Recently, I shared 8 reasons why it’s so important to build an email list for your biz or blog. Now that you know why it’s essential to get that email list going, you may be wondering how to actually get subscribers on your list.
Alternatively, if you’ve had an email list for a while but it’s been growing at a snail’s pace, you may be wondering what you can do to skyrocket your progress.
No matter which boat you’re in, don’t worry. Because below, I share 9 easy list building tips for growing your email list so you can take your biz or blog to the next level.
Want to grow your email list faster? Create content upgrades that convert well.
Download my free list of 27 content upgrade ideas for your blog.
1. Create lead magnets
These days, people typically don’t give away their email address for free. Instead, you usually need to offer them an incentive to join your email list. That’s why one of my favourite list building tips is to create lead magnets—free resources that you offer to your audience in exchange for joining your email list.
Lead magnets can be checklists, cheat sheets, worksheets, recipe cards, promo codes, and even free gifts. They just need to be relevant to your brand and appealing to your audience.
Typically, lead magnets are resources or products that aren’t publicly available on your website or blog. As a result, the only way for people to get them is to sign up for your list.
Lead magnets let you provide massive value to your audience in exchange for an email sign up. They also make subscribers feel like VIPs who get access to exclusive information. (After all, who doesn’t love feeling special?)
Related: 5 ways to get more leads from your blog + free call-to-action cheat sheet
Example: Check out the lead magnet in Mintnotion’s sidebar.
2. Add content upgrades to your blog posts
Have you ever heard of content upgrades? Adding them to your blog is one of the most effective list building tips the pros use to grow their lists.
Content upgrades are lead magnets that are specific to a particular blog post. They’re meant to be resources that help your audience implement the information they’ve just read in your blog post. For example, in my blog post on how to write a welcome email series, the content upgrade I offer at the end of the post is a welcome email series copy template. This template is designed to help my blog visitors implement the tips in the welcome email series post by making it easier for them to write their own welcome email series.
To optimize the impact of your content upgrades, make sure they’re highly relevant to their corresponding blog post, actionable, and valuable to your readers.
Related:
- 6 reasons why your blog needs content upgrades + free idea list
- 6 content upgrade tips that will skyrocket your email list + free fillable checklist cheat sheet
Example: At the end of my blog post on the 7 most effective types of email subject lines, I offer 63 free email subject line templates as a content upgrade.
3. Make a resource library
Need a list building tip your audience won’t be able to resist? Create a resource library. A resource library is a password-protected space on your website or blog that contains a collection of lead magnets and content upgrades. By signing up for your email list just once, your audience can get access to all of the ítems in your resource library and any new ones you add in the future.
Because resource libraries are packed with value, they’re a huge incentive when it comes to convincing people to sign up for your email list.
Example: Melyssa Griffin uses her resource library as an opt-in incentive.
4. Promote your lead magnets in guest posts
When you’re thinking about list building tips, don’t limit yourself to strategies you can implement on your own website or blog. Instead, think about how you can connect with members of your audience who haven’t even heard of you before. Most of your new email subscribers will probably come from people who have visited your website, blog, or social media accounts. But it never hurts to search for other places where your audience may be hiding.
For example, if you write guest posts for other blogs, find out if you can link to one of your lead magnets in your author bio. This way, people who like your post have a chance to sign up for your list in exchange for a free resource. Although this may not be one of the first list building tips you’ll hear people talk about, it can be a great way to engage members of your audience who haven’t discovered your brand yet.
Related: 16 ways to get MORE people to see your email opt-ins + 19 emails to send to your list
Want to grow your email list faster? Create content upgrades that convert well.
Download my free list of 27 content upgrade ideas for your blog.
5. Host a webinar
Webinars—both automated and live ones—are only becoming more and more popular. Although you may think of webinars as platforms for pitching paid products, there’s a reason why hosting a webinar is one of the most popular list building tips these days: They can help you skyrocket your email list.
Hosting a webinar is one of the best ways to gain new subscribers because webinars typically require people to register in advance via email. Most people understand that they need to provide their email address to register for a webinar and receive details about it. So if people are interested in attending your webinar, you won’t need to do much work to get them to hand over their email address.
In addition to giving registrants free, valuable content, webinars allow you to showcase your expertise and what you have to offer. As a result, they can be a great way to quickly turn your new subscribers into clients and customers.
Example: Amy Porterfield gets a ton of new subscribers for her email list by hosting free webinars.
6. Deliver an email course
Don’t like the idea of having to get on camera to host an automated or live webinar? Deliver an email course instead. An email course is just like an online course. In this case, however, you divide the course up into multiple sections and send each one to your participants in a separate email. If you teach people how to grow their business with social media, for example, you might create an email course on how to use Instagram to boost their web traffic.
Because email courses offer detailed instructions on how to do something complex, people tend to view them as a highly valuable. This makes delivering an email course one of the best list building tips to use to grow your list.
Example: Pat Flynn uses a list building email course to grow his email list.
7. Offer incentives in person
Have a brick-and-mortar location? You don’t have to stick with list building tips you can implement online. You can also encouarge customers who visit your location to sign up for your email list in person.
To optimize the success of your efforts, have an incentive to offer to your customers in exchange for signing up for your email list. This could be a promo code for a discount on your products or services. Alternatively, you could offer exclusive access to promotions for email subscribers only.
Example: Banana Republic offered a 15% discount on my next purchase in exchange for signing up for their email list.
8. Embrace popups
Popups may seem annoying, but I’d be leaving out something important if I didn’t include them on this list of list building tips. Why? Because as irritating as popups may seem sometimes, they work. And most people aren’t all that averse to them anyway.
When creating popups for your website or blog, test different copy, designs, and opt-in incentives to identify the popups that work best for your brand.
Example: This colourful popup about a blogging course sure gets people’s attention.
9. Create exceptional email content
Creating epic emails isn’t just important for keeping subscribers on your list. It’s also a strategic list building tip. How can sending great emails to people who are already on your list help you grow it? If your subscribers love your content, they’ll be more likely to forward your emails to people in their network who aren’t on your list yet.
To encourage your subscribers to share your emails, be sure to include social sharing buttons and an “email to a friend” button in your emails. And most importantly, don’t forget to add a “subscribe” button at the bottom of your emails. This way, people who receive your forwarded emails can join your list too.
Related: 10 expert tips for writing marketing emails that convert + 63 email subject line templates
Example: The “forward to a friend” link at the top of this email from Poem-A-Day makes it easy for subscribers to share the email with others in their network.
Use these list building tips to create a list that grows your brand
If you want to grow your biz or blog, it’s important to have an email list. When you have a healthy list of engaged subscribers, you can nurture your leads, gain more clients and customers, and boost your sales.
Use the list building tips I’ve shared above to get your email list off the ground or make it grow at a faster pace. Although building an email list takes some work up front, the results are definitely worth it in the end.
Want to grow your email list faster? Create content upgrades that convert well.
Download my free list of 27 content upgrade ideas for your blog.
