[I]f are you a small business owner, you are missing out if you are not growing an email list. There is a saying in the digital marketing spaces that “The Money Is In The List.”
Email lists are how you connect with your people. It is a great way to share your latest product, share tips, and tricks and ask questions of your audience.
Growing an email list doesn’t have to be overly complicated. I get it. It is a frightening proposition at first. Too many business owners it sounds, and as a result, they back burner the project. Today this post will take the fear of list building. To build a list effectively, you need just a few tools.
✓ A Website
✓ An email marketing tool
✓ An email sign up form
Before we dive in though, let’s have a little chat about logistics. There are quite a few steps to set up an email list, but once you have it done, it will be well worth it.
We will go into the steps in more depth below but here is an overview graphic for you.
There are a variety of options here to consider. If you are starting out list building, I would recommend that you consider MailChimp. They have a free choice for the first 2,000 subscribers to your list. They also make it super simple to sign up.
Step 1: Go here and sign up https://mailchimp.com/
Step 2: Create your first list
2A: Click on Lists at the top left
2B: Click on Create List on the right
2C: Follow the prompts from MailChimp
The next step is to embed a sign-up form on your website. Fortunately, MailChimp (as do most email providers) give you a free embed form that you can place directly on your site.
Note: This is an excellent step in the process to outsource to your web developer, but you can do it yourself for sure.
How to Find the MailChimp Embed Form
Step 1: Log into MailChimp
Step 2: Click on Lists
Step 3: Click on the drop-down arrow on the far right of the form
Step 4: Click on signup forms
From here you can choose the Embedded forms options. You will want to copy the code and paste it into a page on your website.
Once you have finished, your email opt-in form should look similar to the one below.
Personally, I prefer something far more attractive, and this is why I use Thrive Leads to stylize my opt-in forms. Thrive Leads is a premium WordPress Plugin that costs $67 a year. It is quite powerful but will need to decide if you are ready to upgrade to such a tool.
I have a full in-depth review of the Thrive Leads here, along with tutorials on how to use it http://iteachblogging.com/thrive-leads/. With this tool, you can have an email opt-in form that looks something like this below.
Now that you have an idea of what is involved in creating an email list, I wanted to leave you with a few tips.
You need to provide readers with a reason to join your list. It is rarely as simple as: Sign Up Here! Those days are far over.
However, you can entice them with what is called a Content Upgrade. A content upgrade is merely a gift that the reader gets for signing up for your email list.
Great Content Upgrade Ideas
✓ Free PDF
✓ Free Video Series
✓ Free Ebook
✓ Free Coaching Call With You
Ok, so that is it. There is a bit of tech involved with creating and setting up an email list, but it is well worth it. If you do this and stay in touch with your subscribers the potential for business growth is there.
“You don’t want a huge list. You want an engaged list….the gold isn’t in the list anymore, it’s in the engagement.” ~Scott Stratten.
Featured Image: Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash
