Anyone who has been online running a blog or a business for more than a few minutes has probably heard of email lists. At this point you might not be totally convinced you need an email list. Even if you are convinced you need one, you might be totally overwhelmed. It can be hard to add another thing you your todo list and especially something that’s not an immediate money maker.
Having an email list for your business is so important. You don’t want to rely on social media with their ever changing algorithms. You need a direct line to your subscribers that isn’t affected by someone else’s business and your email list is just that.
Social media is like a party and your email list is like chatting to some of the party goers in your kitchen over a brew.
In this post I want to help you step by step to set up your email list and give you an easy method to start to grow your email list.
Step One: Pick an email service provider
The first thing you need to do is to pick an Email Service Provider, so you can store all of your collected email addresses.
There are many options, but only a few that I have used and could wholeheartedly recommend. There are some which offer free packages to get you started if you have under a certain number of subscribers, such as Mailerlite. Who offer a free plan if you have under 1000 subscribers. When you go over 1k subscribers it will increase to $15 and again increase every 1k subscribers. I used Mailerlite for a while, but I soon went back to Convertkit.
Convertkit has no free level, from the start when with no one on your list you will be charged $24 or $29 depending on whether you pay monthly or annually. When you go over 1k and until you hit 3k you will then be charged $49.
There are two things to remember here. You are running a business and so you want the tools which will help you do that effectively, efficiently and profitably. Also it’s a business expense.
Convertkit was created by Bloggers for Bloggers and so the functionality is second to none when also considering the ease of use.
So while you might be tempted to go with an option that gives you a free tier, make sure this service has all the functionality you need going forward as it might not take you that long until you have over 1k subscribers and will be paying anyway.
I moved from Convertkit to Mailerlite to try to save money, but I think it speaks volumes that I moved back!
Step two: Give people a reason to join your email list
The easiest way to do so is to offer an opt-in freebie/content upgrade from a landing page.
This is an incentive that you offer for the person’s email address.
How do you decide on the ‘right’ opt in freebie?
Think about what your audience are struggling with? Hopefully, your content will be based on knowing and hoping to help them with these pain points. Keep in mind these pain points and think about what you could create that will help them and ease their pain/make their life easier.
Let’s have an example. Say you help busy mums get more organised at home. So your content will be covering all the different aspects of home organisation and your opt in freebie could be a home organisational planner which shares your specific organisational system. (Or at least part of this planner). Think about something that would be congruent to your content and super helpful to your audience. You should feel as if you could charge for it. It needs to be really valuable to your audience.
Think about how you can you make your freebie better and different to anything that is out there already.
You also want your freebie to be easily consumed and give the person a quick win. If they get results they will recommend you to their friends and come back to buy your bigger product.
A content upgrade specifically refers to an opt in freebie which supplements a specific blog post. So if you’re a blogger and your post is about creating an editorial calendar, the content upgrade could be an editorial calendar template.
Freebie ideas:
- Cheat sheet
- Printables
- Short ebooks (use with caution as no always a quick win.
- Worksheets
- Scripts
- Guides
- Templates
- Checklists
- Printables
- Swipe Files
Don’t go crazy and create stacks of opt in freebies. I would start with one major one for each topic you talk about. E.g. Imagine you’re a Vegan blogger and you speak to people who are yet to start, people who are getting used to being vegan and people getting a bit stale and need new ideas. I would create one for each group of people/topic.
Step 3: Sort out the tech
You can place your opt in forms in various places. Generally, the higher up the page the more sign-ups you will get.
You could also put boxes;
- Footer
- About me page
- Resources page
- At the beginning and end of a post
- Menu bar
- Below the header or within the header area
- Exit Intent Pop-up
Where to find the forms
Certain email service providers will require a 3rd party plugin in order for you to create forms, these as plugins such a Thrive Leads. However, if you’re using Convertkit you don’t need a plugin.
What’s the difference between an opt in form and a landing page?
An opt-in form is embedded (or maybe pop up) on a page. A landing page is a dedicated page with the only aim being to get people to opt in (so no menus or other links visible). Opt in forms are not as powerful in converting subscribers as landing pages, as people are faced with more distractions.
The conversion rate is the total number of people see that opt-in form or land on the landing page divided by the number of people who subscribe.
It’s definitely a good idea to have landing pages for your opt-in freebie. You may find you want an embeddable box too and that’s fine. You could always create a graphic box showing your freebie with ‘click here to grab this’ on it and link it to your landing page.
Writing a landing page is the same as writing a sales page. You are trying to ‘sell’ them on signing up.
- An attention grabbing opener.
- Bullets that show the benefits of the freebie (not just the features).
- Social proof – testimonial or logos.
- Opt-in button.
Step 4: Write your welcome series of emails
When people opt in to your list they are super engaged with your brand. So they are in the best position to learn more about you and what you do AND how you can help them. This is where a welcome sequence comes in.
It’s important to get these emails written and in your email service provider before you start to promote your freebie.
Your welcome sequence should be 3-5 emails. Focusing on introducing yourself and trying to create engagement with your subscribers. In the first email in my sequence I ask what they are struggling with and asking them to hit reply and let me know.
Step 5: Promoting your freebie.
Just because you created a brilliant freebie, doesn’t mean people will stampede to download it. You need to actively promote your freebie a lot. You might convert 20% of the people who land on the page, so you need to get as many people to this page as you can.
You can promote your freebie on your social media profiles, on the feeds, on Stories, in your sidebar, menu, Facebook group, other people’s Facebook group (on the dedicated promo days), create pins going directly to the freebie and any other ways you can think of. Be creative.
When people sign up they will get your freebie and then will start receiving your welcome sequence. After the welcome sequence they will go into your main list and receive the weekly emails you send (you need to send weekly emails to stay top of mind and to help develop the know, like and trust with your audience).
As well as growing your list you need to think about looking after those who have already joined your list. Provide them with useful help and content and they will stay on your list.
What if people unsubscribe?
People WILL unsubscribe. FACT. Even if you send out the best, most helpful email ever, packed with value, they will still unsubscribe. It’s not because they don’t like you, it might be a bad time for them. Do not take it personally. When people unsubscribe they are doing you a favour as it means you’re not paying for them. So if they’re not interested in your content, it’s fine they leave.
RELATED: What do you send your subscribers.
IMPORTANT don’t just send your latest blog posts. You need to send exclusive content.
Think about how often you will send emails. If you write a weekly blog post then you should be emailing weekly. If you are promoting a specific product or service then you might send multiple emails in a week. Just remember not to bombard your list.
Step 6: Look at your analytics
When you add in more freebies, you will be able to check and see which ones your audience is more attracted to and this can inform future creations.
You can also look at your sequences and check the open rate. If your first one has an open rate of 50% and the second one 20%, then it might be wise to tease the content of the second email in the first and also improve the subject line of the second email.
Step 7: Consistency is key.
Making sure you show up regularly for your subscribers is really important. They need to know you’ll be popping into their inbox with valuable information. If you ghost them, then reappear you will have lost some trust.
Step 8: Clean your list
Over time there will be people on your list who don’t subscribe but aren’t engaging. They won’t engage, so it is useless for them to be on your list. You are paying for them and the fact that they don’t open your emails will not help your deliverability. Also this won’t be helping your open rate.
The best way to progress is to regularly try to re-engage your list and if they don’t engage, then delete them. It can be so difficult to do this but really important for the health of your list.
Now you have the information you need to get started. You can go and set the tech up and create your freebie and the emails you need. What are you struggling with most when it comes to email?
