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Reading Time: 4 minutesThinking of growing your blog and building your email list? If you're starting, you know how challenging it is to get your first 100 subscribers! And the problem is, there is so much info about the dos and don'ts of growing an email list that it's hard to know facts from fiction. What to do?
Hey, we've been there! We know how exhausting it is to grow an email list. And there is a lot of confusing information out there. But! Growing an email list is easier than you think once you take the right steps. And that’s why we’re here; we want to help you monetize your blog and attract hundreds and thousands of subscribers. We’re in this together!
Where to start? Continue reading below:
The reason why readers flock to your blog is your content. That’s the first step; you need to start blogging. But don’t dive into blogging headfirst without a sound content strategy. You need to know who you are blogging for and what kinds of topics are trending in your specific market. It would be best if you blogged about topics that your target audience cares about so they’ll be motivated to check your blog out.
Also, use high-quality images and check for grammatical errors, typos, etc. Add eye-catching and/or customized images, videos, and other visuals to your text content to make it pretty. When people start reading your blog, your credibility grows. Eventually, you'll become a trusted source of information, and readers will start subscribing to your blog.
How often should you publish a new blog is also important, it gives readers something to look forward to at specific times of the month.
Once your blog is up and running, you can start choosing an email platform. There are several email marketing platforms out there, including MailChimp, Converkit, Constant Contact, and Flodesk. While some of these email marketing platforms are popular, not all of these offer the best features. Avoid a platform that's ridden with poor deliverability rates or those that are cumbersome to use. Don't use an email marketing platform that does not allow affiliate links.
You have to choose carefully because it will be hard to switch to another platform once your subscriber list grows! Once you have chosen an email marketing platform, you can start setting up your email campaign by drafting an opt-in form and landing page.
No one likes to receive spam emails. That’s why most people are careful about leaving their emails anywhere online. They’ll only provide their email address on their own accord. And if you want to compel people to give up something as important as their email addresses for future promotions, you have to offer something in return.
That’s where incentives come in. These are freebies that you’ll offer in return for their email address. The freebie doesn’t have to be expensive at all; it could come in the form of:
After deciding what kind of incentive to offer, you can start building a copy around it. The copy should be compelling, well-written, and well-designed to make the offer even more irresistible.
Once you are done writing a copy for your opt-in form and deciding on a template, you can start posting the opt-in form in various parts of your website such as:
We suggest setting the opt-in forms in your highest-performing web pages to get maximum exposure.
Be sure to set the freebie offer at a prominent area of the opt-in page. You can put the offer in the header, at the top/bottom of a blog post, create a notification bar or in a pop-up form. Experiment with different setups and see which one gets you the most email addresses.
To attract as many people as possible, you have to promote your email list across all channels online. Social media is a great place to start because virtually everyone maintains a social media profile or page. Some of the best places to promote your blog are:
Each of these social media channels has millions of active users, and you can tap into these platforms to market yourself and your business. As for promoting your email list, there are many ways to do it. You can feature a helpful blog post or a video tutorial. You can also hold a giveaway contest, create a quiz, or engage with people in the comments section. Don’t push for a hard sell, do the promotions subtly.
Finally and most importantly, do not make potential subscribers go through hoops to sign up to your email list. Post the subscribe button on every blog post as well as the top and bottom parts of your website. Update your social media bio or About Us page to feature the relevant link.
Don’t ask too many questions; the fields should be limited to two then add a call to action. People are wary of leaving personal details online as it is and asking too many questions will only put off a lot of potential subscribers.
Getting your first 100 email subscribers is definitely not a walk in the park, but with these tips, you can encourage more people to sign up for your email list. So what are you waiting for? Monetize your blog today and start growing your email list.
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