Email. It runs our lives more than any of us would care to admit. From business to personal, we treat email as if it were part a life-support mechanism. So, why is it when it comes to business that building a healthy, and hefty, subscriber list is pushed to the back-burner?
One thing we tend to remind our clients of daily, here at The Found Gen, is that there are only TWO things you can control these days when it comes to your business’s marketing tools: your blog and your subscriber list.
Social media is constantly in flux, with new algorithms and pushes for ad buys changing the game before you can even blink. SEO tactics are at the beck-and-call of Matt Cutts. And practically every other marketing strategy needs to be ready to pivot at the drop of a hat.
But, email…that’s something you can control. So, why aren’t you? A sturdy subscriber list helps you stay in contact with your current, potential and even previous clients. A well-maintained list can act as your arsenal for generating sales, boosting brand notoriety and even opening doors that may have been shut ages ago.
We went ahead and compiled a few easy steps to grow your subscriber list quick.
1. Go Ahead & Ask For Emails
Sounds so easy, right? Well, it is. Every time you go out to a meeting or a networking event, you are collecting business cards. Why not spend a few extra seconds and simply ask if you can send them some information that you think will be of use. Always bring it into your conversation and what you’re talking about. We don’t recommend simply shouting it out after an 10 second introduction. That will never end in anything other than an “unsubscribe.” But offer to stay in touch, bring something back into conversation that they mentioned. For instance, if you’re a divorce lawyer and they mentioned their friend has a concern about alimony payments post-retirement–ask if you can send them some useful material on the subject. They won’t say no.
And for the online request, make a subscribe option prominent on both your homepage and your blog page. Provide incentives for guests to sign up. For instance a free Ebook or White Paper. Content is king. Give something to get something.
2 . Offer an Online Course
More often than not, an interesting webinar catches the attention of a lot of folk. Webinars have the added bonus of not limiting you to a specific location.
A client of ours once offered a webinar, offering a free online assessment along with it. All it took was one quick offer, that resulted in 7,000 sign-ups and a suddenly robust email list. Not too shabby, right?
In order to be successful at an online course or seminar, you need to narrow down your topic, create a sense of urgency that will in turn drive action, and keep it short and sweet. It’s easy for people to spare an hour or an hour a week for 4 weeks, but beyond that–things get tricky. So keep that in mind when planning.
3. Guest Post on High Value Sites
Blogging is one of the strongest ways to drive consistent traffic to your site. When you guest blog you open the door to reach a larger audience and get them interested in wanting to hear more about what you have to say. So, it’s important to leverage your guest posting opportunities to drive traffic to your site up and subsequently your subscriptions too.
A few quick tips? Do some quick research and nominate a selection of sites where you feel your voice will be most compatible. Then take a deeper look into the overall style of the posts they share (read: titles, messaging, layout and calls-to-action). Seamlessly melding to another site’s style gives you a higher chance of being selected and asked back. But don’t forget to offer that bonus material that will drive attention back to your site and your subscription list.
All in all it’s not difficult to grow your subscriber list–it just takes a bit of effort. If you’re interested in growing your list but aren’t sure you have the time to dedicate to it, go ahead and give us a call. We’re happy to help get your subscriber list where you want it to be.