Have you heard the phrase “the money is in the list?”
But you may be wondering… what list?
It’s the email list they’re referring to.
This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on those links. It doesn’t cost you more and you may find you save money using my partnerships.
What’s An Email List?
An email list is a group of people that have given you permission to contact them on a regular basis to who you have direct access.
It’s a valuable business asset!
Consistently building your list, staying in regular contact, and creating irresistible offers are key to business growth.
EVERYONE should be embracing the power of email marketing or you’re simply leaving money on the table.
You may be asking yourself, “why is an email list so important to my business?”
Let me explain…
Why An Email List Is Important
One of the most important things you can do as a business is to grow your email list.
The reason why is…
No other asset gives you the return on investment you’ll get with an engaged email list. It’s an inexpensive way to build an audience and reach potential customers.
An email list is CRUCIAL to your business!
You see, relationships are everything when you’re trying to build a business.
That’s why email is so powerful. It allows you to build relationships with thousands of people automatically.
One of the greatest benefits of using email is to build relationships with readers when you give them time to know, like, and trust you before you sell to them.
Without an email list, you’d have to beg your friends and family to spread the word about your products or services. Or you’d rely on social media, which takes a long time to build traction and even longer to see results.
But with a ready-made list of people who have given you permission to email them, you can spend less than 30 minutes writing an email message for a special promotion and send it to your list of people who already know you.
Actually, it’s been predicted many times throughout the years that email was going to die with the growth of social media, mobile media, and instant messaging.
But really, it continues to be the #1 most profitable marketing channel for many businesses!
Here’s the thing…
You don’t own social media platforms, Google, or Amazon. You don’t have control over how they operate. They change their algorithms, they suspend sellers, and they ban users.
When you build a following on social media you don’t own it at all. You can actually lose access to your audience!
You are powerless against the whims of all social media platforms. They don’t care if their algorithm changes affect your business.
Consequently, all of this could destroy your business if it’s your only strategy.
You MUST take ownership over your audience by building and growing an email list!
You OWN your email list.
No matter what crazy thing the social media giants decide to do next – you’ll still have your email list of fans and potential clients to connect with.
When you build an email list, you own it, and you can take it anywhere with you. They are your customers and prospects for as long as they choose to stay on your list.
If you want to change your email service provider, you can do that at any time. It’s your list and you can export it and import it into a new email service provider.
Some say that email converts up to 40x higher than blog posts or social media! That means it’s a MUCH more effective (and lucrative) place to spend your time and effort.
And no, it does not matter if your business is online or off, if you sell digital products or physical goods, if you’re a coach, consultant, or freelancer.
EVERY business can benefit from having an email list!
When to Start Your Email List
You should already have a way for people to subscribe to your list BEFORE you make your first attractive offer, publish your first blog post, or claim your first social media account in the name of your business.
Growing a targeted, engaged email list should be a focus for EVERY business.
Why?
No traffic = no readers = no sales.
That’s because you do a lot of selling in emails.
Why?
Because emails are the most successful way to sell.
Any time you create a new product, offer a new service or want more customers for an existing service, all you have to do is send an email to your list.
No cold calling.
No knocking on doors.
No standing in line at the post office.
Just send an email.
How easy is that?!
Do You Have An Email List?
Whether you’re someone who wants to write a book, start a blog, or share your ideas with the world, this is a powerful tool you can’t live without.
Or maybe you have one but it’s not growing.
I can tell you from experience, that email list building is not something you do once and forget about it.
The truth is, it’s something you must work on constantly.
This is what ALL the gurus tell you to do…BUT then why does it seem so hard?!
Are you frustrated with the lack of progress you’re making with building an email list?
You may begin to question your abilities and even doubt yourself as you trot along adding one new subscriber per week. Then you secretly begin to wonder if you even have what it takes to build an audience online.
It’s brutally frustrating sometimes because you are trying all the best tips and hacks, what everyone recommends, only to work HARDER and see no email list growth…
How to Build Your Email List
Have you wondered just how to get more email subscribers?
Well, here’s the good news…
Building a large email list is not based on:
- Having a dynamic personality or charisma.
- Being a technical wizard and genius.
- Having a huge social media following.
Building an email list is a skill ANYONE can develop and master…period!
It just starts with 4 easy steps:
- Create a platform. Whether it’s a blog, landing page, or website.
- Next, choose the right autoresponder for you. This is an email service provider that automates your list building.
- Then create Opt-ins (freebies) – not a newsletter. Something that you give to your audience for free in exchange for their email address (and sometimes other information too). Post links to your opt-ins on your platform.
- Send regular emails. At least once per week. This will help them keep you top of mind and build that Know, Like, Trust factor.
How To Grow Your Email List?
How you can go from few to no subscribers to a booming and engaged list. Because we all know that it’s incredibly important to have subscribers who LOVE you and your business, over people who just subscribe for the freebie.
Your list doesn’t have to be huge to be successful. A small but engaged list can be just as profitable (if not more!)
There are many promising ways you can successfully persuade website visitors, customers, and prospects to join your email list. But once they join you must nurture them.
The ideas I’m about to share with you are SO easy; you could do them today, but I only want you to choose 3 ways you can commit to doing consistently for now.
Some Ways to Use Email:
- Send a “Tip of the Week” on the same day each week. You can include a how-to tip that ties into the topic of your products or services. For example, the author of a book on plumbing repairs can share tips on how to fix a leaking toilet, or how to avoid frozen pipes during the winter.
- Let your personality shine through. Fans who love what you offer will want to know more about YOU. Discuss your hobbies, passions, pets, vacations, and what keeps you up at 3 AM. It’s a powerful way to build relationships and turn readers into fans.
- Make your readers part of your community. Encourage your readers to ask questions and join the conversation. Ask them to submit a link to a favorite website, book, story, or video they want to share. If you use it, thank them publicly. Give your readers a sneak peek at what you’re working on.
- Use interesting challenges to grow your email list and interact with your community.
- Promote your free offer instead of your website. Your goal is to capture the name and contact information of your prospects. Once you do that, you can steer them to your website, products, and services.
- Write guest posts and articles for blogs and websites that reach your target audience. Instead of promoting your website in your resource box, invite readers to get your freebie.
- Include a link to your squeeze page in your email signature, as well as in your signature on discussion forums and online groups you belong.
- Ask subscribers to forward and share your emails with their friends, family, and colleagues. Include a line at the bottom of every email asking your readers to forward the information, if they’ve found it useful. You might even offer an incentive, such as a free ad or a special discount for every subscriber they refer to you.
- Host your own virtual summit. This brings in a large number of subscribers!
- Participate in Giveaway events.
- Host webinars. Live and automated.
- Provide free courses. They must opt-in to view.
- When commenting on someone’s blog post and there’s a space to enter your website, put in your opt-in page URL instead of your home page.
- Being interviewed. The person who interviews you will promote the interview and will almost always include a link to your free offer.
- Guest blog with content upgrades. Content upgrades are the single most effective tactic for growing an email list through blogging, and when combined with guest posting, it’s the best. Use content upgrades and use them to accelerate high-quality email list growth.
- Guest or Partner Emailing. It’s easy and simple to do, doesn’t cost anything, and can grow your list by 10s, 100s, or more–depending on the partner. Find someone with an audience like yours, ask them to email your lead magnet to their audience, and you email your audience your partner’s lead magnet. (Who wants to do this with me?)
Final Thoughts
List building is no easy task, and it isn’t something that you can just set and forget — It requires frequent review if you want to ensure continued growth.
This is the BEST way to build your business. You need to promote your list opt-ins wherever and whenever you can.
Imagine being able to hit “send” on an email and contacting over one million people.
That’s like reaching raving sports enthusiasts of 20 packed baseball stadiums… at the same time!
Seriously. The bottom line is an email list is the single MOST important asset your business has. Don’t wait another minute to make yours a priority.
Imagine the people you may be able to help or provide service to. Don’t let fear or frustration stop you from potentially helping them. You need to overcome it now. Remember—a successful business is one that serves!
I have your best interests in mind and want to see you do BIG things! I hope you are beginning to see why an email list can be so valuable and are wanting to seize the opportunity to start or grow your list.
If you’ve been hesitating to build an email list because you think it’s too technical or time-consuming or because you think you don’t have anything to say, let’s chat. It could be the breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.
Download my FREE “21 Spectacular Ways to A Mammoth Email List” and get started on building your email list today!