Hello again♥♥
Since one of my specialties is email marketing in this work from home journey of mine, I figured it was time to create a post about the importance of building your email list and how to go about it. I think some people don’t, because they don’t understand the importance of the strategy or simply don’t know how.
If you still need help getting your list building or funnel efforts off the ground, check out my services page and contact me for assistance where you need it 🙂
So let’s dive in…
I’m sure you’ve heard it over and over! You have to build your email list. This is absolutely correct! If you’re not collecting emails, you’re leaving money on the table, simple as that!
Having someone’s email address means having direct personal access to them. This in turn means that anytime you have a new product, service, course or event, you can directly let your audience know and give them a chance to support you.
Remember this though…
Don’t just sell! That’s not a good business practice to get used to and it’s not fair to your followers. They’ve joined your list because they felt some sort of connection to your content and what YOU CAN OFFER THEM not WHAT YOU CAN GET FOR YOURSELF.
Regardless of your intent, that was theirs!
If you have a list, you have a golden opportunity to establish real relationships and build trust! Take advantage of that. You know yourself, I’m sure you can think back to the last email that you received and actually opened.
If you read all the way through it, think about why you did. Are you familiar with the brand who sent it, do they usually appeal to your emotions, have you seen their dog or their kids or heard some inspirational story about their life?
I’m sure you probably have. Take that knowledge and implement it in your business. Strike an 80/20 balance when email marketing. 80% of your content should be you educating, informing and entertaining your audience, while only 20% should actually be sales content.
Give a little bit of information or a sneak peek inside your world, use humor and your genuine voice to appeal to your audience. I’m not telling you to go super-personal in your emails, but do you need to add a human touch.
Tell a story about your own journey (as it relates to your content), a story of triumph or even just share some fun facts.
I’m a fan of having an email series ready to welcome your new tribe. In this specific set of emails, consider the importance of building your bond. This is where you want to start making those connections.
Be strategic about all of it, this is is why I want to stress “as it relates to your content.” Try to get creative about working in a few personal tidbits to your overall content strategy. Once you’ve established some trust there, move on to establishing your expertise.
You want to educate to establish your expertise and authority in your field. Send content that teaches your audience about your business niche. Let them know why it’s important, let them know what it means, let them know why it’s beneficial to them.
Use statistics if it’s suitable. Provide resources. Provide other peoples’ content as it applies to the subject and do some fun things like contests. This is where you really want to add value to them for even giving you their email in the first place.
Then, and only after you’ve done these things, you can begin to sell. But even when you do this, be sure you’re selling a quality product that will still benefit and add value to their lives.
Now, how do you start actually building that list?
Well, first you need to choose an email provider. Some common ones may be MailChimp, MailerLite, GetResponse, InfusionSoft, ConvertKit, Constant Contact…just to name a few 🙂
Then you can create forms to capture the emails. Once you’ve done that, you need to add these forms to places your audience will be.
Here are some methods…
Add a subscriber form to your blog and your Facebook Business Page. You can have an embedded form that stays in place, like in a side widget or a footer, that’s always available to collect emails.
Add a pop-up form to your blog. You should also have a pop-up that will catch your readers attention, giving them an option to subscribe. There are various form options from banners to boxes and full page pop-ups. It all depends on your email provider and which options you choose.
Give something away. You can create a landing page offering to give away something for free in exchange for email addresses. This could be an ebook, PDF or graphics. Use your imagination but keep it relevant to your niche. If you’re unsure on how to build a landing page, let me know and I’ll create a resource for you on that too!
So now what?
If you have your list and you’re not sending emails, start now! Whether you have 5 followers or 500, start nurturing your list ASAP!
If you don’t have any ideas about what to send, check out this NEW FREE DOWNLOAD that I’ve created for youguys with 100 topic ideas to send out to your list! I’ve got something for everyone!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE LIST!
Whether your target audience is in personal finance, event planning, other bloggers, parenting and more, I’ve got you covered. I have something extra for people who target other bloggers!
Check it out and start benefiting from your list. If you have any input on this marketing strategy, feel free to comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts and everyone can benefit from all of our diverse insight!
Best to you, Shante ♥
Author: Shante is a home-based entrepreneur and health and fitness wannabe who’s building her agency through social media posting by day, well, mostly nights!😎
Amira Bella Agency 