One of my favorite topics is list building, and often when clients start thinking about building their email list they ask me…
“Which service should I use?”
Maybe you’ve wondered that yourself, and maybe even spent some time researching your options.
I believe, that this is not necessarily the first step you need to take.
The First Step in List Building
Before you need to think about tools, you must ask yourself this:
“How can I best serve my market?”
Whether you’re coaching business owners, new moms, or bloggers, they have a need that you can fulfill. And when you discover what that need is, you’ll have two valuable pieces of information:
- What incentive will be a true no-brainer for your ideal client to opt-in to your list?
- How can you use your mailing list to give the best value for those who join your list?
You don’t need to over-think these questions. Your opt-in incentive can be as simple as a resource guide or a short how-to video that answers a common question. You don’t have to go overboard with creating dozens of downloads and a 100-page eBook. These massive downloads are more likely to overwhelm your reader than encourage them to learn more.
And when it comes to providing value to your list members, keep three things in mind:
- Regular communication is a must (consider an autoresponder series if you’re not good with scheduling email updates)
- Marketing is second to information—too much selling will cause your opt-out rates to soar.
- It’s your responsibility as a thought leader in your market to distill and provide the information, tools and products your audience needs.
“What is my list-building goal?”
How will you be using your list? Will you:
- Send a weekly or monthly newsletter?
- Create an autoresponder series that delivers content on a pre-determined schedule?
- Promote your own services and products?
The answers to these questions will help you decide not only the right tool for your list-building needs, but will also determine the path for your ongoing mailing list content, promotions, and growth.
Have a great 24 hours!
Robyn
PS: If you’re looking for support in your growing your email list, click here to schedule a call with me where we can discuss your list building needs.