There are many strategies you can use to grow your list. Today, we are going to look at three list building strategies that leverage audiences that other people have built. When you come up with brilliant content, and you share this content with a new audience, you will link back to your own landing page so people can join your list and learn more about you and what you have to offer.
Guest Blogging
Becoming a guest blogger is not as hard as you might think. In order to find the best opportunities to guest blog, search for the popular and high authority blogs in your industry. Once you have a list, visit their websites to see if they accept guest contributors, and the process for submission. If the blog doesn’t list the opportunity, find the email of the blog owner and pitch yourself as a guest contributor. If the email isn’t listed on the website, you can find the blogger on social media and reach out to them directly there as well.
Before you pitch yourself, read a few posts to get an idea for the style of the blog and the most popular topics. Then, when you pitch yourself as a guest blogger, you can reference a post or two that you liked, and why you liked them. You will also want to give a couple ideas for blog posts you would like to contribute, along with a summary of each proposed post. If they say yes, you can go ahead and write the post and send it to them. If they say no, don’t worry about it. Move on to the next blogs on your list.
If you do get a guest post published, be sure to share it across social media and tag the blog owner. They will love the extra attention, and you will position yourself for future guest blogging opportunities.
Get Interviewed On a Podcast
Podcasters are always looking for new people to interview. Curate a list of podcasts that serve your audience, and pitch yourself as a guest expert. Be sure to find podcasts in your niche that fit your areas of expertise. When you are featured, promote the show date ahead of time, and be sure to share the podcast on social media once it goes live.
Most podcasters will ask you to submit your bio and social media handles so they can include them on the show page and in the show notes. Instead of listing your website home page, link to a specific opt-in page that relates to your show topic. In this way, if listeners enjoy the show, they have a direct link to join your list. You will also want to mention your website and your current opt-in offer during the show.
Be a Guest Expert on a Webinar
As with podcasts, people often look for guests to feature on webinars. These webinars can range from a simple slide show presentation to an on-camera Facebook Live. Webinars are yet another way to get in front of people who are otherwise new to you and your brand.
Similar to podcasters, the webinar host will typically ask for your bio and social media handles so that they can promote your appearance on their webinar. Again, do not send people to a home page. Because a webinar usually covers more in-depth subject matter, it may be a good idea to create a special opt-in for that audience. If you do this, be sure to send people directly to opt-in page, so they can get more targeted information and you can grow your list at the same time.
No matter which one of these methods you choose, be prepared to shine! When you position yourself as the expert, people will want to learn more about you. Give them the easiest way to do this, by directing them to join your list.
No matter what we may think about pop ups, the facts do not lie – pop ups work! As you may have already experienced, there are different ways a pop up can be used effectively, so that they are not so much of an intrusion, but a welcoming hello. Please don’t discard the use of pop ups to build your list. Instead, we‘re going to talk about the best ways to use pop ups and how to incorporate this technique into your list building efforts.
When designing a pop up, simple is best. An effective pop up contains five pieces of information:
A compelling headline
A description of the offer
An image of the offer
Input fields for the person’s name and email address
A subscribe button
Begin with compiling this information first. Next, it’s time to design the pop up. Most kinds of pop up software have design templates you can use. Select a template, customize with your information, and test it to be sure it works.
Now that you have a pop up form designed, it is time to figure out when to show it, or the display rules. You can have a pop up appear for new visitors, returning visitors, and visitors who leave your site without subscribing. Timing is the key. For example, when displaying a pop up form to a new visitor, do not set it to appear immediately. Allow your new visitor to linger on your website for at least 30 seconds before displaying a pop up form. When you allow your new visitor to get to know you and your content a little bit first, they will be more receptive to your offer, and more likely to subscribe.
You can also have a pop up appear to returning visitors. If a person returns to your site, they might like what they see! When you ask a returning visitor to subscribe, they may be more receptive as well.
You can also display a pop up form to a site visitor before they leave your site, also known as an exit pop up. At this point, your pop up is not intrusive, as the person is leaving the site anyway. You can use an exit pop up as a final opportunity to add the visitor to your list!
As you design your pop up form, and consider the different times to display it, you will then determine where to display it. You will have the option to choose the pages on which the pop up form appears, whether you want it to display on all of the pages on your website, only the blog post pages, and/or a combination of your choosing.
Once you define the pages to display your pop up form, go into your email autoresponder settings, follow the steps and activate your pop up form. Most email marketing systems will provide analytics so you can see how your pop up is working, how often it is displayed, and how many people sign up. You can periodically experiment with your pop up, to see if one of set of display rules works better than another, and to make sure it is working correctly.
Part of your list building efforts will include getting people to actually open your emails. The first hurdle to climb is to make sure your emails land in your readers’ inbox, and not the spam folder.
First, let’s address your subscribers who use Gmail addresses. As you are probably aware, Google created its own message filters, and most promotional emails will land in the promotional folder. There is a technique that will not only help you to avoid the Gmail promotional folder, but it will also help you to avoid landing in any reader’s spam folder.
The purpose of this technique is to get your readers talking with you, engaged in conversation, as soon as they subscribe to your list. The first engagement will most likely be the click in the confirmation email. Once your opt in is delivered, you need to get your reader to open the email and talk to you.
Would you believe, many people sign up for a freebie and never open the email or download the freebie? So you have to get your reader engaged right away!
The Trick to Stay Out of the Spam Folder
Once your freebie is delivered, you need to get your reader to respond to that email. A reply lets the email service know that your email address is one that the reader wants to see in their inbox.
How do you get the reader to respond to your freebie?
Ask a question.
Really, this is the trick! You will want to pose the question in the email that delivers the freebie.
One approach is to ask your new subscriber a question that directly correlates to the freebie they signed up for. For example, if you are a productivity coach and your opt in freebie is an ebook detailing “10 Tips to Maximize Your Productivity Before Noon”, you can ask your new subscriber what their most productive time of the day is. You could also ask them if they’re a morning person or a night owl.
Another approach is to pose a question related to the insights shared in your regular newsletter. For example, if you are a graphic designer and you regularly share resources for creating your own graphics, you could ask your new subscriber about their favorite source for stock photos. Then you could tailor tips around selecting and customizing stock photos.
Or you could ask about their favorite app to create social media images. Then you could create a series of tips around the most popular apps.
You can also ask your new subscriber about their biggest pain point. A new reader has opted in to your list for a reason, and this is the perfect time to learn about what they need right now.
When you ask your readers questions, be sure to respond to their answers. Their answers will give you further insights that you can use to craft content and your next offers. Perhaps the most important benefit is that the engagement will help to build a relationship with your new subscriber AND ensure your emails skip the spam folder.
Now that we have a dedicated opt-in page, it’s time to begin driving traffic to the page so we can build our list. We can start by using our social media bios and posts to begin driving traffic.
Before we explore social media practices, we need to know which platforms your ideal subscribers are using. Next, we need to make sure you’re using those same platforms to communicate with your audience. If you’re not already using those same platforms, it’s time start!
Leverage Your Social Media Bios
Each social media platform provides a section to tell a little about yourself. A call to action should be included on each of your social media bios with a link to subscribe. The premise is simple: when you actively engage on social media, people will want to know more about you. As a result, they will visit your profile, and if they like what they see, they may click your link that leads to your opt in offer and *fingers crossed* join your list.
Create Compelling Social Media Content
Once your profile is complete, it’s time to post. Plan out your content in advance, and be sure to include posts about your freebie. Engaging with your audience is a big factor in your growth on social media, so make it a point to converse with others via comments and reposts. Here is a way to engage fans and drive traffic using each of the popular social media platforms.
Twitter: Twitter allows you to add clickable links to your posts, so you can tweet a description of your freebie with a call to action and a clickable link. You can also tweet an image of your opt in, along with the description and link to your dedicated opt in page. Send out a tweet once daily, or every couple days at different times, to share your offer with your Twitter followers.
Facebook: Similar with Twitter, you can post the description, an image and a clickable link. However, Facebook offers more space to post, so you can use this to your advantage. For example, if you are a productivity coach and your opt in freebie is an ebook detailing 10 tips to maximize your productivity before noon, you can post one of the tips, mention it’s from your latest freebie, and include a link to sign up in the post.
Instagram: Images are everything on Instagram, so you have to flex some creative muscle here. But first, let’s talk about links. Instagram does not allow clickable links in posts, so you will need to add a call to action and link in your profile. Then, when posting about your opt in on Instagram, you will direct readers to click the link in your profile to sign up.
When creating images to promote your opt in, consider the images that will grab your ideal subscriber’s attention. You can use an image with or without text here.
When writing the post itself, similar to Facebook, you have plenty of space here to share valuable information. You can include snippets from your opt in, or helpful tips and resources that you might share in your regular newsletter. When doing so, remember to direct people to click the link in your profile to subscribe to your list.
Pinterest: Pinterest is also image-driven, but you can link a pin directly to your opt in page. When creating pinnable images, a long vertical image works best on Pinterest. Be sure to use a strong image that your ideal reader will likely find irresistible and add a brief but compelling text headline directly on the image. With Pinterest, you may also write a description for the pinned image, and you can link the image to your dedicated opt in page.
To begin using social media to drive traffic to your opt in freebie, create 2-3 posts and at least one specifically sized promotional image for each social media platform. In this way, you can add your opt in posts to your social media content rotation schedule.
Use these techniques to engage with your ideal audience on social media, share valuable information, and ultimately attract new subscribers to your list.
A dedicated optin page is a page that stands on its own to attract subscribers. Before we start seeking out subscribers and driving those potential subscribers to our website to join our list, we need to create a place to send this traffic. This is where a dedicated opt in page comes in handy.
Creating a dedicated page doesn’t not have to be an overwhelming process, the goal is to get people sign up for your offer. Once you understand the basic elements that need to be on the page, you’ll be all set!
The Basic Elements Of An Opt-in Page
When designing an opt in page, simple is best. The goal is to speak the language of your ideal subscriber, so they understand your offer is for them. The following are the basic elements that every dedicated opt in page should include:
A compelling headline – hook your reader immediately to keep them on the page.
A description of the offer – also known as “what’s in it for me.” The description of your freebie should list the out the benefits the reader will receive (or experience) as a result of joining your list and downloading your freebie. A bulleted list can be a simple, concise way to present this kind of information.
An image – the image can be a graphic of the opt in offer, such as a cover image for an ebook, or a screen capture if it’s a checklist. Your image can also be a brief video that describes the freebie. The goal is to give your reader a visual representation of what they will be getting. Remember, an image speaks louder than words!
Subscription form – Naturally, you will need a way for your reader to provide their name and email address. Your optin form will be embedded directly on the page.
A subscribe button – After your reader enters a name and email address, it’s time to tell her what to do. A call to action should be inserted as a clickable button. Your button can say “subscribe” or “submit” or something similar.
What comes next – You can close out the page with details for your reader after they subscribe. For example, you can let them know to look for a confirmation email. You can also include a picture of yourself, a thank you, and a re-iteration of the primary benefit the reader will experience as a result of your joining your list.
Once you set up your first optin page, you may want to create another one to target a different market segment. As you publish each dedicated opt in page, be sure to periodically check the metrics to see which pages and features convert best.
Now that your opt-in form is set up, it’s time to begin driving traffic to your offer. Since most people are using social media anyway, let’s start driving traffic to your offer by using the most popular social media platform available – Facebook.
As long as you have a Facebook account, you can use these tips. Of course, the more active you are on Facebook, the better results you will see from using the platform. If you aren’t as active as you would like to be, building your list can be the impetus to kick start your efforts!
There are a couple of ways to use Facebook as part of your list building efforts.
Option 1: Set Up An Opt-in Tab On Your Facebook Page
Your Facebook fan page is designed to support your list building efforts. You can invite your fans to sign up for your list directly within the Facebook platform by embedding your opt-in form as a tab on your page. Most email marketing services will give you the option to do so.
If you’re not sure whether or not your email marketing service offers this as an option, you can look up “Facebook page” or “Facebook integration” in your service’s help section to find the tutorial.
The process to integrate your email service with Facebook is pretty straightforward:
Create an opt-in form within your email marketing service provider platform.
Login to Facebook, go to your page and add the service provider’s app to your page.
Then, from the Facebook app, you will login to your email service account, select the list you want to use, select the opt-in form you want to display, and activate.
This is roughly the process for most email marketing services. Now you can have Facebook fans sign up for your list directly within the platform.
Option 2: Promote Your Lead Magnet In Your Facebook Posts
A second option to use Facebook in your list building efforts is to post about your freebie and your list on a regular basis. When posting about your lead magnet, be sure to include a link where people can sign up.
You can post about your lead magnet anywhere on Facebook. The trick is to come from a place of value and not look like a spammer. If you want to promote your list in Facebook posts, demonstrate the value you provide in your offer and your regular newsletter communications.
For example, instead of creating a post with the title of your freebie and a link, you can provide a valuable tip from your freebie, along with the offer to join your list. You can also post about the types of content you regularly share in your newsletters, to demonstrate the benefits of joining your list for your fans.
Since you can only embed an opt-in form on your Facebook page, you can sprinkle these posts throughout your regular posts on Facebook. Since your audience is already on Facebook, go to the people, meet them where they are already, and drive them to your website and opt-in page.
