This post is the first in three-part series on the importance of mailing lists and why failing to have one is a HUGE mistake. We will show you how to build a mailing list and use it to grow your site.
In this series, we’ll discuss the following:
- 4 Reasons Why You Need a Mailing List (This post).
- How to create a mailing list and add mailing list opt-in boxes to your site.
- How to dramatically increase mailing list subscribers and target your dream audience.
There are endless excuses for why people don’t have a mailing list.
My excuse was always that I didn’t have the time (can you relate?).
Owning a business or even a small blog can be time-consuming. Most of the bloggers I know are stay-home moms or housewives. It doesn’t allow them to spend as much time working as they sometimes want. Cramming everything the blog business requires into a few hours daily is always a struggle. You have to learn how to prioritize time, and, as a result, building a mailing list can end up on the back burner.
When we finally found time to work on our mailing list (what was five years ago!), it made all the difference in the world for Designer Blogs!
At the very start, we’ve gone from 0 to 10,000+ subscribers in just five months by using the right approaches.
Our list continues to grow by several hundred each week! Our sales and traffic have dramatically increased, and I’m now banging my head against the wall for not focusing on building our mailing list sooner!
If you want to grow your business or blog, you MUST make building your email list your top priority.
Here’s why building a mailing list should be your priority:
#1 Email is less competitive than social media
Think about how many emails you get on an average day. Maybe 50 to 100? Now think about how many social media updates appear in your feeds daily. Several hundred to thousands!
You have a far higher likelihood of having people see, open, and click on your email newsletter than you do, having them see updates you post on social media.
It’s a lot easier to ignore a status update than it is to ignore an email in your inbox.
#2 Email is far more personal and reliable
People may not be looking at your blog or website every day, but they do check their email numerous times a day. As fabulous as your site probably is, it’s still not as relevant to people as their inboxes. Having a mailing list helps you connect and build a personal relationship with your readers on an ongoing basis, which, in turn, builds trust.
#3 You own your email list
You have no ownership over social media, which means they can change their policies and the reach your status updates have at any time. Having people on your email list keeps you in control and your exposure to your subscribers entirely in your hands.
#4 Your mailing list is directly aligned with revenue
You must consider every person you acquire on your email list a potential customer. Marketing to them over and over again will build their trust and will (hopefully) eventually turn them into paying customers.
Whether you realize it or not, your email list directly reflects your business’s or blog’s energy and success.
Hands down, building a targeted email list is THE most important thing you can do to grow a successful blog or business. Don’t put it on the back burner as I did. Put it at the top of your priority list, and I promise you’ll start seeing the same amazing results we have.
Ready for part #2?
It will teach you how to get a mailing list set up and opt-ins placed on your site so you can start growing your list fast!
Part #2 : How to create a mailing list and add mailing list opt-in boxes to your site.
If you already have a mailing list, feel free to skip directly to:
Part #3: How to dramatically increase mailing list subscribers and target your dream audience.
and learn how to substantially increase your mailing list subscribers and target your dream audience.
We wanna hear from you!
What has been your excuse for not setting up a mailing list? Or, if you already have one set up, what successes have you seen from it? Let us know!
Optin forms, just today I learned are also called squeeze pages, as they serve to ‘forcefully’ extract the email addresses from the visitors by showing them a tempting carrot, some thing very vital in building up a sold subscriber list. With out a healthy mailing list no body can dream of making money through their blogs and build an effective social media exercise to enhance the traffic by manifolds.
Looking forward to reading the rest of this series and finding out how to build up an email list of subscribers!
WOW, your email couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. I have been searching for this kind of resource for the past few days and had made plans to set my Mailchimp account up tomorrow. Now I’m torn, you say act now but my head tells me to wait until next weeks post! Haha Thankyou and congratulations for you new little addition to your family. [email protected]
Wonderful post! We are linking to this particularly great article on our site.
Keep up the great writing.
Great post! Its certainly something i’m working on!
http://www.blackandwhiteinsider.com
Thank you for a great and honest post. Well done on a huge success
I feel like I’m getting visitors, but I’m not converting them into email sign ups. Maybe my opt-ins aren’t good enough? I just made a lot of changes recently so maybe thats why. I don’t know.
I suggest promoting your free opt-in like crazy around your site. If you find you aren’t getting many sign ups, then maybe it’s time to re-evaluate or fine tune your opt-in. You may need to try a few opt-ins until you find one that converts. Hope this helps and good luck!
Hi! Thank you for this post, creating an email list has been on my to do list for a while but this was the necessary kick up my backside!
I was just wondering what you send out to your email list. Do you notify them of each new post or do you send a round up? Do you write new content for your emails?
Thank you! Britta
would like to join your mailing list