Are you looking to grow your email list?
Blogs are a two-sided coin. On one side there is you publishing great content. On the flip side, there is an audience who loves reading your work. A blog is not successful unless there is a balance between the two sides.
One way to build a loyal audience is to connect with them on a regular basis and the best way to do this is to grow your email list. By staying top of your readers mind and offering your readers valuable content, you turn the occasional reader into a loyal supporter.
So how can you grow your email list? In this post, we will outline 5 essential tactics to start implementing today to help you grow your email list and to build your fan base.
Essential Tactics to Grow Your Email List
1. Offer an irresistible opt-in incentive
To find the right incentive that would appeal to your audience, you first need to do a bit of research. Review your site analytics to see what posts are attracting the most interest. In addition, if you allow comments on your site, review what your readers are saying to see if there are common issues or questions that keep coming up. This research will help you decide what exactly you should offer as an incentive.
Once your research is complete, you then need to determine what form your incentive will take. Will you create a worksheet, a printable, an email course or perhaps an e-book? Whatever medium you choose, make sure it is well-written, provides valuable information and is visually appealing. When it is complete, upload your material into an email marketing software program.
Now comes the final step. You will need to advertise this incentive to your readers. In the age of bulk emails and spamming, people are guarding their information and are not interested in just randomly giving out their personal data. They are, however, willing to part with their contact information in exchange for something they find valuable. Therefore, in your advertising you need to inform your readers that you have something they would find very valuable and it could be theirs in exchange for their email address.
2. Use SEO techniques to grow your organic traffic
Learning how to optimize your site for search engines is an important lesson for all bloggers. These techniques will help you land higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs), so more people will be able to find you. By taking time to grow your organic traffic, you will be adding a steady stream of new readers to your site and more potential opportunities to grow your email list. To learn more about SEO, check out our SEO post here.
3. Run a contest
Who doesn’t love a good contest. This is a great way to interact with your readers on a different level and to have a bit of fun. As a nice bonus, this is a great way to grow your email list as you are offering the reader the chance to win in exchange for their email address.
Depending on the type of blog you have, you can set your contest up in one of two ways. The first way is to offer the reader a chance to win a great prize in exchange for their email address. If you decide to run this type of contest, make sure the prize would be something that your readers would find interesting and would appeal to the vast majority of your readers.
When you are setting up your contest, you may consider allowing entrants to have 2 ways to enter. The first way is for them to enter themselves. The second option is to have them share the contest with their friends and for every person that signs up from the referral, they receive an extra entry. This method has the ability to make your contest go viral and you can potentially grow your email list exponentially. This method is very similar to the “Like and Share” contests that you see on Facebook.
The second type of contest is to offer your readers the opportunity to submit something for a chance to win. You could ask them to submit a photo, an anecdote, or an article, for example. While you can offer a tangible prize to the winner, the real prize would be in the recognition they would receive from winning.
4. Create a newsletter
If you are looking for a way to be front and center with your readers on a regular basis, create a newsletter. This would be an opt-in service that your readers would sign up for. Your newsletter should contain a minimum of 4 stories that span the breadth of your niche. For example, if you are writing a newsletter to help new bloggers you wouldn’t just write a newsletter focusing on all the plugins you can use for WordPress. You can expand your newsletter to touch on any subject a blogger might find useful, such as marketing tips, SEO tips and current industry trends.
If you decide to create a newsletter, here are a few words of caution. Do not use your newsletter as just another way to promote your website. If you jam pack your newsletter with sales pitches, your readers are going to be turned off and will unsubscribe. While you can mention your services in your newsletter at some point, make sure you are offering your readers real information that they would find useful.
Another note of caution is to honor your commitments. If you are offering your readers a monthly newsletter, you should ensure that you are sending them out a newsletter once a month. Conversely, you should not offer a monthly newsletter and then proceed to email them twice a week. The reader did not agree to that arrangement and you run the risk of them unsubscribing out of annoyance.
If you are looking for a way to be front and center with your readers on a regular basis, create a newsletter. Click To Tweet
5. Turn your subscribers into your cheerleaders
There are a lot of different techniques you can use to grow your email list. It’s important to remember, however, that the work is not done once you got an email address. Having a large following and becoming an influencer is the goal for many bloggers. Therefore, you need to focus on retention as well as getting subscribers.
A great way to retain your following is to offer them great content and insider advantages. If you create a new incentive for new readers, make sure you also offer it to your loyal fans. If you are running a contest, make sure your fans are the first to know about it. You should also offer them additional content that is only available to subscribers. By making your subscribers an exclusive group, you are giving them a level of prestige as well as great content. Readers love this and will start telling their friends about your site. This word of mouth advertising is fantastic and will also help to grow your email list.
Final Thoughts
No matter which techniques you use to grow your email list, you should always remember to promote your opt-in option. If you are holding a contest, don’t just mention it on one page of your blog. Mention it on multiple pages. If you offer a newsletter, try setting up a pop-up to be front and center with the reader so they know about the option. By consistently using these techniques, you will grow your email list. Happy blogging!
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