10 Hacks to Grow Your Email List
Hack #1: Make Your Content EXTREMELY Easy to Share
The content on your website is what attracts new email subscribers. Because of this, the more people you can get your content in front of, the faster your list will grow.
To get your content in front of the maximum number of people, you need to make sharing a piece of cake! Install a plugin on your site (such as Thrive or SumoMe) that adds sharing buttons to every piece of content you create. This will make a big difference for getting your content out into the world!
Hack #2: Direct Your Traffic to a Focused Landing Page
Create a landing page that has only ONE possible action: signing up for your email list. Clearly communicate the value of signing up (your action-packed newsletter, a free ebook, an email course, etc.) so that your visitors WANT to give your their email addresses. Then, direct all your traffic to the landing page.
By limiting your visitors' options, you'll make the decision to join your list an easy one!
Hack #3: Twitter Cards
What are Twitter cards? They're a nifty little feature that allows people to join your list without even leaving Twitter!
Here's an in-depth tutorial on how to get started using Twitter cards to grow your email list.
Hack #4: Lead Adverts
If you've ever used Facebook ads, you probably know they give you lots of different options — but what you might not know is that they just created a new type of ad called “Lead Adverts” that allows users to enter their contact info directly, without even leaving Facebook.
This is especially convenient on mobile because it works so seamlessly!
Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/1481110642181372
Hack #5: Launch Something New
Whenever you’re in “launch” mode, two things happen: 1) you give people a reason to be extra interested in what you’re doing, and 2) you get extra motivated to share your new thing.
The combination of these two factors creates a whole lot of energy that drives people to take action, check out what you have to offer, and sign up.
Of course, not everyone will buy, but a whole lot more people will choose to at least join your wait list or sign up to find out more.
When I launched my first course, my email list DOUBLED in size, simply from people signing up for the wait list!
Hack #6: Guest Post and Offer a Content Upgrade
Guest posting on other blogs can certainly be useful for growing your brand and helping to get your name out there. However, it won’t necessarily grow your list (or your brand as much as it could) unless you offer something valuable in your article that causes readers to take action and visit your site.
Not sure what to offer? Think about what you could provide the reader with that would help them complete the first step of your how-to post (such as a checklist or video) or gain clarity on their own thoughts about your opinion piece (for this you could use a worksheet or free email course).
Hack #6: Pitch Your Website on a Podcast
Seek out opportunities to be a guest on podcasts, then offer a special bonus just for that audience. Ideally, you could offer something actionable that is focused on the intersection of the podcast host’s area of expertise and your own.
For example, if you’re a wedding photographer who offers a course for wedding photographers, and you’re a guest on a podcast for creative business owners, then perhaps you could offer a free worksheet to help creatives figure out how to attract new clients.
Hack #7: Create a Free Email Course
“Creating a course” can sound like a big, scary thing to do — but really, a course can be as simple as writing a few simple emails that teach a step-by-step process of how to achieve a specific result. For examples, “five steps to gain 10 new clients this month” or “six steps to organize your business finances.”
Simple email course not only can provide a ton of value to your audience, but also have a very high perceived value. “A free COURSE?? Wow, I’m definitely interested in that!”
Hack #8: Create an Email Challenge
Very similar to a free email course, and email challenge is simply a series of emails that guides your subscribers towards a specific, desired outcome, such as “10 new clients” or “organized business finances.
But here’s the twist: There’s even LESS pressure on you. Because it’s a challenge, you’re not promising to teach them absolutely everything they need to know, and you aren’t guaranteeing any results.
Instead, you’re saying, “Hey, you want to set a goal with a bunch of other people and try to achieve it? I’ll even help you out!”
The social component of an email challenge can be a powerful force for getting your new subscribers engaged and interacting with you.
For all the details on how to create a great challenge, check out “How to Create a Free Email Challenge to Explode Your Email List” from the TwelveSkip blog.
Hack #8: Host Joint Venture Webinars
To grow your list, you need to get your offer in front of a bunch of people who would be interested. You can connect with people one-on-one, or you can be a guest on a blog or podcast, or you can pay for ads… OR you can get another influencer to pitch you as an expert to their entire list.
How does that sound?
(Sounds pretty swell to me.)
Here’s how this works: basically, you offer to host a free, live training for someone else’s audience. They get to provide some awesome value to their tribe (with almost no effort on their part), and YOU get the email addresses of all their subscribers who choose to sign up. It’s a pretty sweet deal!
Hack #9: Make Your Opt-Ins Super Obvious
If your only opt-in is a newsletter sign up form that’s hidden in the footer of your website, then you won’t be gaining subscribers very quickly.
On the other hand, if you offer valuable freebies (lead magnets) front and center on your homepage and in each piece of content you create, people won’t be able to possibly miss them!
Figure out what your audience wants, then make it easy and obvious for people to get it.
Hack #10: Host a Giveaway
Team up with a couple other online business owners or bloggers, each offer something that your audience would be interested in, and then promote the heck out of your awesome, fun giveaway!
Everything's more fun when you do it together, and who doesn’t love winning prizes??
To enter the giveaway, participants simply provide their email address. Make sure you send all your new subscribers a welcome email right away (while they’re still really interested in the giveaway) so that you can start to build a positive relationship with them.
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