10 Email List Building Strategies

Before I start sharing these fantastic ways to build your email list, I want to talk about why you should be building an email list.  If you've taken my Create Your Own Sales Funnel course, or Email Marketing course then you'll already know this, so please bear with me.

Why have an email list?

I'm not exaggerating when I say that your email list is one of your most valuable business assets.  I know that if I lost my whole business tomorrow, as long as I have my email list that I could start all over again.

Social media can come and go (Bebo or MySpace anyone?) but your email list is something that doesn't rely on a third party platform and their whims.

As long as you keep growing, and cleaning your list I will help you to grow your business in a way that no other marketing strategy will.

If you have setup your sales funnel properly, you don't even need to focus on selling your service.  All you need to do is get the right people on your list and the system will take care of the rest.

What's the fastest way to grow your list?

I'll look in a moment at 10 strategies to grow your list for free, but this question is one I get asked time and time again.  

The simple answer is paid advertising.  As long as your lead page is setup properly and you have an engaging lead magnet, by using pay per click adverts you can drive traffic to that page and get new registrations pretty quickly.

But lets look at 10 free ways you can achieve that same result.

Speaking

Whether this is live at a physical event, or on a webinar, speaking is a great way to build credibility and get people on your list.  As well as your own events, why not offer to speak at other peoples events.  As long as they are attracting your ideal client and not in direct competition this can work exceptionally well.

Joint Ventures

Building on the speaking idea, why not do other joint ventures with non competing businesses?  You can write a blog or article for them.  Perhaps even join their groups and offer help and advice.  This allows you to build credibility and get new subscribers but also adds value to your host.

Social Media

As well as adverts on social media, regular posts in your page or a group you are a member of (check their rules first) can have subscribers flooding onto your list for a valuable freebie.  Post regularly about your lead magnet across all of your social media channels.

Videos

Whether you're new to video, or an old hand, make sure that you talk about your lead magnet in each and every one.  Have an intro and outro that you can introduce your viewers to your email list.  Also make sure that you have a link in the video description.

Blogs

Each blog you write for your site, or any other site should have a link at the end to your lead magnet.  Make sure that you don't miss this opportunity to get an engaged reader onto your list while they are interested in what you have to say.

Podcasts

These are a great way to pass a short amount of valuable information to your interested audience.  Remember, these are people who are already interested in the topic you are covering so be sure to take the time to tell them about your freebie and get them on your list in every episode.

Facebook Live Q&A

Facebook loves live videos.  They tend to show them much more than other posts and videos.  Use them to answer questions that your audience might have.  Not only does this provide an opportunity to cement yourself as an expert in your field, but it gives you and excellent chance to promote your email list.

Snail Mail

Don't overlook the power of real mail to tell people about your email list and encourage subscribers.  Write to potentially interested parties and tell them about your freebie and how it can turn around their lives and businesses.

Referrals 

Every person on your list is a potential advocate and source of free advertising.  Make it easy for them to forward your email to interested contacts and share them across their social media accounts.

Email Signature

Often overlooked, email signatures are valuable real estate to encourage signups.  Not only will they go to potential clients, but they will also go to partners and others in your network who may well have your ideal client in their network.

These are all easy to implement and free ways to promote your email list.  Once you have a list and sales funnel your focus should no longer be on selling your bookkeeping service.  It should simply be to sell your email list to potential subscribers through your lead magnet and to ensure that the system for converting leads to clients is a well oiled and perfectly streamlined machine.

If you're struggling to setup your sales funnel, I have a fantastic service for you.  We will have a one to one zoom call where I will talk you through your funnel and provide you a step by step checklist showing you how to setup your own unique sales funnel.  Find out more