It may not be as “sexy” as some of the newer marketing techniques, such as push notifications and social media, but it continues to be incredibly effective at converting people into paying customers.
We may ignore notifications on social media and screen our phone calls, but we still pay attention to our inboxes.
If you can gain access to someone’s inbox, then you have access to their attention, and there are few things more valuable than a person’s attention.
If you have a business of any sort, you should be building your email list.
Every address on that list represents potential customers and potential dollars in the bank.
The larger your list grows, the more you’ll be able to directly interact with those who are truly interested in your business.
Because really, that’s what an email list is.
It’s a list of people who have expressed interest in your business.
But building an email list is no simple task.
After all, people aren’t just going to give you their email address for no reason.
Tactic #1: Create Valuable Content
If you start with tactics, you miss the big picture, and you won’t be able to build your email list very effectively.
So what is the big picture?
It’s essential to give people a compelling reason to give you their email address.
In other words, first create value.
They want to know that the emails they’ll receive from you will add value to their lives.
So how do you show people that you’ll add value to their inbox?
By consistently creating compelling content on your website and then promoting that content via email.
The content should solve their biggest pain points, dive deep into specific subjects, and answer their biggest questions.
Yes, there will be times when you send out promotional emails about your products or services.
But people will be much more likely to sign up for, and stay on, your list if they know they’ll be receiving incredibly valuable, non- promotional content from you on a consistent basis.
You want to send about 3-4 times more value than promo emails.
That probably seems like a ton of content, but it works and doesn’t burn out your list.
In order to create high-value content, you must know your audience.
What are their biggest pain points?
What sorts of quick fixes and permanent solutions are they looking for?
How can you serve them most effectively?
How can you guide them and help them through their challenges?
Tactic #2: Create A Landing Page
Landing pages are just web pages that someone gets sent to and usually asks for their email
There are numerous ways to create landing pages.
You can have someone code one for you.
This is probably only necessary if you need very specific customizations done.
Or, you can use landing page software to build a landing page.
I use and recommend Clickfunnels.
It’s easy to use, looks amazing, and you can get a free book “Traffic Secrets” by signing up with my link below:
Click Here for Clickfunnels Website
Tactic #3: Give Away Something Valuable for Free
People will give you their email for something free.
It simply needs to be valuable enough to convince someone to give you their email address.
Examples include:
○ Checklists
○ EBooks
○ Cheat sheets
○ Product samples
○ Discount coupons
○ Templates
○ Free trials
○ Case studies
○ Webinars
○ Podcasts
○ Premium content
Be sure to send the freebie as soon as someone gives you their email address.
If you make people wait, they’ll probably be upset.
Don’t give away the farm, but make sure it’s something your ideal prospect wants.
Tactic #4: Do A Giveaway
If you’re looking to supercharge your email list building, it’s hard to beat a giveaway.
The way it works is really simple: in order to sign up for the giveaway, people must first give you their email address.
You can give away just about anything, from physical products to consulting sessions to digital downloads to anything in between.
Really, you’re only limited by your imagination.
The bigger and better the prize, the more likely it is that people will sign up. So when creating your prize package, think bigger and better.
You can use a giveaway platform to make it easy for people to enter and to choose winners. There are numerous giveaway platforms available, including:
○ KingSumo
○ Gleam.io
○ Rafflecopter
○ ViralSweep
Make sure to keep in mind local specific laws regarding prize giveaways.
Tactic #5: Run Facebook Lead Ads
Facebook Lead Ads allow you to give away lead magnets and collect email addresses directly within the Facebook platform.
In other words, people can fill out a form and download a lead magnet without ever having to leave Facebook.
This can be a tremendously powerful way to build your email list.
Facebook has over 2.5 billion active monthly users.
You can be absolutely sure that your audience is using Facebook on a regular basis.
Also, their advertising platform allows you to get hyper-specific in your ads, meaning you can target very specific audiences.
This ability to target very specific audiences allows you to connect with your ideal customer.
Instead of filling your list somewhat randomly based on who visits your website, you can fill your list with highly interested prospects.
By using Lead Ads, you minimize the amount of work someone must do in order to get on your email list.
They don’t have to go to your website which Facebook also likes and they will show your ad to more people.
Tactic #6: Utilize Content Upgrades
Content upgrades work like this.
First, you create a highly valuable piece of content, such an in-depth blog post.
Then, you create an “upgrade” that accompanies that blog post.
In order to access the upgrade, people have to give you their email address.
The reason content upgrades work so well for list building is that you’re not interrupting the content experience.
Instead, you’re offering something valuable that supplements what they’re already reading.
When creating a content upgrade, it’s critical that the upgrade add additional value to the content they’re already reading.
In other words, you need to:
○ Come at the subject from a different angle.
○ Cover additional material you didn’t cover in the original content.
○ Create something that supplements the original content.
One of the easiest content upgrades to create is a checklist that essentially summarizes everything you wrote in the blog post in a concise, easy-to-digest manner.
Tactic #7: Create A Free Tool
Creating a free tool can be an incredibly powerful way to get thousands of new people on your subscriber list.
It’s a simple, yet effective, technique. In order to use the tool, people simply have to give you their email address.
For example, CoSchedule created their “Headline Analyzer” tool, which analyzes a blog post headline and then grades it for you.
But here’s the catch: In order to access your score, you need to first sign up for their email list.
Many SEO firms will provide a quick SEO audit of a website in exchange for a person’s email address, and many real estate agents will provide an estimate of how much a person’s house is worth.
If you don’t have the technical know-how to develop a tool yourself, you can easily find someone to do it for you on Upwork or Fiverr.
When creating a tool, you’re only limited by your imagination.
It simply needs to provide a valuable service.
Tactic #8: Create Quizzes
People love quizzes.
It’s why sites like Buzzfeed constantly create quizzes like “Which Harry Potter Character Are You?”
Quizzes are also a fantastic way to build your email list.
You create a quiz and people simply need to give you their email address in order to get the results.
But here’s the thing with quizzes and list building: the quizzes need to be related to your business in some tangible way.
If you create a “Which F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Character Are You?” quiz, you may be able to get a lot of people to take it, but most of these people probably won’t be interested in your business.
Your quiz should be closely tied to the objectives, desires, goals, and pain points of your ideal customer.
The main point is that your quiz needs to attract those who are also interested in your products or services.
Your goal isn’t just to get as many people as possible to take the quiz.
Get the RIGHT people to take the quiz — people who want to work with you.
Just as with lead magnets, you want your quizzes to actually add value to the person who takes it.
Your goal is not just to get their email address.
Give them something valuable in exchange for their email.
Tactic #9: Promote Your List On Social Media
Regularly promote your email list across your social media channels.
However, when promoting your list, don’t simply say, “Hey, come join my email list!”
You probably won’t get many signups if you promote it this way.
Instead, give your social media connections a compelling reason to join your list.
How often should you share about your email list on social media?
Enough that people know about it but not so much that it feels like you’re spamming.
The more value you create on social media, the more likely it is that others will listen to what you have to say.
When your ideal prospect sees you constantly creating valuable content on social media, they’re much more likely to sign up for your email list when you finally ask them.
Tactic #10: Add A Link In Your Email Signature
Every email you send is an opportunity to build your email list.
The trick is simply to add a link to one of your email list building tactics in your signature.
For example, you could…
○ Add a link to your signature that invites people to take a quiz you’ve created
○ Add a link to a landing page where people can download your free eBook
If you have employees, consider having them add something similar to their email signatures.
The more people who have it as part of their signature, the more email signups you’ll generate.
If you would like more ideas related to this, check out my other blog posts:
Thanks for reading.
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