The Secret Sauce to Email List Building in 2024

How does your email list look? 🤔

Like many small business owners, it's easy to move list-building to the back burner. We're going to change all that today. In this episode, we'll explore the untapped potential of email marketing as we uncover the secrets to cultivating a robust email list that will become your most valuable marketing asset. 

After going through the trials and errors of list-building myself, I'm here to walk you through the do's and don'ts of  list-building.  Your list will connect you to potential customers you can build a relationship with as they learn to know, like, and trust you. 

I'll  share the type of content that's working right now that will build a list of raving fans! And I'll give you my favorite tools and tricks to put your list building efforts on auto-pilot so you can focus on what you do best–running your business. 

Creating freebies for your audience is more than just being generous—it's a powerful business growth strategy that you can start implementing today. Tune in and learn how to transform your email list into a powerful cornerstone of your marketing strategy!

Transcript

Janice Hostager 0:02

I'm Janice Hostager . After three decades in the marketing business and many years of being an entrepreneur , I've learned a thing or two about marketing . Join me as we talk about marketing , small business, and life in between . Welcome to my Weekly Marketing .

Janice Hostager 0:29

Hey , welcome to another episode of my Weekly Marketing . By the time this episode drops , it's early 2024 , so I want to wish you a happy new year and because it's the new year , I like to refocus on a few things that I personally neglected last year to improve on it for 2024 .

Building an Email List's Importance

Janice Hostager 0:47

Building your email list is one of those things that can be easy to neglect . I'm as guilty of this as anyone . I get so busy working with clients on their marketing that I sometimes forget that it needs to be a priority of my own in business too . But right now , since it's the beginning of 2024 , it's the perfect time to work on building your email list too , not just because it's the beginning of a new year , but in February , google is going to introduce some new email guidelines that you're going to want to implement . That's something we're going to talk about next week on the episode , but for this week , I just want to talk about list building , because how cool would it be to have a list that just grew on autopilot right ? There's a saying that's absolutely true the money is on the list . Simply put , your email list is made up of people who are interested in the product or service that you're offering and you have direct access to them through email . So if you're new to list building or just need a refresher or some new ideas , we're going to cover why you need a strong , healthy email list and when to start it , what not to do in list building , and a few list building ideas and how-tos .

Janice Hostager 1:59

So let's dive in . So why

Why Do You Need a List?

Janice Hostager 2:02

do you need a list ? In short , if you want to sell anything online or offline , a list is one of the most valuable tools in your marketing arsenal . Why ? Because if you build your email list correctly , your list will be full of warm leads , people that you know are already interested in what you're selling or sharing in your emails . Unlike social media , you own your list . You can have 10,000 to 100,000 followers on social media but that platform . If that platform goes away or the algorithm becomes unpredictable , as it usually is , you don't know who you're going to be able to connect with . Both have their place in marketing , but I always , always , prioritize email list growth over social media growth .

Janice Hostager 2:46

You have a valuable product or service to share , but to find those people who want to buy it can be challenging . By providing something of value for that customer , you'll pull them into your business or you can build a relationship with them . That word relationship is an important one . You need to continue to offer your list value and show your unique brand personality so they will get to know , like, and trust you . Email is still the most cost-effective way to do that .

Janice Hostager 3:15

Let me tell you if you think email is dead , it's far from it . In fact , in 2023 , 99% of email users check their email every day , and some as many as 20 times a day , and 58% of users check their email before they check out social media or even the news . And the average expected return on investment is $42 for every dollar you spend on email marketing . I don't know about you , but I trade a dollar for $42 any day of the week . So you may be thinking about a question . I get asked a lot . That all sounds great , but building an email list takes time . Can't I just

Can’t You Just Buy an Email List?

Janice Hostager 3:55

buy an email list ? The short answer is no . Here's the truth .

Janice Hostager 3:59

In the US , it's technically legal to buy a list . However , it's not true in other countries , such as Canada and the European Union , and even in California, it's—which has its own anti-spam laws . Even if it is legal , it's still considered bad practice . Why Emailing people who don't opt into your list is an invasion of their privacy and it makes you look smarmy . At best , you're missing an opportunity to develop a loyal , long-term fan . At worst, you're damaging your brand's reputation and it puts you in danger of being flagged as a spammer because email providers such as Google pay attention to relevancy when your emails are sent out . If people are flagging your emails as spam , they'll send more of emails to the spam folder and Google will take note and deliver those emails to fewer inboxes . And if enough people flag it as spam , you can get blacklisted and your email service provider will get in trouble too . Nobody wants to be spammed , right ? So we want to focus on ethically building a list of people who want to hear from you . So pinky swear to me , I will not buy a list .

Janice Hostager 5:11

So when should you

When Should You Build It?

Janice Hostager 5:12

build it ? So you might be starting out your business and wonder if it's too early to build your email list . Well , you know that old quote the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the second best time is now . Well , that , even if you don't have a website , even if you don't have a service , it's not too early to be offering a free download and start paying attention to what free offers people are interested in . By doing that , even if you don't have an offer ready to go , you can get feedback on what people are interested in . There's nothing worse for a business than developing a product or service that people don't want . A free download is a perfect litmus test to gauge the interest of the market . So how

How Do You Build a List

Janice Hostager 5:53

do you do it ?

Janice Hostager 5:54

The first step is to set up an email service provider .

How to Set Up an Email Service Provider

Janice Hostager 5:58

I use ConvertKit and they have a free plan that's perfect for small business owners . I started out using them years earlier after they were just coming on the market , and I still use them for my own business . I've used a lot of different email service providers or ESPs , and many of them are really good for certain types of businesses or sizes of businesses . But if you're just starting out and have a small list , you can't go wrong with ConvertKit . I'll put a link for them in the show notes at myweeklymarketing . com forward slash39 .

Janice Hostager 6:28

The next step is to do some research

Do Some Research on What Your Potential Customer Wants

Janice Hostager 6:30

on what your potential customer wants . Adding a Get My Newsletter banner on your website is pretty ineffective since most of us really don't want more random emails .

Some Ideas for Lead Magnets

Janice Hostager 6:40

So determine the type of lead magnet your potential customer is most interested and offer that instead . Just so we're clear . A lead magnet is also called a freebie , an opt-in , a sign up offer , content upgrade opt-in , bribe lots of different names . Basically , it's something to pull people into your list who have an interest in what you're doing and selling . It needs to be something that moves them to share their name and email address to get it . You could offer something really amazing , like a contest for a free iPad , but unless you're selling an iPad-related product , you'll have a list of irrelevant people . I had a client who did this once . It needs to be something of value . They need to know , believe or understand before they're ready to buy your product or service . Bonus points if it also excites your audience , saves them time , saves them money or makes them money . Those are some huge psychological motivators for people .

Janice Hostager 7:38

If you're struggling with ideas , I'd recommend doing some brainstorming using chat GPT Before you do that . Make sure chat GPT knows about your business and your ideal customer . There's a section on chat GPT called Custom Instructions that carry over to all your queries . It's at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen in chat GPT . That's where you can add information about your business , your target customer , anything that you think is relevant to your results . Once that information is added , then ask it something like give me 20 ideas for lead magnets for my ideal customer around blank , blank being whatever it is the topic is of your product or service . Or you could say what is my ideal customer struggling with the most around blank . It'll give you some great ideas that you can act as a launch pad and kind of do some brainstorming of your own . On a side note , if you're just starting out and aren't especially clear about who your ideal customer is , I've got your back . Go to janicehostager . com , forward slash customer, and download your free ideal customer profile so you know exactly who you're talking to . It'll make your marketing and your lead magnets so much more powerful and effective . Of course , if you have an existing business , you probably already know what they struggle with . If not , think about the questions you get asked most often from your customers or the struggles that keep people from being ready to buy your product or service . Another tip I've been putting together lead magnets for myself and my clients for many years and I've noticed that people now are getting a little more selective about what they'll download . A simple checklist might not be enough . Here's my advice go the extra mile and offer more .

Janice Hostager 9:22

This hit home for me this week when my husband and I were in San Antonio celebrating our wedding anniversary . We had booked a moderately priced hotel that had good reviews . When we checked in , we were wowed when they asked us why we were in town and then offered us a free bottle of wine to celebrate our anniversary . Then we were told that the hotel had a free order bar for all their guests each evening definitely more than we were expecting from a mid-tier hotel . When we got there , we were surprised to find out that the same day as our anniversary was the Alamo Bowl and the city was packed with college football fans . So when we tried to make dinner reservations in a restaurant for our anniversary dinner , everything was booked . We walked around in the crowds for a long time and tried to find a restaurant that took walk-ins , but we were faced with either hours-long waits or dinner fast-food a burger place . We decided to check out the order bar . I was getting hungry and a little bit crabby , but let me tell you the order bar was amazing . It was equivalent to a free dinner and in fact, for us, it was a free dinner , not the quiet , romantic dinner on the riverwalk , we imagined , but it was really good and it was free . They had a buffet that was equally amazing for breakfast the next morning , too . This hotel knew what it was to go above and beyond , and on our next trip there we will definitely be back .

Janice Hostager 10:46

That is the type of experience it takes to stand out in a competitive market , even with your free content . People will think if this is what they offer for free , I can only imagine that their paid content is even better . So , with that in mind , here are a few ideas of things you can create . First off , a free download that shares a process to make something of value , for example , plans for building something , or a book of recipes . Again , think about things your customers need to know before they're ready to buy . If you sell bicycles , you may want to create a publication for something like 10 physical benefits of biking . Or for one of my clients who had an investment firm , we offered a book called How to Invest .

Janice Hostager 11:29

If You're Just Starting Out and Don't Make Much Money For a physical product , a discount code for free shipping or a percentage off or something that'll save them money . Remember , saving money is a universal motivator . An exclusive bed of content is a good idea , such as for a free book chapter or a free course module , so they get drawn into a purchase for the entire book or the entire course . Perhaps you want to offer a quiz that'll help them identify their own situation or their own tendencies . That's a good way to find out more about your ideal customer in the process , too , based on the questions that you ask .

Janice Hostager 12:07

A free giveaway for this , because there are a lot of laws governing giveaways . I'd recommend some software . There's something called Kingsumu that has a free version that you can use . I'll put the link to that in the show notes , too . You might want to create a giveaway that will explain or utilize emerging technology . Chat GPT is a perfect example of something people don't know a lot about and how to use it well , so in-depth training for something like that might be really valuable to your target audience .

Janice Hostager 12:37

You can create a webinar . These have been some of the best list builders I've done both for myself and my clients , especially if your subject area is complex or involves demonstrations . You can also share something that you already use with clients in your business , for example , templates , google Sheets , et cetera . You don't need to go and create something extra for yourself . If you've already got these ready to go , you can make a mini course , something that'll help them prepare for a larger course you may be offering down the road , and you can even go ahead and promote a small paid offer . You can add someone to your list when they make a very small purchase , like a $7 mini-course , and when they buy . That puts that subscriber into a different category , from just someone who's kicking the tires , so to speak , to someone who's willing to pay for what you offer , and that's an important distinction .

Janice Hostager 13:30

After you've figured out what you want to do , then it's time to put it all together . You don't need to hire a designer . You can use Canva or my new favorite free tool , adobe Express and I'll drop the link to that in the show notes as well and you can just put your list or your offer or whatever it is , into a template that they provide free of charge and save it as a PDF or even as a Word doc . The look isn't nearly as important as the value it brings , but do make sure it has your name , website, and contact information somewhere on it , and if it's original information , you probably want to get it copyrighted too . So the next step , number four , is

Set a Goal

Janice Hostager 14:10

to create a goal of how many people you'd like to add to your list . As I always say , if you don't know where you're headed , how will you know when you get there ? So either a small goal or a large one will help you determine the effectiveness of your free offering and how you market it .

Janice Hostager 14:25

Step number five create a

Create a Landing Page

Janice Hostager 14:27

landing page and a form for each of your freebies . A landing page is an optimized page that tells a little more about what you're offering and gives him only one call to action To subscribe . Don't send people to your homepage to get a free download . They'll get distracted and not follow through . If you do use ConvertKit , They have a drag-and-drop landing page template that you can create right on their site , on your landing page .

Janice Hostager 14:52

It's important to do a few things . First off , nail your headline . I'd get some feedback from a few other people on this , or ask chatGPT for ideas . Second , identify the promise of what will they gain with this freebie and how will they benefit from downloading it . Third , include a form for their name and email . That's really all that's needed for a small freebie . And fourth , optimize that page for search engine optimization or SEO . So go to mazcom or ubersuggestcom Both have free plans and do a little SEO research . You want people to be able to find this page in search engines . You should include your keyword or key phrase , if that's the case , in the headline , in the meta description , in the meta title so those are the back end texts of the page and in the body copy of the page . So step number six you've got all that done now .

Janice Hostager 15:46

So next thing you want to do is create a thank

Create a Thank You Page

Janice Hostager 15:48

you page . Having a thank you page allows you to use your Google Analytics to track when people complete the process , or , if you decide to run paid ads later , it helps determine when they've completed the entire process and downloaded the thing . All your thank you page needs to contain is a note saying thank you , maybe a video, and a link to the download . You can include more on this page if you want , but that's really all that's needed . If you have a personal brand , a video or a photo of yourself is going to be valuable to include there as well .

Janice Hostager 16:21

So step number seven

Set Up Google Analytics

Janice Hostager 16:23

if you have Google Analytics set up and are comfortable doing it , create an event on Google Analytics . By doing this , you can tell , by looking at your analytics , how many people completed the event or met your goal and how many people didn't . The reason that's important is that we can see where people fall off if they decided not to download it , so you can basically see where they fell out of the funnel . You can also attach a dollar amount to that event to measure your return on investment . If you don't have Google Analytics or if you're not comfortable with the technology side of it , this step is optional . It's better to skip it than to get derailed from doing this project altogether . So , step number eight create

Set Up an Email Automation

Janice Hostager 17:08

an email automation after the freebie is delivered and send them a series of welcome emails to let them know that you appreciate that they're there , tell them all about you , what you do, and how you can help them and what they can expect going forward . And that is it .

Janice Hostager 17:25

You've now set up an entire email list and it's time to share it . Share it far and wide . I know it can feel a little awkward , but be brave , you've worked hard on this and there's a few places that you should share it to .

Where to Share your Freebie

Janice Hostager 17:38

You can share it on a popup on your homepage and , again , if you have ConvertKit , they make that really easy to do . Also in ConvertKit , they have a creators network to cross- promote your freebies to other people in their network , which is a really nice bonus for ConvertKit . You can also share it on social media any social media platform you have . I would definitely share it , and you can share something weekly for a free download If you're comfortable .

Janice Hostager 18:04

You can also run ads to the freebie , but keep an eye on your ad spend since you're not gonna see a one-on-one return on investment for list building . But ads for free downloads do convert a lot better than ads for paid products . On social media , you can be a guest on other people's podcasts to promote it along with the topic for the freebie . You can ask to write guest blog posts for others on other websites to promote it . You can share it with individual people who are struggling with that issue . I like going into Facebook groups or on Reddit , as long as it doesn't violate the group's terms . So make sure you check that out before you put a link in there , and you can schedule an online event to promote it like a Facebook Live .

Janice Hostager 18:48

There are many ways to promote your freebie a free offer . The secret to list building is to keep the process going . So get used to telling people about your opt-ins at networking events , anytime you appear in a podcast, or anywhere that you can , then I highly recommend emailing them some content of value at least once a week . This could be your blog post , a podcast episode , a video, or any number of other things you wanna stay top of mind for your customer . Of course , you can sell them too , but selling to them constantly will just create a lot of unsubscribers , so make sure they see the value of remaining on your list each week .

Janice Hostager 19:26

Okay , deep breath . I know this is a lot . If this all sounds daunting , I've created an email list challenge for you that will make the whole process a whole lot easier . I know how important list building is , but I also know how overwhelming it can be with all the tech , with the information, and all the moving pieces of getting it done . So I've created a simple , day-by-day challenge that will help you through all of it , with videos to help you out , and it will keep you accountable to getting it done . This challenge covers a lot of what we did here today , but it goes into much greater detail and shows you how to do each of these steps .

Janice Hostager 20:03

Visit janicehostager . com forward slash list to sign up and get started , or visit my show notes for today at myweeklymarketing . com , forward , slash 39 . So that's it for today . I hope you found this all very helpful . If you did , I'd appreciate a review on Apple Podcast . Then be sure to tune in next week when we'll be talking about all the changes that will be taking place in email marketing in 2024 . So if you do any email marketing at all , you'll want to tune in next week for sure . Thanks for joining me today . I'll see you next time . Bye for now .