How to Grow Your Email List: 5 Tips to Implement for Success
When I first started blogging in 2018, I paid little to no attention to creating an email list. I simply thought I could reach my readers natively though social media blasts and announcements. I’ve learned a lot over the last few years when it comes to blogging and marketing. One of the most important aspects I’ve been focusing on with my blog lately is growing and maintaining a strong email list. As a marketing professional, I’ve seen first hand how important email marketing is. Email is a proven method for reaching prospects and cultivating long term relationships with your audience. Today I’m sharing 5 tips you can implement on your blog or website to grow your email list and how to leverage it.
Why incorporate email marketing into your business? Well, when we think about reaching current and potential audiences, social media marketing comes to mind. We know people are constantly on social media scrolling, liking, and reposting content. Although that’s great and all, we need to address the elephant in the room. No matter how much content you put out there, there are many algorithms in place that decide who gets to see your content and when. The beauty of having your own email list is that it’s entirely yours. No algorithms or robots involved. You get to decide when and often your audience sees your content.
Having a strong email list is very important when it comes to collaborating with brands. They like to see your audience is avtively engaged not only on social media, but with your website and email campaigns as well. Not only is the amount of email subscribers important, the rate at which they open and engage with your emails is the key determinent of a successful email list.
There are many email marketin platforms out there. I personally love Mailchimp for its accessability and ease of use. It’s an all-in-one marketing platform with dozens of templates, tools, and resources to help your business grow. Each email marketing platform is different, therefore do your research to ensure it checks off all your boxes.
5 Tips on How to Grow Your Email List:
Incorporate the use of CTAs (call to actions)
Use Opt-in forms that are hard to miss
Make the “What’s in it for me” as clear as possible
Publish niche-specific newsletters
Create and offer a high-value resource
Incorporate the Use of CTAs
A call to action is a marketing term for any device designed to prompt an immediate response or encourage an immediate sale. It’s basically the use of specific words and phrases incorporate throughout your message to compel an audience to act in a specific way.
When it comes to email marketing, it’s important to incorporate a call to action to entice your readers to opt-in to your email marketing subscription pop-ups.
A few examples of call to actions you can use are the following:
Subscribe
Sign Up
Get Started
Learn More
Join Us
Each call to action has a specific purpose. The wording that goes hand in hand with your CTA must be direct and transparent. For example, to entice a reader to join your email list you may say, “Be the first to know about exclusive products and deals”. Your CTA button would then say “Learn More”, and this si where your readers will click and add their email to your list. To ensure your CTA button is noticable, use bold colors and fonts that stand out.
2. Use Opt-In Forms That are Hard to Miss
An opt-in form is a tool where you readers acknowledge and give consent for you to contact them through email. Opt-in forms come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I believe incorporating a pop-up form is the best way to catch a reader’s eyes. Whether it pops up on your homepage or checkout page, it’s an easy way to entice a reader with a free resource or coupon code in exchange for their email.
Use an opt-in form that stands out. Add an image or use colors that pop. Use working that is persuasive but not too pushy. You want your readers to feel encouraged to opt-in, not coerced.
Your opt-in form can either be static and built into your website or timed to pop up given a certain situation. For example, if it looks as though a reader is going to exit your website, you can incorporate an opt-in form to keep them on your site and remind them why they should be part of your community.
3. Make the “What’s in it for me?” as Clear as Possible
When it comes to building a strong email list, put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Why would you want to subscribe to your own website? What benefit would you be getting or willing to receive in exchange for your email? Once you have an idea of the content and information you want your audience to receive, the rest is simple.
Don’t beat around the bush when it comes to asking your readers to join your email list. Let them know why they should join and how your blog/business will benefit them. What can they expect to see from your website? Will you be providing biweekly or monthly newsletters? Whatever the case may be, make it crystal clear.
Be as transparent and honest as possible when it comes to creating an opt-in form and asking your audience to join your email list. Remember, your content should always be relevant and of value to your readers.
4. Publish Niche-Specific Newsletters
In order to engage with your audience at a more personal level, this is where niche-specific newsletters come into play. There are dozens of customization features when it comes to email marketing. You can address your readers by their first name or send them specific emails in regards to their purchasing patterns or interests.
You may have one or various niches within your brand. For example, I feature a lot of travel guides and cocktail recipes on my blog. When sending out emails, I keep in mind who is recieving my email. I have a handleful of readers who prefer to see cocktail recipes over travel guides, and vice versa. Therefore, I recommend clustering your audience into specific groups that will help you identify who will benefit from what content in particular.
To keep your audience actively engaged, create a content calendar of when you will publish newsletters and what they will be about. I’ve seen many bloggers do weekly or monthly newsletters. It all depends on how much content you’re going to produce. Be mindful, you may lose some subscribers at first when finding the right amount of newsletters to release. People don’t like to be bombarded, therefore be sure that your audience recieving niche-specific, valuable content.
5. Create and Offer a High-Value Resource
The number one way of growing your email list is by offering a high-value resource. Think of your email list as an exchange. Readers give you their email address and you deliver something of value in return.
There are many high-value resources you can offer your readers, all depending on your niche and community. If you don’t know where to start, look at your website analytics and survey your audience. Your web analytics will tell you what content recieves the most traffic and what readers are searching for on your site. Asking your audience what kind of content they’d like to see or if they have any questions on a particular topic will help you get a better understanding of what resource to create.
You can create downloadable templates, guides, infographics, and reports that will help your readers. Remember, this resource has to be niche specific and of value. For example, if you’re a food blogger, you may want to entice your readers to join your email list by offering an e-book, “100 free recipes to try in the summer”. Keep in mind the wording you use in your call to action. People love free resources, so be sure to have a few on your website!
Building an email list is not easy. It’s going to take some time, so don’t get discouraged if you see little growth in the beginning. The one major piece of advice I always give a fellow blogger/entrepreneur is to be consistent with everything you do. Following a content calendar has helped me a lot with staying on track and brainstorming ideas for the future. For more insight on how to optimize and make the most out of your blog, check out my blogging tips!