How to Grow Your Email List Fast (Tips, Tricks, and Strategies)

It is no secret that growing an email list is a crucial aspect of any successful blog/ business. With social media algorithms changing constantly, it is vital we build and nurture an email list that will not only grow in numbers, but also convert in sales.

I wanted to share with you today how to grow your email list fast by implementing these tips, tricks, and strategies. The following have been instrumental in helping me grow my email list from 20 subscribers to nearly 800 subscribers in a 3.5 months.

I wrote a jam-packed post on how I grew my email list by 430 in 7 weeks. Here are the full details on how that went down if you missed it: The Power of Great Email Marketing for Bloggers (A Step-by-Step Strategy).

*This post contains some “affiliate links”. Click here for more info. 

1. Create a jammed packed freebie

I’m not talking about a checklist. I am talking about the kind of freebie that some people pay money for. Readers want valuable information. They want to feel that giving up their email address was worth the reward.

If that’s the case, they are most likely to stick around because they trust the value of your content. So, make it worth it and make it memorable.

It can be a bit time-consuming, but the results will definitely make up for it.

Here a some examples:

• a 5-7 day email course– ConvertKit makes it incredibly easy to create email sequences which can automatically be assigned and sent to your subscribers.
• a Mini eBook– you can write an eBook in Microsoft Word and convert it to a PDF, then attach it as a subscription incentive.
• a step-by-step tutorial– you can deliver this as a video or in written format.
• a challenge– you can also create this as an email sequence.

2. Maximize your chances with a powerful email system

Ever since I started using ConvertKit everything has skyrocketed.

ConvertKit is an email marketing company that is made specifically by bloggers for bloggers. It has all the tools you need to help you gain subscribers and retain subscribers.

Having the power to deliver freebies through sign-up forms, schedule and send email sequences, tag subscribers in strategic lists, creating landing pages, and so on, has really made an impact on my ongoing growth. For a little bit more on ConvertKit and how I’ve used it to grow my email list, click here.

3. Add pop-ups to the mix

When done correctly, pop-ups have the ability to turn visitors into subscribers. With new technology, such as “exit intent”, pop-ups are strategically triggered when someone intends to leave your site. This in turn increases conversions.

I love and use OptinMonster to create customizable and mobile responsive pop-ups that help showcase my freebies. You can check out more Optiminster’s super features here.

4. Share your freebies, everywhere! 

If no one sees it, no one gets it. Here are 9 ideas that will help your freebies get exposure:

1. Promote your freebie on social media
2. Facebook groups- This is my favorite way to promote a freebie. Join a few Facebook groups, write a compilation of all the “promo” days, and make a note to post on those days. For 10 Facebook Groups you can join and a FREE tutorial on how to manage your Facebook Groups efficiently with a downloadable planner, click here
3. Circulate your freebie pins on Pinterest using Tailwind
4. Tweet about it
5. Create an Instagram image for it
6. Write the freebie’s URL on you social media accounts’ bio
7. Mention it on blog posts when applicable
8. Include it in your guest post (if the host allows it)
9. Add it as an image widget in your sidebar

5. Pin it

Make pins for your optin on Pinterest and circulate it through your group boards using Tailwind. If you need help with creatingPinterest pins check out this beautiful Pinterest Template Bundle.

Pinterest is the main traffic referral for most of my daily views. As a top traffic referrer, I would be seriously missing out if Pinterest wasn’t part of my “grow my email list” game plan.

Tailwind is a Pinterest (and Instagram) scheduler which allows for automatic pin scheduling throughout the day (or weeks), depending on how far ahead you want to schedule them. Tailwind’s detailed analytics allow for smarter pinning, and using their recommended “pinning time slots”, based on your daily peak traffic, is simply genius.

Thanks to Tailwind, having my freebie pins circulate though Pinterest (using Group Boards) at optimal times a day without having to do much on my end is a game changer.

Pinterest group boards are created by any given person who chooses to have others collaborate on that particular board with a specific topic (blogging, travel, fashion, cooking, parenting, an so on).

Pinterest Group boards give your pins exposure and have the potential to reach thousands of people at any given time.

To join a group board, read the board’s description and follow the instructions provided to request an invite to that group.

6. Create a password protected Freebie library

I am currently working on mine so make sure you stick around for full access. 🙂

7. Follow the rules

This is a very important aspect of any money-making blog. It is the law to disclose your affiliation and/or sponsorship with any company that pays you or offers you any kind of incentive for something in return.

Some affiliate programs even have specific requirements when it comes to disclosures and the use of affiliate links specially sent in emails. For example, Amazon affiliates prohibits you from sending any affiliate links through email so make sure to check your affiliate’s policy.

You can write it as a “P.S” at the end or beginning of your email disclosing your affiliates/sponsors, or you can also just mention your affiliation within the paragraph. For example, “Convertkit is having a fantastic promotion this week, you can get access to the promo through my affiliate link here”.

Always remember that transparency goes a long way with your readers. Being up front with them from the start creates trust and increases value.

Additional Resources

If you need help with starting and growing your email list highly recommend List Growth by Tracie Fobes.

This info packed course teaches you everything you need to know about staring your email list from scratch all the way to making money with email marketing.

The List Growth eCourse you will not only help you set up your email system but you will learn how to make and share forms and ideas to get people to want to sign up. Once all of the systems that Tracie teaches in her course are in place, you can turn your email list into a simple way to generate blog income.

My email list is growing, now what? 

Don’t forget about your subscribers. I know life happens but make it a priority to communicate with your readers frequently. Be heartfelt and helpful, people appreciate that. Make real connections, it’s incredibly rewarding.

A bigger task than getting subscribers, is retaining them.

Will some people just sign up for your freebie and then unsubscribe? Absolutely, but don’t worry. That just means they weren’t your ideal reader/ client/ customer. An ideal subscriber will stick around, engage, and hopefully buy what you’re selling.

“Nurturing” your email list and making them a priority will turn a plain email list into a community. It is incredibly important to establish a good relationship with your subscribers. If they trust your judgement (and this happens through continuous communication and honesty), they are most likely to buy something from you and be with for the long haul.

I hope you found some of these tips helpful and feel free to leave your own tips in the comment section below.

Till next time my friend,

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