The money is not in a huge list, the money is in the right list. In other words, your list has to be filed with the right people, targeted subscribers who are interested in what you offer. It doesn’t matter how big your list grows if it is filled with the wrong people, people who have no interest in what you have to offer. The wrong people will not open your emails, click on your links, or buy from you.
With this in mind, our goal for list building is to attract the right subscribers. But first, we have to identify what “right” means.
Identifying the right subscribers means finding targeted, responsive people, and getting them to subscribe to your list. This is the goal for list building. If you can accomplish this, you can grow a profitable list. Therefore, this is probably one of the most, if not THE most, important lesson in the entire challenge!
Who is your dream client or customer? Let’s paint a picture of this person as best we can, down to the smallest details, including
- Gender
- Age
- Marital status
- Family status
- Income level
- Educational level
- Professional level
Defining all of these elements about your ideal client or customer helps you to build what is known as a customer avatar. This customer avatar is the person you are speaking to, writing to, and marketing to in all of your communication. Some people go so far as to give this customer avatar a name. It may sound strange, but it works!
This customer avatar symbolizes the people you want to sign up for your list. When you know and understand your ideal client or customer, you can create content that speaks directly to them. Whether you’re creating an opt-in page, offer, or writing emails, speak to this one person. Now you can probably see why some people give their avatar a name, it makes it easier to focus on a specific person when you’re writing.
Once you know who your ideal client or customer is, you have to go find them online! Consider where they are already communicating about the kinds of products and services you offer, and where they go to find out about your industry and your competitors.
What social media platforms are they using? What blogs and magazines are they reading? Where do they go for information – forums, groups, niche websites, etc.?
Create a list of all of these websites for you to use as we move further along in the challenge. You will need to meet your audience where they are, get in front of them, and drive them back to your website. Therefore, having this list will come in handy!
If you are not already familiar with all of the blogs, magazines, social media platforms, forums and groups that your ideal client or customer is using, now is the time to study. Study all of these places and formats to see what’s popular and listen to what your audience says is great and what is lacking. This will help you to position yourself in the market, and support your list building efforts!