My top tips to build an email list

When you’re just starting out with your business there is so much to take in and there’s so many different people saying you should do it this way or that way. It can be difficult to stay focused on what steps you need to take and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed when you’re not sure what to do next, or even where to start. My tip is to build an email list….

 Even if you’re a seasoned entrepreneur there are still things you will need to learn, none of us ever stop learning… because when we stop learning our business stops growing. The business world moves at a fast pace and you need to be able to keep up otherwise you’ll get left behind as you see your fellow entrepreneurs sky rocket their business.

You might already have your website or blog up and running, probably for a few months or even a few years… But you are still underwhelmed by the lack of traffic you get to your site? Or the amount of sales you’re getting?

Well don’t worry, because you’re in the right place to change all that and to start making some big changes, not only to your website, but in your life, because as you build your email list, you will also build your business.

Once your site begins to gain momentum you will start thinking differently about it, you will realise that this IS for you and you CAN do it!

So one of the key areas you need to make sure you cover is your email list. When you start to capture your customers’ emails, you will then be able to send them some fab emails where you can let them know about new blog posts that could benefit them… Or an upcoming sale so they can get some fab bargains, or a lovely coupon code sent direct to their email.

You must look after your email list, never spam them with emails saying “you must buy this” or “here’s something else I want you to buy”  … I know they are extreme examples and I hope you would never do that anyway, but you get my point. Send them freebies that you think they’ll like, such as cheat sheets to do something easily in whatever your niche is.

I know we hear all the time that you need to build an email list with thousands of people on it, but the truth is we don’t… You just need to build an email list with the ‘right’ people on it!

 You can have an email list with just 100 people on it, but if they are super keen on you and your niche, then they are invaluable to you.

If you have an email list that has 100,000 subscribers, but they are not actually that bothered about what you do or what you have to say, then there is no point in having them on your list. So bear that in mind when you are trying to capture emails, make sure you are giving away things that are relevant to you and your niche… It’s not just about ‘build an email list’, … It’s more about building the right email list.

That’s all very well I hear you say, but how do I get people on my email list in the first place?

Well first of all you need to give people a reason to sign up to your email list, this is often called ‘a lead magnet’. You really won’t get many (if any at all) if you just have a sign up form on your site that simply say “sign up to my newsletter”. Put yourself in their shoes, would you sign up if you saw that? Remember that most people lead very busy lives, and they are constantly bombarded with websites trying to get them to hand over their precious email address, you have to be able to stand out from them all with something that will really capture their interest.

So you need to give something away that has value to your site visitors, something that will help them solve a problem

• A free course to help them with something in your niche

• 20% off coupon code

• 5 of my top selling patterns for free

• A free E-Book covering a subject in your niche

• Downloadable pages to print out like a daily planner on things you need to do for your blog or a checklist.

• A printable cheat sheet with facts on how to write a good e-book

• A video course

A lot of people like something more visual than just a plain text freebie, so think about doing a short video course as an incentive for people to opt in to your email list.

You could do a single video giving people top tips on how to do something, or you could do a series of videos where you break down your subject into a more digestible size so as not to overwhelm your viewers. You could even create PDF cheat sheets to go along with what you’re teaching in your videos.

Not only does this give your subscribers a great freebie incentive, but it also puts a face (yours) to who is behind the emails they will be receiving which makes it much more personable.

If you really can’t bear the thought of sitting in front of a camera to record yourself talking, then you could do a slideshow presentation with you doing the voice over.

A really great tool for this is AdobeSpark, It’s a free tool where you can very easily make a slide presentation… You simply select a new slide and write your text in it, then hold down the microphone key at the bottom of the slide and read out loud what you’ve just written (you will need a microphone to do this) You can even jazz your slides up by adding some pictures to them. Then add a new slide and repeat the process until you’ve finished. I have done one here to let you see how it looks when you’ve done one Slide presentation

Get some great free to use pictures to add to your presentation to save you a tonne of time… My favourite 12 free stock photo sites

Some things to think about when you are creating your lead magnet

•  It must be exclusive content that can’t be found anywhere else.

• It must be information that’s applicable to your niche

• Check out forums and Facebook groups to find out what questions people are asking, what is it they are looking for?

• Have a look on Youtube, watch some videos in your niche, and then look. at the comments underneath to see what questions people are asking.

• Amazon reviews are a fab place to get information… See what people are saying about things to do with your niche, the positive and negative reviews can be really helpful with getting ideas about what information people are looking for.

• If you already have some people on your email list, you could send them a survey to ask them what they want. Like, ‘what’s your biggest frustration in this subject?’ or ask them ‘what do you really want to know that you haven’t been able to find the answer to?’  Your subscribers can be really helpful with this and if they are looking for these things then you can bet your bottom dollar there will be loads of other people looking for the same things and it could be a great way to build your subscribers list. GetResponse is the best platform I know for allowing you to easily send your subscribers a survey

• Keep it short… most people don’t want to spend hours reading through what might have taken you weeks to write. Giving something of value away doesn’t mean it’s got to eat up peoples’ valuable time … or yours for that matter. So a simple check list could easily outperform a huge report that you’ve created.

• So it should be between 1-5 pages long… Available in PDF format… Have some nice visuals on there with some relevant pictures… Be specific to your niche. It’s always a great idea to add your website URL and your company name and logo on there too, so if it gets passed around without people signing up for it, then at least they will know where it came from and they might just pay your website a visit

Most people like instant gratification with your lead magnet, they want their freebie straight away, so bear that in mind when you’re creating it and preparing it for delivery.

Test out your lead magnets, and if one isn’t working for you the way you’d like, then change it and test another one. Over time you will learn what your site visitors want, and you’ll be in a great position to give it to them.

Now you have your lead magnet sorted, how do you actually get it on your website so people can sign up to it?

To get started you need an email marketing platform. I’ve had a few different ones over the years, but the one I’m with now … and have been with for several years, because in my opinion they are quite simply the best by far… Is GetResponse….  

I will go into more detail in another post about all the amazing things you can do in GetResponse… But we will stick with the basics just for now.

You will need to create a sign up form, which GetResponse makes super simple for you to do because they have ready-made templates, so you just choose the form that you like the look of, one that you think will suit your brand, then you put your own details into it with their simple drag and drop system. Once your form is all finished the way you want, you simply click ‘save & publish’ and then copy the code and paste it into your website.

You can have a sign up form on the side bar of your website, or at the top… You can even have a form that pops up just as your site visitors are about to leave you site.

Another fantastic tool to use in GetResponse is their ‘landing pages’ … These are an excellent way to get people to sign up to your email list. And again, GetResponse have loads of ready- made templates for you to use, just change them to put your own details in. You can then share the link to your landing page on every platform you use. To give you an idea of a landing page, here’s a link to one of mine

 You can get started right here… If you click on this link you will get a free 30 day trial so you can see if you like it. 

I hope you enjoy making a blog.