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You know you need to grow your email list but you aren’t sure how. There are many ways to grow your email list. Depending on your business, some will work better than others.

I find it’s best to incorporate multiple tactics to grow your email list. I’ve used all of the strategies mentioned below and found some success with each.

Mention Your Email List in a Blog Post

If you have a blog, mention your email list in individual blog posts. It could be as simple as organically mentioning that your next email is coming out and including a link where they can sign up. I get the best conversions with this method.

This method is easy for your readers to participate in.

Sign Up Form on your Website

Your email provider has forms that can be placed in your sidebar, footer or used in a slider. The area following a blog post is also a great place for a sign-up form. It’s a good idea to have multiple sign-up forms so that your readers always have the option to sign up. Forms can also be configured to slide in or pop up.

Make sure your sign-up form doesn’t cover the whole page. Google will penalize pages that have the content obstructed by pop-ups. Try one like the sign-up form below.

Social Media

Do you have a great social media following? Put it to good use by encouraging your followers to subscribe to your email list. I find this works best when I create a sense of urgency and capitalize on their fear of missing out. For example, “On Saturday’s email, I’ll share my secret money saving tip for business owners! Don’t miss it! Get on my list today!”

This type of post creates urgency and piques their interest.

Promote at Events

If you attend in-person events, you can have people who visit your table sign up for your email list. Some people will want to learn more about your message. Other people may need a bit more incentive. Businesses can create a small basket for a giveaway. Have a clipboard or mobile device where visitors can sign up, draw a name at the end of the day.

Bloggers will often include the option of signing up for an email list to win a virtual giveaway as well.

Similarly, if you have brochures or printed materials at your table, include a mention of your email list and the benefits they get by signing up.

Video

Video is outpacing other forms of communication and can be used to grab readers attention. Whether you are using video to promote your email list or a freebie (mentioned next), it’s a great method to use if you are comfortable in front of the camera.

Consider using video on your website and social media to talk about what your readers will get when they sign up to your email list? Will they get weekly, monthly, or quarterly emails? Will they get sales pitches, tips or all your new blog posts? Create a short video so they know exactly what they get. You can share this video regularly or create one for each freebie you have.

Freebie

There are a lot of names for this category. Often, people will entice readers to sign up for the email list with free content, content upgrades, freebies, opt in, the list goes on. Basically, it’s bonus content that isn’t included on your blog, that you are giving your readers in exchange for their email address. It’s a trade.

These are a great way to get more names on your list and to see what your audience is interested in. On my other blog, I regularly create meal plans that people can download. These freebies keep new people signing up for my email list every day.

Free Course

Similar to a freebie, a free course is a series of educational emails that appeal to your reader. Each email in the series will contain easy to understand information, typically in small, actionable steps.

Free Courses are often used to sell an enhanced version of a product. This can be very successful at both growing your email list and increasing your sales. Just make sure the free course adds value or you will lose your readers.

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Do you have a favorite way to grow your email list? My favorites are mentioning my email list organically in my posts and offering freebies for my readers. I’m planning to expand more into video and free courses in the future.

Which works best for you?

There’s a saying, “the money is in the list”, but what does that really mean?

When you build your email list, you are setting your business up for success and more money. Why? Because your email list is a direct link to your customers.

Your number of subscribers is a key business metric that you should track.

5 Reasons You Should Grow Your Email List

1. You control your own list/site but you don’t control other space on the internet (such as social media). It is one of the few things you truly own and you can take it with you.
2. Your list is how you build a following to your brand. People who sign up to your list will continue to follow you. They are essentially signing up to agree to updates from you because they like your brand.
3. The bigger your list, the more reach you have and you can spread your brand’s message to a wider audience.
4. It helps you to be clear about your message. What does your audience want from you? What do they not want? Your list will help you narrow this down.
5. You increase engagement and it also allows you the opportunity to start email conversations with people about your brand.

Now that you have this info to help you better understand why your list is so important, it’s time to start building it. Whether you are starting from scratch or trying to make your existing list bigger, this advice will help you.

Need help growing your list? I’m available! Whether you need help developing a strategy or need someone to take it over, contact me and I’ll create a custom plan to meet your needs and your budget.