, you can hone in on the things that will help them best. I created a weekly planner pdf, a daily planner pdf, and a weekly meal plan pdf. (Please feel free to subscribe to our mailing list and download yours!) My audience and client's are a lot like me, they have tons of things to remember and do. Being an entrepreneur, who is a “party of one” in the office, we often, forget to even feed ourselves. Hence, these were 3 practical things, that I knew my client’s could use and would appreciate. Also, each one, could be printed, over and over, multiple times, to make an actual journal for a 3 ring binder, or spiral bound at Office Depot. We love journals and planners, too! I received over 600 subscribers within the first week of offering it and over 500 within the first 24 hours, as you can see from the screen-captures, below. The week of January 14th, I only had one subscription, which was myself. I keep myself on the list so that I can preview the "test email" before it goes out to my list. January 21st I created the opt-in and the same day, I received over 500 new subscriptions! By the end of the week, I was at 695! 2. Create A SurveySurveys can be fun, but they are also a great way to find out what areas your audience may be struggling in and thus provide an opportunity for you to not only grow your email list, but to offer a valuable solution 3. Create A NewsletterThis may be one of the easiest ways to grow your list, because you don’t have to create anything “new” immediately. Usually, the people who sign up are already engaged with you and your content, and they want more. Let them know, what else they can look forward to, i.e. upcoming projects, products, courses, subject matter, and how often the can expect to hear from you. Will it be weekly, monthly, quarterly? Consistency is the key, so if you promise certain things, make sure you deliver. You want your audience to be able to trust you. If trust is not established, or even worse, broken, they’ll never go from subscriber to customer. 4. Create A Closed Facebook GroupFacebook Groups are great for building your tribe and community. It gives them a sense of belonging and there are some great #GirlBosses who have turned their Facebook Groups into movements. People often prefer live engagement and these groups are a great way to go live and not have to worry about trolls and feel comfortable if you’re otherwise camera shy or "live"-phobic. Everyone who signs up is interested in you, what you have to offer, and what you have to say. 5. Host A GiveawayYou see these all the time on Facebook and Instagram. People love free things and the thrill of the “possibility” of winning. I have a friend who signs up for every giveaway, she comes across. Not me though. I never think I’m going to win and I don’t have time. But, that’s just me, according to the people we see on Instagram following the give away instructions. It’s a great way to get people to subscribe to your email list, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. It can be anything from a very nice coffee mug, a gift card with an amount you specify, or a product you already offer in your on-line store. And because I gave you the first of the five ways in the opening paragraph, here’s a sixth way: 6. Create A WebinarWebinars are a great way for your audience to get to know you and trust you. Also, if someone signs up for it, it means they are truly interested in the information you have to share. We know this, because it requires an investment of their time. They have to put it on their calendar and actually show up at a specific time. Webinars are not as difficult as some may think to create or host.
The first webinar I signed up for and attended was super fun! It was hosted in a way that felt like a girl’s sleepover or slumber party. The host is a lot like me and enjoys the comfort of her home and bed. She hosted it from there in her PJs, on a Sunday afternoon. It was 4 hours long because there was lots of information to cover, but no one got tired or bored. We took intermittent breaks to go re-up on snacks and to go to the potty. Others continued chatting with each other in the comments section. I decided that day, it was the model, I would use, for my webinars, as well. Not that I would be “copying” her, because, it was the way I was already speaking to my online audience in general. (Like my Snapchat followers) But she, gave me the assurance, through her webinar, that you can do, whatever feels the most comfortable, for you. You don’t have to be sitting behind a desk in your home office, unless, that’s what you prefer. The downside, is that, Webinar software, can be pretty expensive, depending on the size of your audience. However, you can use Google Hangouts and YouTube as free options. Let me know in the comments section if these suggestions have been helpful to you.
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AuthorDigital Product Strategist. Content Creator, Business and faith based Life Coach, Chic-Geek, Introvert, and Empath. Archives
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