Your email list can launch your business and help you achieve your biggest dreams. It’s the key to a long lasting and successful business. However, some people struggle to build their list. Others struggle to make money from their list.
— Before I dive into the list of tips I want to first say that I don’t think every niche site needs to have a list. Sometimes you just want to get them on the page and and off the page quickly and onto what they’re buying through your link. In the case where your visitor already knows exactly what they want and they have to you specifically for that item then you might not need the list capture. If it’s a long term decision or something that you can offer support and advice on after their purchase then go for the list capture and keep them coming back for more.
Here are some tips to build an email list that brings results….
1. Bribe the snot out of them. Make them an offer they can’t refuse. The best way to motivate someone to sign up for your email list is to make them an offer they can’t refuse. We’re talking about a super valuable giveaway. For many online marketers information products are a good motivating giveaway.
eBooks, reports, online courses and even videos or audios are a good list building tool. They provide the subscriber with instant gratification. And when the freebie is a top quality item, they’re sure to remain an avid subscriber. This means subsequent emails sent to them will be opened, read and acted upon.
Make sure your offer is strongly related to your niche. Some people make the mistake of offering freebies that don’t strongly correlate to their niche business or goal. For example a fitness trainer may offer a free report on how to eat for fat burning. However, their website is otherwise devoted to fitness training exercises.
People interested in fat burning are going to download the report but they may not necessarily be interested in fitness training or exercises. You want to draw the subscribers who will be interested in also buying your products and returning to your website.
2. Connect and network. One of the best ways to build an opt in list is to network. Get out, shake hands – literally. Pass out business cards. Participate on social networking feeds and include a website link on your profile and in some posts. Participate on blogs and industry forums. The more places you visit and the more people you meet the more traffic you’ll drive to your website opt-in form.
Again, this is for a long term commitment project. For example, I have a niche site about cross stitch and it’s a community I’m active in and passionate about, I attend festivals, fairs, events, etc.
3. Build partnerships to build your list. Partnerships with relevant businesses can be a powerful way to grow an effective email list. For example, an information website about pet grooming and a website that sells pet grooming supplies might benefit from cross promoting one another’s list.
4. Article marketing. Article marketing accomplishes a number of business building tasks. It can also be used to drive strategic traffic to an opt-in page or squeeze page. However, when using article marketing be sure to: Write a top notch article that makes people want to read more. Offer a compelling and relevant giveaway to motivate an opt-in. Link to your squeeze page from your article and/or author’s resource box.
5. Strategic PPC. Finally, consider creating highly specific and targeted PPC campaigns to drive traffic to your opt-in page. Advertise the giveaway. Test and track your ads for success. I honestly cannot offer much advice on this point because I don’t do PPC personally, but I know several folks that do. If you’re interested in PPC I recommend visiting PPCmom.com, she has some great information.
Additionally, make sure your opt in form is placed in a prominent position on your website. Consider testing and tracking various locations to see which location works best. The top left or top right might not be the best location for you, it’s certainly the most popular and frequently used, but sometimes a box at the end of blog posts will capture more leads. Test, try, have fun with it.
And make sure to follow up with your subscribers. There’s no point in building a great opt-in list if you’re not going to use it!
Okay, so that was more like 7 tips than 5, but a little extra info never hurt anyone, right?
Transcriptionist, passionate cross stitcher, writer at heart, wife, mom, and finder of lost shoes… Loretta Oliver, married to the comic book geek of her dreams and mother of four amazing young men, has been working from home full time since 2001. With a busy transcription service business, a few niche sites, and a handful of other internet marketing projects on the go, the computer is always fired up and the ideas are always flowing.