How to Build an Email List

Business Tips and ToolsVisibility

Apr 9

Written By brandmerry

How to Build an Email List

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

Every business owner needs an email list. Think about having a community of people who actually want to hear from you, sorry can’t say the same about social media. Plus, with an ROI of 3,800% it’s kind of a no brainer, but where do you start. This b…

What if I told you that you could spend $1 and make $38...what would be your reaction?

Yeah me too! Well, the good news is that specific number is on average what email marketing generates. Yes, for every $1 spent you have the potential to make $38 in return. That’s a 3,800% ROI.

I don’t know about you, but sign me up.

Email marketing has been a love of mine for years now, ever since I realized that in order to make money in my business I needed people to sell too.

And, while I love showing up on social media to build trust and community there has always been something about relying on an outside platform that makes me nervous.

We’ve all had the days where Facebook or Instagram isn’t working, imagine if your entire business relied on your audience on social media...no thank you.

Over the years, I’ve used a very simple strategy to grow my online community via my email list using a lead magnet and email funnel.

Today, I’m breaking it down for you step by step and addressing some of the top mistakes I see entrepreneurs making when they are trying to grow their profitable list.

As always, if you prefer to watch or listen just scroll down to access the video recording.

WHY EMAIL MARKETING IS IMPORTANT

When we’re asking for someone to follow us on social media we’re not asking a lot.

Think about the number of people you currently follow, do you really have a deep interest in each and every one of them? Probably not.

That’s because it’s super easy to just hit the follow or like button.

However, email marketing requires a small level of commitment. In order to be added to someone’s list, you’ve got to provide your email address.

Well, that my friends is basically gold. You’re asking someone to trust you enough to send them periodic emails. Ultimately, this low-level commitment is the first step in becoming a paying client.

Your new subscriber is saying, “Yes, this is valuable to me. I'd love to learn more from you!” or something similar to that.

Email marketing is not only an amazing way to build an online community but to also pull in targeted leads to your paying offers.

6 MUST-HAVES TO GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST

#1 FREE GIFT OR LEAD MAGNET

While you might be thinking a general newsletter will bring in the most people because it’s broad, that’s the opposite of what we want our email list to be. Remember, the idea is that these new community members, over time, will invest in your product or service. Because of this, we want to bring in the right people.

Offering a free gift not only gives your audience some incentive to provide their email address but allows you to market and draw in the right people for your offers.

Create a lead magnet that is easy to consume, but of high value and is very specific to eliminating a struggle or addressing a need of your target market.

#2 OPT-IN OR LANDING PAGE

You might notice a theme in this post about being specific, but there is no more important time than a landing page to be as specific as possible. You want this page, the page that is collecting their email address and name, to tell them exactly what they will get when opting in.

I always encourage my clients to pretend like they are selling their free gifts. What would you need to say in order for someone to buy it?

Keep your landing page simple and to the point. Remember, the main goal for this page is to convert them into a new subscriber.

**On average you want a 30% or higher conversion for a cold audience (think Facebook or Pinterest ads, someone who doesn’t know you or your brand yet) and 50% or higher for a warm audience (someone who is already familiar with you and your brand).

#3 THANK YOU PAGE

After someone opts into your free gift, we want to use this opportunity wisely. You’ve got their attention, what are you going to do with it?

I’ll tell you what! You want to use this opportunity to share the next steps, grow other marketing channels or sell something as an upsell. All of these strategies work; it just depends on your end goal.

If you’re just starting out I suggest sharing something like this,

“Thank you for subscribing. Your free gift is on it’s way to your inbox. While you wait, be sure to connect with me on Instagram where I’m sharing daily inspiration and tips for building you…”

#4 WELCOME EMAIL (DELIVER THE LEAD MAGNET)

This initial email should be simple. The main goal here is to deliver the lead magnet and welcome your new subscriber into your community. Remember, they just want the free gift right now so give the people what they want.

Here’s an example of a welcome email I send for my free Personal Brand Roadmap.

Hey there, {{ subscriber.first_name }}!

Michelle Knight of Brandmerry popping into your inbox to deliver your free "Personal Brand Roadmap!"

I'm so excited to get this piece of content in your hands so you can start building a better brand.

Click the link below to confirm your subscription and download your roadmap!

BUTTON: Download Your Roadmap

You're going to love it.

Chat really soon!

Michelle Knight (MK)
Founder and Creator of You! Branded

#5 WELCOME SEQUENCE

Your welcome sequence is an opportunity to build trust with your community from the start. It’s your chance to make them feel safe, important and well, welcome. Not to mention you have a chance to introduce yourself and your expertise early on.

So often entrepreneurs wait to build a funnel because they don’t have a course or passive offer to sell, but I encourage every single entrepreneur to have a welcome sequence that shares their story and sets up their brand in order to later sell to their prospective clients.

After all, the idea is that these people don’t know you so why not use this opportunity to build trust!

#6 TRAFFIC

We’ll talk a bit more about promotion later on, but one of the most important aspects of list building is actually talking about your free gift regularly.

Taking tiny steps to share the landing page link in your bio on Instagram, on your Facebook page and adding a pop up or announcement bar on your website can help you passively promote your free gift.

3 MISTAKES YOU’RE PROBABLY MAKING TRYING TO BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST

MISTAKE #1: NOT ATTRACTING THE RIGHT PEOPLE

The biggest mistake I see is that people don’t create a free gift or lead magnet to pull in the right people. They spend time and energy building an email list and then launch something and no one buys.

The disconnect is that while they are building their list they are more focused on the numbers as opposed to the type of person who is joining.

I would rather you have 100 targeted leads on your email list than 5,000 random people.

Understanding who your audience is and what they need most from you at this moment is key to attracting the right people.

So first you need to identify who that target client is, if you don’t know this yet then you’ll want to check out my program You! Branded and join the waitlist.

MISTAKE #2: NO CLEAR BENEFIT FOR YOUR AUDIENCE

I want you to think of your free gift as something you are selling. Think of an email address equivalent to $1,000. Would you just add a title and a box to buy and expect people to do so?

Probably not.

If someone doesn’t know what your gift will provide them then they will piece out and move on to the next distracting thing on the internet. The stronger the benefit to your audience and the more specific language the better.

On your landing page and in your marketing share at least three points on how your gift will support them.

I do this with my landing pages and pretty much every single ask I’m making to my audience, including my weekly live stream called Mondays With Michelle.

Here’s an example of how I promoted a recent live stream about this topic.

Example:

The mistakes you’re making when trying to grow your online following and ultimately an email list of prospective buyers
What is needed to effortlessly create a lead magnet to grow your community (most people miss at least one step)!
The #1 thing you absolutely don’t want to skip when building your email list IF you plan to sell later (which I’m guessing you do).

I can’t expect you to stop what you’re doing and just watch, I’ve gotta tell you WHY you should watch.

You need to do the same with your lead magnet.

MISTAKE #3: NOT ACTIVELY PROMOTING

There are so many ways to promote your freebie, but you have to do it.

I can’t tell you how many times I have someone come to me and say, “Michelle, I don’t think my lead magnet works. I need a new one.”

So, I ask, “Well how many people have landed on the landing page? How many have opted in?”

It’s usually an answer like 10-50.

I’m sorry, but that is not enough. If not enough people are landing on your landing page it’s most likely that you aren’t sharing it enough or your messaging and marketing are off.

You have to actively be promoting your new gift in the world. I strongly suggest sharing it actively at least 2-3 times a week.

Inside my program Roadmap to Freedom, I talk about passive vs. active promotion.

Passive promotion as I mentioned above, is something you can set up once and forget about it. That looks like, a pop up on your website, a banner image on your Facebook or your link in your Instagram bio.

Active promotion is where you are actively sharing your lead magnet.

Some ways to both passively and actively promote your free gift are:

Through strong SEO on your website to an opt-in
Pinterest traffic to your blog with opt-in forms
Facebook or Pinterest ads
Posting on IG at least twice a week: IG Stories, IGTV, IG Live, Feed
Posting on FB at least twice a week: Live video, Feed, FB Groups, Stories
Youtube video with a call to action
Podcast guest or on your own

DON’T MISS THIS STEP WHEN BUILDING YOUR EMAIL LIST

This could possibly be the most important thing you read today about lead generation.

Your lead magnet should tie to your offer.

If you want a list that buys from you, then you need to reverse engineer. This is why in both of my programs You! Branded and Roadmap to Freedom, we focus on mapping out the offer first, or at the very least your framework.

When you start with your offer in mind, then you can identify what someone would need from you to take action on your offer OR what they need now to determine if your offer is right for them.

Remember we want to build a community of potential clients, so by reverse engineering, you’re taking the very first step in bringing in targeted leads.

Know where your subscriber is going before you start bringing them in.

CONCLUSION

Email list building is necessary when building any type of business, but especially an online brand.

However, some of the fundamental pieces of a brand are necessary to make it a success. That’s why inside my program You! Branded, I walk you through the key pieces like understanding your target market, crafting messages that focus on the benefit and designing your offer.

If you’re struggling to understand your brand, then I encourage you to check out You! Branded and everything we’ve included to support you in your journey to building an online community of true fans and a stand out brand.

Learn more at youbrandedcourse.com