I don’t know where I would be in business without my email list (thanks for your support)! It is truly the one thing I could not do without. I can get away with not blogging. I can get away with not doing video, connecting on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
But there is one thing I CANNOT do if I want to be in business and that is building a list. Knowing this I need to get my butt in gear so that I can take care of those on my list and so I can grow it even larger. Not that it’s about numbers, but people do change direction and do other things so it’s wise to always be growing your list.
Join Me!
So for the next 90-120 days my main focus will be on growing my list, tracking/testing offers and different ways to get traffic to my optin pages as well as providing a lot of great content for my subscribers. And I’m going to start off at zero…yep a brand new list. If you are new to building your list then follow along and subscribe in the box above to get my progress emails!
Step 1: The Freebie Offer
Okay so the first step in building your email list is to decide what topic you’ll be discussing and what your freebie offer will be. The point is to give something away for free in exchange for an email address. To get the most subscribers possible make sure that the freebie is something useful. Remember these are people (not just a number) looking for help.
Here are some ideas:
- Give templates, spreadsheets, checklists to help subscribers improve something.
- Audio – Record a simple audio going over how to do something.
- Video – Create a 3 part video series on your topic.
- Schedule a webinar that they can access for free.
- eCourse – If you have a lot of info to share break it up over 7 days or so in an email ecourse.
- Combine some of the above ideas to create even more value.
- Think about what freebie impressed you the most and do something similar.
Short, sweet and to the point. So now is the time to get it done. Pick something and go do it. That is what I’m going to do now. 😉
Got any freebie ideas to share? Let it be known in the comments below. If you need help brainstorming let me know below too!
Hi Lisa,
Have missed watching your vlogs. Glad to hear about your new list building challenge. I am always looking for new ways to add people as subscribers so I will be watching your development with great interest. Good luck with it 🙂
Victoria @ My Daily Cuppa recently posted..Do Your Real World Friends Know About Your Online World?
Hey Victoria! I love vlogging/video and have many more in the works so stay tuned! Yeah building your list AND the relationship part is so important. I know I can do better….I love to challenge myself to build a better, bigger email list every now and then! Are you going to create a new freebie to give away?
I’m still trying to build a list and you are deleting one and starting over! Anyway, I’m sure I will be able to pick up some list-building tips. Thanks.
Ron
Ron recently posted..New Digital Photography Basics PLR Pack
Great to hear of new starts. I am going through one too!
I’m glad you’re leading with listbuilding because despite knowing how important it is I pay scant attention. I find it pretty easy to write an editorial calendar for a blog but get stumped by the same task for a list.
New start needed eh?
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LOL Ron! Well we are gonna get you there! What do you think are your biggest problems when it comes to building your list?
Cheers to new starts! No more paying scant attention to list building. It is FAR to important not to make it a priority. So what are you going to use as a freebie?
I’m starting a new list from scratch as well. I’m hoping to have it in full launch by next week. People seem to value software, but I’m worried about the “support” issues that it might bring up on that type of freebie. I’m wanting to offer a WordPress Plugin. Have you tried giving away any software before?
Rhonda White recently posted..Twelve Simple Tips to Improve Your Business Productivity
I have a couple of things I am working on at the moment. These are not my signature giveaway, just little projects that I enjoy writing about.
Victoria @ My Daily Cuppa recently posted..Do Your Real World Friends Know About Your Online World?
Starting fresh is fun! I missed software! That is a great idea for a freebie (as long as it’s not too complicated). I do want to create/sell software in the future. I have been looking into development and one developer I have talked to does the support too. Many times people need hand holding so that is probably why I haven’t created and sold any yet lol.
I would think that as long as the free software is very simple and cannot mess anything up you should be good. Just provide some helpful video tutorials. If it is more complex then I would sell it and not give it away so you can outsource help if needed.
Sounds exciting though…can you give any more details?
Thanks for writing another useful article that addresses my current needs as a new blogger.
Planning and implementing list-building strategies are on top of my to-do list.
At this time I am working hard to create quality content that is relevant to my audience of people who are interested in trying to learn more about living a healthy, green and natural lifestyle despite the challenges.
I’ve added a subscription form to my site but I need to create a relevant offer very soon.
I am also using social media regularly.
Of course I also plan to create a marketing plan in order to identify forums, blogging communities and related blogs in my target markets.
List building is SO important if done right!
Hey Lisa
I always find your info to be very useful. I am also right at the beginning and have not built a list yet. I was thinking of offering a piece of software I have from a bunch of PLR software I received from a course I bought not too long ago. I see from previous comments that it should be simple and shouldn’t require a lot of support. Maybe like a wordpress theme or plugin. I don’t see much software being given away by people when visiting their blogs, its usually an ebook or a report.
Hi Stephen! Software is valuable as long as your market is keen on using it. It’s really important to make sure you give away something that you know your market will be able to use.