Before you can really start monetizing your list, you’ve got to actually get subscribers. But it’s a little trickier than just signing up for Mailchimp or Klaviyo.
You’ve got to understand how to grow your email list from nothing to a modest group to a massive following. It takes time and patience, of course. But that’s not enough.
So in this post we’ll cover some practical actions you can take beyond just twiddling your thumbs and hoping for the best.
8 Tips For How To Grow Your Email List
We’ve written elsewhere about the email marketing mistakes that are holding back your campaigns. But if you still don’t have much of a list to even market to, it’s time to think about growing it.
Here are 8 pro tips you can use to attract more email sign-ups.
#1 Make Better Email Content
Okay, believe it or not, the value of your emails is going to play a big part in who signs up and how long they stick around.
Think about it like a restaurant. If the food is bad, no one is going to come back a second time. And word-of-mouth certainly won’t attract many new customers.
The same goes for your emails. Pack them full of so much value that people can’t wait to get the next dispatch. Make the deals so mouthwatering and the information so eye-opening that your followers can’t help but tell others about it.
Pay special attention to the introductory emails in your funnel. You want to make the best possible first impression you can.
#2 Blog Consistently And Optimize For SEO
Blog posts are an ideal way to gather new subscribers.
They land on your post explaining How To Make Your Own Candles only to learn that they can also get a discount on your candle making kit if they sign up for your emails.
It’s not going to capture every visitor, but it will capture enough to slowly grow your list over time. If you publish a new post every week and get them to rank in Google, the results will quickly snowball.
And if you don’t fancy yourself a skilled writer, don’t know anything about SEO, or just don’t have the time to commit, check out the freelance SEO writers on Legiit who can take the job off your hands.
#3 Guest Post On Relevant Blogs
You can cut to the front of the line by landing guest posts on already popular blogs with decent followings.
Usually, when you guest post on a relevant site, you’ll be allowed to link back to your own or include some other sort of call-to-action.
Consider finding guest blog opportunities and driving readers to your email opt-ins.
#4 Create An Email Course
Information products are the most common lead magnet to get email subscribers.
However, designing an e-book or building an online course can be a big hassle. Instead, consider delivering your information through a good old-fashioned email course.
This is simply a series of emails that automatically get sent to your subscribers on a regular basis. Typically every day for 7 to 14 days.
Each email is another lesson in a larger course. They build upon each other and provide actionable advice that readers can implement immediately.
Ideally, end each lesson with a teaser or cliffhanger for the next email. This is a great way to keep subscribers interested and engaged throughout the course.
#5 Run A Giveaway
A giveaway on your website and social media accounts is the perfect way to grow your list.
People love free stuff, especially if there is little barrier to entry. All they need to do is sign up for your list and you choose one or more subscribers at random to win the prize.
Just make sure that the actual prize is something relevant to your audience and the content you create. There is no sense attracting a bunch of people to win a free spinning wheel if your business is in lawn mowers.
#6 Design Awesome CTAs and Place Them Effectively
Your CTAs, or calls-to-action, are integral to converting visitors into subscribers. If they aren’t worded well, designed effectively, and placed appropriately you won’t get the conversion rates you deserve.
You can hire a professional conversion rate optimizer to help you out, but here are some of the things to consider:
- Use the same contrasting color for all of your CTAs and nothing else.
- Place a CTA above-the-fold, somewhere in the middle, and at the end of content.
- Give readers a concrete reason to subscribe; for example “Get 10% off your next order!” instead of “Sign up for our email list!”
#7 Design Custom Squeeze Pages
A squeeze page is just a very short landing page with a singular goal. In this case, you are trying to convince a specific audience to sign up to your list for a specific reason.
You should design separate squeeze pages for individual audience needs so that you can optimize the copy for each of them.
This is useful when you are driving visitors through targeted ads. Consider how the page would look different for a reader coming from an ad about a discount versus one about a video course.
Even though both pages might subscribe readers to the same list, the actual squeeze page content should vary a lot.
Browse Squeeze Page Designers On Legiit
#8 Ask Your List To Share You With Their Friends
When all else fails, there’s nothing wrong with asking for a little help.
If you’ve done things right, then your list is full of loyal followers. Why wouldn’t they want to help you succeed?
If you want to have some fun with it, consider tying some sort of celebration to reaching your goal. For example, promise to release a new course or offer a special discount once you gain 500 subscribers.
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