How To Build An Email List [FAST & FREE]

Building an email list from scratch was one of the most confusing aspects of my coaching business when I first started... especially when I had ZERO following. 🙈

That's why today is all about helping you build an email list of super niched, ideal clients that CAN’T WAIT to hear from you... fast and for free!

One of the top priorities of online coaches is to build a niched and engaged email list… and here’s why:

1. You’re talking to people who you know WANT to hear from you, and you know this because they opted in usually through some piece of free content you were sharing. 
2. It’s a communication method that you own and are in control of (unlike social media that can shift their algorithms at any time). 

Remember the great social media shutdown of March, 2019? 🥺

Or, remember recently in 2020 when Facebook and Instagram changed their terms and privacy giving them permission to delete posts and shut down accounts. 

A lot of people were freaking out because their entire audience lives on Facebook or Instagram, and if they got shut down they’d have no way to reach them. 

Case in point for growing your email list and implementing email list marketing strategies.

These stats don’t hurt either: 99% of consumers check their emails daily and 59% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchasing decisions. It’s a no-brainer.

So, if you’re just starting to build an email list and need some email list tips, check out these 4 gems… 

Email List Tip #1:

Choose The Right Email Provider For You.

Start off strong by finding the right email provider.  Some capabilities to look for are:

1. Mobile friendly templates. Whoever gets your email is most likely going to see it on their phones first, so it’s very important that the design looks good and is easy to read both on your phone and on your desktop computer.
2. Easy contact management. Your provider should make it easy to segment your contacts into targeted lists so that the most relevant reader is getting the right email for them.
3. Automation is where it’s at! This can make your life so much easier. Make sure that you can set up your emails to go out to different groups of people automatically. For example: when a new person opts into your list, they will automatically be sent a welcome email, and be put on your “welcome series” list.
4. Easy-to-read analytics are very helpful too. You want to be able to see open rates, click rates, and who’s sharing your emails so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly. You can also A/B test subject lines to see what style your audience responds to best.
5. Friendly tech support is important too. It’s comforting to know that a nice IT person is waiting on the other end of a chat box or email just in case you need them.

Once you pick your provider (I use Kajabi 🤩), you can search for tutorials on YouTube, Google, and go through any training videos they might give you within the platform itself.

Being informed BEFORE you jump on in there will help you learn how to use your new email provider better, faster, and more efficiently.

Email List Tip #2:

Choose What You’re Launching Each Quarter. 

This is a MASSIVE pro tip because the content you create from here on out will be leading to your next launch.

Now, you won’t be referencing this launch directly in every piece of content you post. Instead, you’re positioning yourself as the expert in your field and specific topics.

By sending out tons of free, in-depth, highly valuable content, you’re essentially developing an entire library of resources to the reader. This generosity will make people excited to follow you, learn more from you, and will make the decision to eventually buy from you even easier.   

This is so important because it leads to your most important email list building tip which is...

Email List Tip #3:  

Create A Strategic Lead Magnet Or Tiny Offer.

A lead magnet is otherwise known as a:

• Free optin
• Content upgrade
• Free optin incentive
• Good ol’ freebie

This can be a downloadable template, checklist, how-to guide, video training, eBook, audio file, or anything else you feel your audience would benefit from and would be more than happy to give you their email address to get.

You’re going to get a LOT of use and return on this lead magnet, so don’t be afraid to invest in some support. Hiring a graphic designer, copywriter, video producer, or sound editor for this one-time project will definitely be worth it.

However you decide to deliver the content, you want it to relate to your upcoming product launch in some way. This helps you know for SURE that whoever opts in, is very likely to take the next step and purchase from you.

Email List Tip #4:

Market Your Lead Magnet Or Tiny Offer.

You put in the hours creating that masterpiece...You want it to be seen, right? This is when people begin to find your lead magnet alllll over the internet. Start by focusing your efforts on searchable content FIRST, because it will be online forever and can just keep working for you. 

THEN you can implement a social media strategy for attracting even more opt-ins and driving traffic to that awesome freebie! Social media’s a key element to your content strategy, but keep in mind that it disappears quickly. 

RELATED POST: Click here to learn how to create a clear and concise content marketing plan.

So what does this content marketing plan look like, exactly? 

1. Create multiple blogs, YouTube videos, Pinterest pins, and podcasts that all direct people to one lead magnet. Pro tip here: repurpose the crap out of this content! Turn your YouTube video scripts into blogs, use lines of copy from your blogs on your Pinterest graphics… you can repurpose content from your youtube script and create social media post captions…  spread it out all over your different platforms for an even more effective and time-saving strategy. 
2. The second aspect of the content marketing plan is to Optimize EVERYTHING. That’s right,  I’m talking about SEO here. Your titles, descriptions, tags content, image and video data, should all follow SEO best practices.  This is basically how I increased my email list by thousands within one year.
3. The third step in content marketing is to amp up all that lead generating content by sharing your searchable content on social media - and what I mean by this is creating captivating Facebook captions that include a link to your blog - and also sharing the actual lead magnet to let people sign up right from social media, as well.
4. (Now, this fourth option isn’t free) however, if you’re wanting to build your list EVEN faster you can run ads. Strategized ads are money well spent! But don’t fall into the trap of boosting posts. Facebook has a lead magnet specific ad template...coupled with some storytelling copy. Use this and you’ll be well on your way to building up your email list quick! 

Okay, so now you know the 4 Email List building tips that will help you magnetize your audience and build a list full of people who are excited to consume your content and buy your offers. 

If you’re still stuck and could use a little support, I’ve created a free facebook group full of coaches and course creators who are all growing their businesses and email lists just like you. So go ahead and CLICK HERE to join that now!

Lastly, if this video was just what you needed in your coaching business, please let me know by sharing it with your coach friends. 

Until next time, keep building your empire!

XO, KellyAnne

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