The Most Effective Way to Grow Your Email List
If you haven’t started working on your email list yet now is the time!
Email has one of the highest returns on investment. I have yet to meet a business or industry, online or offline, that wouldn’t benefit from having an active and engaged email list to help support their business initiatives. More reasons why having an email list is so important here .
Having the largest list is not the ultimate objective (more on this another time) but growing your list is in fact something you need to continuously work on. In this post I am going to walk you through one of, if not the most effective lead generation methods around. LEAD MAGNETS!
*This post may contain affiliate links to products I recommend. I may earn a small commission when you click on the links or make a purchase, this is at no additional cost to you. Thanks!
For those that are new to email marketing…
In order to have an effective email marketing strategy you first have to start with an email list. An email list is simply a list of email addresses of people that have given you permission to communicate with them. The key here is “given you permission”, that permission is super important, if done right this permission = interest in what you have to say and offer.
Once you have someone’s email address you have the ability to communicate and nurture your relationship with them in a very personalized and targeted way. It's a great way to gain their trust and effectively guide them through the buyer’s journey.
Here is something important to keep in mind - It is pointless and illegal to have people on your email list that didn’t give you permission, these individuals have not shown any interest in you or your message and will likely be annoyed that you are in their inbox uninvited. Aside from low engagement numbers (low open rates and click through rates) these individuals can really hurt your email reputation and impact how effectively you can communicate with future subscribers. The key is to have an active and engaged email list, not necessarily the largest email list so don’t take short cuts and buy email addresses, establish a strong and ethical email marketing strategy and you will very quickly see amazing results!
Ok, so here is the real deal, email marketing is not a set it and forget it task on your to do list, it is something you need to work on a regular basis. People sign up for and unsubscribe from email lists every day, in fact according to HubSpot email lists degrade by about 22% every year! Ouch! It’s alright, this is why your goal is to get new people signing up for your list regularly so that you can minimize the impact of those unsubscribes. Let’s jump into what I have found to be the most effective way to grow and sustain a healthy email list.
Create a Lead Magnet (aka Opt-in Freebie, Content Upgrades)
Opt-in freebies or as many call them lead magnets or content upgrades are free resources, tools or simply something of value that visitors to your website can download or gain access to once they provide you with their contact information (email address at a minimum).
You can have a lead magnet on your home page that is in line with what your website offers or you can have smaller more specific content upgrades that you sprinkle into various pieces of content like blog posts or social media posts that further supports what your content is about. No you don’t have to have a lead magnet or content upgrade on every piece of content on your website, that would be super overwhelming, what I would suggest is to have some kind of gated content on your top 5 or so blog posts.
Why is offering a lead magnet so effective?
People’s inboxes are overflowing with information, promotions and offers, they need a really good reason to give you permission to gain access to their time and attention. In other words, simply having a “Sign up for my newsletter” prompt on your website is just not going to cut it any more. When your lead magnet helps solve a problem, give them a win or simply make something easier for them you’ve earned their permission, gained access to their inbox, attention and time and started on the know, like, and trust journey with them.
How & Where to promote your lead magnet
If you create it, they will come – that’s what many believe will happen but unfortunately that’s not how it works. Once you identify and create a great lead magnet to offer your prospects you gotta get out there and promote it. Here are some great ways to do this:
Your Website
The most obvious place is your homepage with a dedicated section for your new opt-in freebie.
Promote it on your side bar if you have one on your site
People have a love hate feeling for this one but – pop -up’s. Some find them super annoying but annoying or not they are extremely effective!
Include it in your website footer
Add it throughout blog posts where the information is related to the lead magnet
Make it part of your resource page if you have one your website.
Social Media
Link to it from your Instagram profile or add it to your link tree
Pinned post at on Facebook
Part of your LinkedIn profile
Status updates across all platforms
Facebook & LinkedIn groups in response to questions or on promo days (watch for group rules so you don’t get kicked out for self-promotion)
Targeted paid ads across platforms where your audience can be found – not everyone is on every platform.
Include it on YouTube video notes for related content if you have a channel
Other Misc Methods/Places
Guest post on other people's blogs and get in front of their audience
If you have a podcast talk about it and link to it in the notes
Guest speak on other people's podcasts and talk to their audience about your lead magnet and how it can help them
Link to it on your email signature
Participate in joint partnerships with others in your industry to get in front of new audiences
Offer your expertise to others in the industry that have courses and need bonus materials to offer their students
Tips on how to identify and create a high converting lead magnet
This method of fueling your email list is extremely effective if done right, here are some tips to ensure you get a great lead magnet out there.
Create a lead magnet that solves something for your audience or gives them a win. Don’t make assumptions about this do some research and really pin point their troubles and pain points.
Keep it simple, this should give them a quick win! If you go too deep or make it too complicated you will overwhelm them.
Have your lead magnet be something that sets them up or guides them to what you offer. Great example: A website designer offering a branding guideline freebie or a workbook that helps someone structure and organize content for their website. Both lead magnets prime the prospects for the next step in their journey – launching their website.
You want your lead magnets to look great, you are looking to make the best impression possible after all…. But don’t get stuck on making it perfect or overly fancy. If you’re not a designer or not super creative or just simply don’t want to spend a great deal of time designing something use tools like Canva that give you ready to use templates.
Offering gated content is just one of many list growth methods and happens to be my all-time favorite but the main thing I want you to walk away with today is the following: if you haven’t already done so start that email list!
Do you have a lead magnet set up on your website? If not, let me know in the comments below whats holding you back.