How to Build An Email List in 2014 WITHOUT all the HYPE!

I think as the internet continues to evolve, that more and more people are craving directness and transparency from the people they do business with.  Unfortunately, many business owners use distraction as a way to get attention.

Lynn Serafinn, in her book, “The 7 Graces of Marketing” says that directness is the antidote for distraction.  Lynn explains: “Distraction is when we use diversionary techniques to ‘hook’ our audience without necessarily providing any useful information. Distraction is often subtle in its appearance, as it can be packaged in very entertaining and creative ways that appeal to our senses or make us laugh.”

Before we get into the “how-to’s” of building an email list (below), I want you to start thinking about how to create marketing for your business this year that allows the essence of your brand to be seen without using distraction.  By having direct and transparent marketing you will be able to build connection and trust with your audience and help them in making informed and intelligent decisions.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve signed up for a “FREE” Special Report or ebook or video series, and afterwards I was disappointed because it was all filler and no meat!  I’m sure you’ve had that experience as well.

So here are my top 5 tips on how to build an email list in 2014 without all the hype:

1. Create Content with Meat.

   This is how you build trust, build relationships and attract your perfect clients.  Creating content, whether it is your FREE optin gift with a Special Report, your weekly Newsletter or your blog posts (you must be blogging in today’s online economy), it’s about creating content that helps your perfect customer solve problems.  Of course, you want them to purchase your services or products (and we’ll talk about that in a minute), but before a purchase is made, trust has to be established.  If you trick them into getting on your list and then deliver a “filler” type ebook or report, you won’t be hearing from them again.  So do things right and give away 80% of your most valuable information upfront.  I promise, they still will do business with you because they will want your guidance, expertise and attention.

2. Have a Professional Cover Made for Your FREE Optin Gift.

   I think it is more attractive to have a nice cover for your free “report” or “ebook” because it makes it seem like a real book!  I have been very happy with a provider I use on www.fiverr.com named “samples”.  He or she (not sure) has provided several book covers for me that are top notch!  And the best part is they cost me $5!  I use this service for my own material as well as my client’s materials.  So don’t skimp and don’t try to do it yourself, unless you are a graphic artist, and get a nice book cover made for your optin gift on your sign up page.

3. Invest in Aweber to Build Your Email List.

   I am a huge fan of Aweber!  I’ve been using them for a decade now!  I’ve tried using MailChimp for some of my website design clients, however, I personally didn’t like it.  Mailchimp is a free service and compared to Aweber…well, let’s just say there was no comparison.  But if you’re on a tight budget, then you can start with Mailchimp and hopefully move over to Aweber.  Here is some of what Aweber can do for your business:  create and manage multiple lists on your website(s); create multiple sign-up forms; connect your blog to their “blog broadcast” service so that every time you blog on your wordpress website, Aweber pulls the content into a pre-designed template that looks like a newsletter and sends it out to your list; there are also dozens of templates for newsletters, blog broadcasts, special offers, etc; and most importantly you can write autoresponders to develop the relationship with your potential clients.  More about that next…

4. Write at least 26 Autoresponders.

   Let me start out by defining what an “autoresponder” is in case you aren’t sure.  It is a fancy term for “automated pre-written emails” that get sent to your subscribers in a sequential order.  (Note:  This is different from a “broadcast” which is a one time email that goes out to your list.)  Now, I know creating 26 autoresponders sounds like a lot of work.  Here’s the problem though.  It takes about 7 contacts for someone to make a purchase from you.  So by increasing your communication with the visitors to your site, you increase the probability that you will make sales!  The reason I suggest you write 26 autoresponders is that if you set them to go out every 14 days, you’ll be in touch with your potential client for 1 year.  By that time they will have either unsubscribed (if they do, that’s okay; it just means they are NOT your perfect client) or they will hopefully have purchased from you.  So what do you write in those 26 autoresponders?  My suggestion is this:  Welcome Email, Content, Content, Related Promotion, Content, Content, Related Promotion, and so forth.  Or there is another option which I am most likely going to implement this year and that is: Welcome email, content, content, content (direct to blog post that promotes a product or service), engagement; then repeat, repeat, repeat.  An example of “engagement” would be asking the reader a question like “What would you like me to write a blog post about?” or asking them to sign up for your free strategy session or take a survey.  Just getting them to take “action” and engage with you is a great achievement!  What you want to avoid is this:  Welcome Email and then nothing!  That is how many websites are set up.  The subscriber gets a welcome email and the free gift they signed up for; then they never hear anything else.  Take the time to set up your autoresponders properly. If you need help, I offer that as a writing service here.

5. Engage Your Potential Audience With Your Content via Social Media.

   In a perfect world, let’s say you have a well written, filler-free gift for your website subscribers; you have a nice cover image for the optin form, you’ve set up your 26 autoresponders with good content; and you have consistent blog posts being published to engage your visitors.  Now you want to start building your subscriber list.  As long as you are putting out quality content through a blog, then you will attract an audience.  The key is, getting the word out.  This may sound crazy, but many website owners don’t blog or if they do, they write the blog and never tell anyone about it!  In WordPress, you do have an automatic feature called “Update Services“; when you publish a new post, WordPress automatically notifies hundreds of site update services!  That’s another reason why you want a WordPress site.  However, in addition to this update service, you want to take your newly written blog post and start promoting it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and anywhere else you can.  My top 3 choices are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  I also encourage you to create an image to go with your blog post because having a visual usually means more clicks.

If you follow the 5 steps above, I promise you will build your email list, attract more clients and make more sales.  It does take more time to do, but anything worth doing is worth doing right.  Right?

I hope you enjoyed this blog post!  Make sure to sign up to receive your FREE copy of my newly updated ebook, “The Lazy Woman’s Guide to a 6-Figure Income” (which I update every January!) Sign up on the right sidebar!

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