12 Experts Share Tips for Growing a Newsletter or Mailing List Fast
Creating a mailing list for your website, online business, or brand is very easy. However, growing the email list is a lot harder if you do not send traffic to your website. Regardless of how you plan to promote your email list, there will always be fresh and creative ways of realizing better results.
To help you in this process, we got in touch with some of the leading bloggers, professionals, and experts in their niche markets. The aim was to see how they actively build their email lists. Read each of the 12 expert tips below then implement several techniques on your website to see their effects.
1. Ryan Biddulph - Blogging from Paradise
To grow your email list, create super helpful content that is fun for your subscribers. Publish appropriate, helpful blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other types of content. Then email the content to your subscribers.
Some people focus on tips, hacks, tricks, and techniques but fall flat when creating content. I rarely take time to view my stats online since I’m busy enjoying and creating content with passion. Stats will eventually take care of themselves.
Recently, I realized hundreds of new subscribers on my mailing list from the last time I checked. If you take one from this, it should be that I give readers what they sign up for. The list will grow as clarity grows alongside your passion, business topic, and blog.
2. Zac Johnson - Blogging.org
Over the last few years, webinars have been excellent for growing my email list. Although most people today rely on pop-up windows and sidebar forms, the quality of webinar registration and engagement is on another level.
It is not just about getting more subscribers. Rather, webinars weed out members who attend your webinar and remain for future updates. It is very possible with several webinar and mail hosting solutions.
What’s more, when doing joint-venture webinars, it becomes easy to grow your mailing list faster. How it works is simple. You look for another website or partner that will mail your webinar registrations to their email list.
In this joint-venture webinar, partners will earn a fraction of the referral sales or revenue. After the webinar comes to an end, you will still have a new list of webinar attendees that you need to follow up with.
This approach demands more effort than just creating a mailing list. However, the return on investment is quite high.
3. Adam Connell - Bloggingwizard.com
A content upgrade is a popular tactic that converts well. However, the downside is the upgrade takes a lot of time to create. I often see people creating using this technique occasionally for posts and they forget about it.
The best alternative is to include these content upgrades in other topically relevant blog posts. You can even improve on it by creating topically relevant opt-in forms such as side-ins, sidebar, popovers, and after post, etc. To do this in WordPress, you can use the Thrive Leads plugin or an application like OptinMonster.
These will not convert anywhere close to content upgrades; however, their topical relevance will make worthwhile conversions. It is a remarkable way of getting more mileage from the content you create.
4. Srish Agrawal - Logodesignteam.com
Having multiple websites with each running a lead generation form made it necessary to develop short tutorials on the content on our websites. A good example is creating a resource on how to design infographics that also include details on how to promote them.
Our audience usually looks for resources on marketing and infographics. So, the incentive to download or free ebooks and reports works best. Also, we provide follow-up emails to our subscribers to showcase the type of work we create for other clients.
For us, it is extremely important to continually showcase our best design and work. Providing your audience a taste of your work is undeniably a good way of getting them to join your mailing list. Also, they can become paying customers.
5. Vladimir Gendelman - Company Folders
Social media is a distinguished way of building your email list. You can take several steps such as using the call to action button on Facebook to direct people to your website to sign up for your email list.
Also, optimize what you offer in your bio on all your platforms. Ensure you include a link for signing up for your email list. As you promote new content, let people know they can get the latest from you by signing up to your email list.
Also, ads on Pinterest and Facebook can attract more traffic to your website.
6. Even Garkaviy - Morak.com
It may surprise you that the age-old phrase “join our mailing list to get gift vouchers” is the best technique for growing our mailing list. After 5 months or so, we change the retailer whose vouchers we offer but retain the same value. It always works.
We are not just after growing our mailing list. Getting quality subscribers is our aim. It is the only way we can get more conversions or activity from them. Thus, spending more time growing your email list with the right subscribers is the best approach.
For instance, when I come across articles on growing your email list by 2000 subscribers in a week, I always always have concerns about the quality.
7. Harris Schachter - Optimizepri.me
Providing great content on your website is the best way of growing your email list. To showcase your expertise or authority, then provide something more amazing only to your mailing subscribers.
The unique content for your subscribers could be a whitepaper or free access to a course, or webinar among others. When you include scarcity, this technique works very well. For instance, you can claim it is only for the first 150 people or the offer has a time limit.
8. John Rampton - Due.com
Although the actual content and the title of a mailing are important, what matters most is the quality and the target audience. That’s why some websites with mailing lists of between 500 and 1000 die-hard subscribers are worth much more than other sites with generic 10s of thousands of subscribers.
The best way of reducing costs and improving engagement in mailing lists is by cleaning the list often. As well, ensure you only send the best and the most essential updates.
9. Marcus Miller - Bowlerhat.co.uk
To grow your mailing list, you need to understand your audience to be in a position to help them with their problems or meet their objectives. It is the best way. There are two components involved. First, get new subscribers, and second, keep the ones you already have.
To balance these, you need a strong value proposition that convinces visitors to sign up. Also, a smart, irresistible incentive is necessary to give them a taste of what to expect.
The last and the most difficult part is to deliver every week to retain those readers. It involves solid marketing - no easy wins.
10. Montgomery Peterson - OriginalColoringPages.com
I am in the publishing niche where growing your mailing list is crucial. Although websites such as Amazon are ideal for getting driving sales and getting exposure. However, they do not let you access customer details or offer a way of following up with them.
It is perfect if you are using FBA. But many book publishers are in the dark. The best way is to deal with this is by creating a different outlet where your audience can find your content. The popular outlets are blogs, social media, guest blogging, and reviews.
Different outlets work differently but the goal is to have a call to action that gets someone on your email list. For me, pop-up subscribe forms together with incentivizing the process with a free book download work best.
I am convinced this approach can be used in almost any other niche. Also, I found that the more active and engaging you are with your subscribers, the more they stay engaged. Avoid sending a mail to make a quick buck, instead provide something valuable in each mail.
11. Steven Macdonald - SuperOffice.com
Providing topically relevant content is the best way of growing your mailing list. Like content upgrade, the method allows the reader to get more details on a specific subject by providing their email address.
For instance, our Super Office blog links each customer service post to our email templates. This is also true for our email marketing posts where we link them to our email marketing guide. Since 2012, this strategy has seen sour mailing grow from 0 to over 8,000.
12. Bandon Johnston - Blogrein.com
Combining popup windows and offering incentives has been my best approach to growing my mailing list. On WordPress, Optin Monster makes it easy to create and test various forms as well as bonuses on your website.
What works best for my websites is providing simple 1-page PDF reports. This not only saves me time but also it is easy for visitors and download and read.
Although 50-page eBooks are great, most people lack the time to read through them all. It results in a lost lead. By creating something valuable and giving it for free to my audience has allowed by to grow my mailing list.
It is evident there are several ways of squeezing more sign-ups into your email list. However, providing great content and using the right technique work all the time. Choose what you feel will work for you and implement it.