The best tips to build an email list was not one of my priorities. When My website went live I published four blogs posts and made them visible to the public and search engines.
Even though my website was live there were so many details I needed to work through to get the site to a functioning level.
Because I can be over critical with my own projects, instead of waiting for the perfect moment I just launched my site and figured I would be able to continue working on it.
You find inspiration quick when you visit someone’s website then come back to yours. It helped me to put a design structure in place and build my site with specific intentions.
How Do I Grow My Email List
In the next section I will cover the specific steps I used to build my email list. Keep in mind there are many ways to grow a list.
The websites I’ve visited that helped me solve a problem or had a video on how to do something have become sites that I go back to frequently.
I believe in whatever you do as a blogger always strive to offer tremendous value to your readers.
Best Tips to Build an Email List
In the 5years I’ve been building websites, I’ve heard many stories about how long it takes to build an audience and grow an email list.
The big question is, just how long does it take?
This will obviously vary from website to website and on what your doing to build your list.
I was able to compile data from my traffic reports and use it to get an idea of some methods that work to build an email list.
In this post I will layout those methods. Using these tips you can expect results within your first 30 days.
Remember the creativity you inject into your ideas will determine the success you have.
Please note this post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you click them and make a purchase. This is at no additional cost to you. Please read my disclaimer for more information.
1. Create a great lead magnet!
A lead magnet would be something of value you give for free in exchange for an email address.
When someone lands on your website/blog and views your content, if it answers a question or helps them with an issue they were having they are more willing to subscribe to your newsletter or signup for your offer.
Its been said that the money is in the list and you must focus on building your list.
In order to build an email list, you have to create a great lead magnet, in the blogging world this is known as a freebie.
I struggled in the beginning trying to figure out what makes a great freebie.
When you’re just starting out this can be really frustrating. How do you know what constitutes a great freebie?
Being new to blogging you may not have a bunch of people to get advice from. So I would download every freebie, cheat sheet, and guide I could find!
This gave me many examples of what bloggers were using for freebies.
What you want to do is make sure to create a freebie that gives step by step instructions, or show a way to complete a task.
I’ve come across some freebies that seemed to be just informational and didn’t really help me solve my particular challenge.
Give me step by step and helpful resources!
The Best Ideas For Your Freebie
I discovered the idea for my lead magnet after crashing my website.
The conversation I had with my hosting company support rep advised me of some ways to prevent crashing my site.
He also helped me to understand the importance of backups and a few other SEO related ideas.
That was one of the most important support conversations I had ever had. I learned a bunch on the call and yes the call sparked an idea for one of my first freebies.
I figured, if it helped solve my issues, it can help others as well!
A great freebie is something that solves an issue or teaches something new.
Some specific examples include:
- Step-by-step checklist on how to sale your products online
- 20% off your first order (product specific)
- Free 30-minute consultation with a business coach
- Mini email course on how to start a blog
How do I Increase My Sign up Rate
You can be really creative here. The goal is to make your call to action obvious. Your call to action should be differentiated from the rest of your page.
Use contrasting colors, a larger font, and prominent positioning for the best results.
2. I placed opt-ins and calls to action all over my website.
This is one of the most important on the best tips to build an email list.
I had come up with a great freebie, so I made it the main theme of my website so to speak!
Where can you put opt-ins?
- Home Page – this page acts as a landing page. My call to action is the first thing you see when you land on my site.
- Pop-ups – I have an opt-in form designed to pop up as about 20 seconds after a visitor lands on my page. This is installed on every single page and is set to show only once per day.
- Header– I have an opt-in form that sits in place on top of my website.
- Footer – I have an opt-in form on the footer of every page.
- Sidebar – I also have an opt-in form on the sidebar of every blog post.
- Within every blog post – I included opt-ins within my blog posts. The average reader has a very short attention span so using title tags or images to break up the text in your articles has shown to keep them engaged longer.
I use Hello Bar for the header opt-in. They offer a pretty basic free option.
You may want to upgrade to a subscription plan to have access to all there features.
The rest of forms were created with MailerLite.
MailerLite! is awesome! It is the most affordable, and user-friendly email management tool I have ever used.
It’s completely free until you hit 1,000 subscribers and after that, subscription plans are still very affordable.
3. A simple mobile-responsive website design.
When I started this blog, I wanted to give my visitors the type of experience I would like to have when I landed on someone’s website/blog.
Some writers do such a great job at producing content that you get involved with. While reading you feel connected in some way.
The writing is good and conversational and you feel like some-how you’re best friends with the writer.
What I don’t like about blogs?
Ads! Too many on your page! Speaking honestly some websites are confusing to me. Navigating around the adds suck.
I don’t know where to look, what to read, or what to click on next. So I bounce!
Try reading these sites on a mobile device. Not good!
How Do You Get People To Sign Up
We have a very small window of time to capture our website visitors attention. The design of your site can make a huge difference in having successful campaigns or not.
One thing I have learned through my ten+ years of marketing experience is this: Less is more!
For this reason, I kept my website design clean and simple.
More whitespace tends to perform better.
The images are very basic and I try not to have a busy looking site.
This site has specific options in place-click to download my freebie, learn from my blog posts, and follow me on social media- that’s it!
While designing the site I made sure it was mobile friendly and would be a good experience for users on desktop, tablet, and mobile.
I did this for two reasons.
First, Google says more than 50% of all searches are now conducted on a mobile device.
Because of this, Google is starting to rank mobile-friendly websites higher in search results.
If you have any hope of being found through search you better have a mobile responsive site design.
Related Post: SEO for Beginners
The second reason was based on my own experience.
I noticed a pattern in my Google analytics. It showed that I had more visitors on mobile than desktop.
To ensure that all visitors get a good experience I constantly have the site checked for performance on different devices.
I also tested all my opt-in forms and pop-ups on mobile.
There have been many times where I would be on a website and an opt-in pops up or an add, but I was unable to close them out and get back to the article I was reading.
Unfortunately in those cases I would just close out the browser.
That may just be my personal feelings but I have to imagine there are others that think the same way and I wouldn’t want that happening on any of my websites.
4. Facebook groups
Facebook groups are great for business.
If your new to Facebook, a Facebook Group is a community of like-minded people all focused on a specific topic or niche.
You can easily find a Facebook Group for just about any topic or niche out there.
When you join a group, make sure to read the rules. Most groups do not allow spammy links.
Participate in the group. Offer suggestions our your insights wherever possible.
You become a part of the conversation and begin to build potential online partnerships with others in your niche.
5. Pinterest group boards
When I started this blog, My focus to drive traffic was Pinterest and SEO.
I had experience with Pinterest from another website so I felt like Pinterest was going to deliver good results.
Once you understand that Pinterest is a visual search engine, and what do we do for search engines?
We optimize!
This will help your Pinterest traffic tremendously.
To learn more about effective Pinterest strategies, take a look at this excellent ebook by Ana from thesheapproach.com Making Pinterest Possible
FREE PINTEREST COURSE
Pinterest Primer is one of the best FREE courses I’ve come across. Its thorough and actionable for anyone new to Pinterest.
You will learn a ton of tips in the course, but to give you an idea of some results you can experience take a look at the below screen shots.
I started building my Pinterest profile just about a month before my website went live.
During this time I wanted to learn Pinterest and see what worked and what didn’t work.
Changing my name, description, board titles, and anything else you can change, I was looking to create a great looking profile.
Once I had my profile optimized and my personal boards full of Pins, I started searching for group boards to join.
I would receive approvals to join boards and in my first month I was a member of 10, which was awesome!
Using Facebook and Pinterest as a channel to promote my website has been the biggest thing I could have done for my business.
Related: Become A Twitter Pro
Social media can help you expand your reach, but I never imagined the type of results I’m seeing.
Your website will receive first time visitors who will become repeat visitors and even begin taking advantage of offers on your site.
Placing your freebie opt-ins that deliver value all over your website and using these methods you will begin to build your email list.
In Conclusion
Start building your email list with these five simple methods:
- A boss lead magnet (freebie)
- Opt-ins placed throughout your site
- Clean and mobile-responsive website design
- Facebook groups
- Pinterest Group Boards
Now it’s your turn
Im curious-What methods are you using to collect emails on your site? What are some opt-in ideas you can share with our readers? Leave comments below.
New blogger or already have a website but haven’t started collecting emails? Write us an email, lets talk about some of the best tips to build an email list. We love to hear from our readers.
