7 Easy Ways to Grow Your Email List

Growing your email list is going to be the backbone of growing as a blogger or successful business owner. Although some may think that email is old school, and prefer to only use social media as their method of reaching out to a broader audience, it should not be discounted as such. Email is one of the most powerful ways to connect with your audience because it allows you to have a direct line of communication with them. It’s also cost-effective, easy to use, and there is no end in sight for it.

Unlike social media platforms that grow and diminish in popularity all the time, email is consistent. For many organizations and educational institutions, it is the official means of communication, over phone, text, and social media. Email has become the number one method companies use to target customers, gain new ones, and increase conversion rates.

I’m sharing 7 easy ways you can grow your list, resulting in a larger audience, readership, and more traffic for your site or business.

1. Deliver high-quality content

If you already have a newsletter going or are connecting with your audience via email in some form, you want to make sure that you’re always delivering valuable, high-quality content. Members of your audience will spread the word about you and others will want to sign up for your email list. Word of mouth is one of the oldest, yet effective forms of marketing.

“…people don’t trust advertising, at least not as much as they trust recommendations from friends and consumer opinions expressed online.” – Source

One great way to both deliver high-quality content and encourage people to join your list is to offer a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a free gift in exchange for someone’s email that is delivered immediately after they opt-in to your list. I can’t suggest creating and offering a lead magnet strongly enough, because they are pretty much a necessity for growing your list nowadays. Email addresses are like currency, so you want to ensure that people receive something immediately in return for giving you theirs.

Here on the Bliss & Faith blog, I offer two lead magnets that readers can get access to in exchange for their email, my free Building An Authentic Brand Guide and the Take Action Evergreen Content Challenge.

You can check out examples of my live opt-in forms below:

[thrive_leads id=’10513′]

[activecampaign form=1066]

These forms are placed throughout my site and off-site, like on my courses page, to make it easy for readers to opt-in.

Another way to offer a way for readers to opt-in to your lead magnet is to create a landing page for your it. A Landing Page is a dedicated page for your lead magnet or offer in which visitors can learn more about it and opt-in. It typically gives detailed information about the lead magnet or offer, such as the features, benefits, and testimonials.

 The Take Action Evergreen Content Challenge has its own dedicated landing page that readers can easily navigate to from my navigation menu, and from there they can learn more about the challenge and easily opt-in via the hero image at the top, as well as at the bottom of the page.

This is what it currently looks like, however, it will be revamped soon since the challenge is being rebranded:

Since offering them, they’ve significantly contributed to growing my list exponentially over previous tactics to grow it. They by far grew it quicker than my content upgrades and any other call-to-actions I have on my site to encourage readers to join my email list.

2. Seek to Influence

Just like blogging, you should always strive to educate, inform, and inspire your audience. This can be done very easily with email, because it allows you to go straight to the individual, instead of them having to come to you. Include encouraging, influential information in your email campaigns, so that people feel good and as if they got something useful out of your email for taking the time to read it.

3. Build Your Credibility

People will subscribe to your email list if they trust you. Much of how successful a person or brand is based on how much credibility they have and their ability to build trust amongst others. You want to be viewed as someone who knows what they’re talking about and that the information you’re giving out is accurate and true.

“People want to be told the truth. They want their interactions with you to be validated by a genuine personal response.” – Source

4. Keep Your Emails Casual & Simple

The tone of your email says more about it than any graphics, color links, or other attention-grabbing tactics you may use in your email campaign. You want your emails to relate to people on all levels, so keeping them conversational, easy to read with a clean layout is best.

[Tweet “You want your emails to relate to people on all levels, so keeping them conversational, easy to read with a clean layout is best.”]

Personally, I include no more than one to two graphics in my campaigns, minimize links and other colorful text, and use bolded heading to make things stand out. This way my layout is clean, simple, and not detracting from what I’m actually saying. When it comes to tone, I keep it genuine, concise, and succinct. I try my best not to use overly complicated language or words, as well wordy phrases.

5. Write Engaging & Exciting Subject Email Lines

Give people a reason to want to open your emails.  It’s like a headline on the news or in a magazine, you can’t wait to see the story or read it. You should strive for your audience to feel this way when they see your email arrive in their inbox. Furthermore, you want them to be looking for your email, anticipating it. You want your subject lines and email to be so completing and captivating that your audience is looking for an email from you, even when you haven’t sent one out. They should also be looking forward to the next email with just as much excitement and anticipation as they did with the other they just received.

[Tweet “Give people a reason to want to open your emails. It’s like a headline on the news or in a magazine, you can’t wait to see the story or read it. “]

6. Personalize Your Emails

Second to the subject line, your greeting is one of the most important components of your email campaign. Include the individual’s name in the greeting line or a simple “Hello Friend!”. If you’re using Mailchimp you can check my tutorial on how to add your subscribers’ first name to the greeting line here. This makes your subscribers feel like you’re actually talking to them or at least shows that you took the time to personalize the email.

People feel more connected to you when you refer to them by name, and it catches their attention. I know the times I’ve seen it, I did a double take and thought to myself, “That was nice of them”. Of course, people know that you didn’t actually write that email exclusively to them, but it lets them know you put a little extra time, effort, and thought into the email. Also, reaching out and letting them know you care, by using simple phrases like “I hope all is well.”, “I’m so glad to be talking to you today” are great ways to personalize your emails even more. Connecting with them on this emotional level will draw them in and will appreciate you more for it!

7. Study Your Metrics

One of the biggest parts of knowing it your campaign is working is to look at the data. Are people subscribing, unsubscribing, opening the emails, click through on them? These are all metrics you want to be looking at and studying to give you insight into how effective your emails are. If people enjoy your emails, they will be opening and sharing them, as well as clicking through to any links you may have included in them.

[Tweet “If people enjoy your emails, they will be opening and sharing them, as well as clicking through to any links you may have included in them.”]

On the other hand, don’t beat yourself up over someone unsubscribing every now and then. As long as you’re not getting tens of unsubscribers a day, you’re fine. Sometimes people’s inboxes get overfilled, and they look for ways to minimize the clutter. Unfortunately, this may result in them unsubscribing from your list.  It happens!

Again, its more about the people that want to be on your list and what they’re doing. Are you converting them? Are they engaging you? These are things you want to be most concerned with. In building your email list, you are strengthening your place in whatever market you’re in.

The benefits of a strong email list far outweigh that of a large Instagram or Facebook following.  Social media moves fast, and many times it isn’t taken as seriously as people think it is.  Email is more legitimate, connecting, and consistent, which are all things that people trust and look for.

Do you have an email list? – What are some of the methods you’ve used to build yours?

Listen to the accompanying Branded Bliss Podcast episode below:

 P.S: If you join my email list, you’ll be receiving my free 30-page Building An Authentic Brand Guide + exclusive actionable blog, branding, and design content and tips on a weekly basis. Sign up below:

[thrive_leads id=’10513′]

LIKE THIS POST?  SHARE IT WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS!