Wondering how to confidently and consistently grow your email list for free? Well, you’re in the right place, my friend.
Growing your email list sounds like one of those things where you can *set it and forget it* type deals. Meaning, you design a landing page and a few signup forms for your free lead magnet, and hope the right people sign up and land on your email list.
But just because your lead magnet is free doesn’t mean people will sign up.
In actuality, email list building takes a bit more than the *set it and forget it* approach. It takes active strategies around sharing content and your visibility.
To help you grow your email list, I dug deeper to find out what active strategies are used today by entrepreneurs, and sorted these strategies into 3 levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.
Before you take a looksies at these list growing strategies, it’s reeeeaaally important (nay, essential to a successful list) to assess your business goals and values so that you can choose strategies that align with your biz. You can learn more about setting these foundations in my blog post here.
While trying out these strategies below, remember this is your unique business so choose strategies that work for you. This is not a “should” or “have to” or “need to” list. Whichever strategies you choose, be consistent for best results. Without further ado, let’s grow your email list confidently and consistently.
Grow Your List Beginner-Style With “The Hansel and Gretel”
Leave bread crumbs for your peeps to pick up
Level I is a great place to start if you’ve just created a lead magnet to incentivize people to get on your email list. These strategies are easily implementable though passive. You can also use this list to spot any gaps you have in your bread-crumb-strategy.
Here’s what to do.
Add a link to your free lead magnet in your:
- Instagram bio
- Featured section of your LinkedIn profile
- Facebook personal profile and business page banners
- Facebook group (when someone requests to join your group, ask them to provide their email address so you can send them a freebie)
- Website forms (embed, popup, full page) and landing pages
- Waitlist page
- Booking forms
- In-take forms
- Email newsletters (in lieu of the freebie, add a spot at the bottom of each email that asks current subscribers to forward your email to a friend. Include a hyperlink or button so the friend can subscribe.)
My recommended action step for you this week is to choose 3 options from the “Hansel and Gretel” to implement.
Uplevel And Grow Your List with “The Pied Piper”
Give your peeps specific opportunities to opt-in when you interact with them
Level II includes active strategies to promote your freebie. Let’s face it – people just scroll on by when they see “sign up for my email newsletter.”
Give them a reason to stop scrolling and actually sign up by promoting your free lead magnet.
Your peeps need specific reasons to sign up– it’s human nature to want a reason.
A powerful explanation of the transformation and results that people gain from your lead magnet is like playing that magical pied piper flute. Play your spellbinding tune to get all your mice, err, I mean, peeps scrambling to you.
Remember, your freebie gets your ideal leads to sign up because you’re going to solve a specific pain point for them in exchange for their email address.
That means creating a freebie with actionable steps resulting in a small win. Ultimately, you’re building authority and trust which leads to conversion.
Spend an extra few minutes when creating your value content to add a clear Call-to-Action telling your peeps to specifically sign up for your freebie. Adding this extra little prompt results in more people taking action.
Here’s what you do in Level II “The Pied Piper.”
Promote your freebie through:
- Captions, Stories, and Lives as the CTA when posting in social media (Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn)
- Comments and posts in strategic Facebook Groups that allow freebie promotions
- Get featured as a guest on podcasts and promote awaaay
- Write blog posts on your website and include your freebie as CTA
- Create short and sweet YouTube video tutorials
- Personally ask people to join your email list (besides your aunt…hey, gotta start somewhere)
In Level II “The Pied Piper,” I recommend in the new few weeks choosing 2 options from the list above to implement.
Ready For the Big Leagues “The Magic Beans”
Boost visibility with strategic collaborations– more eyes on you, more eyes on your freebie
This level takes the most effort, but reaps the best rewards. Here, you’re providing value to an audience invested in learning because you’re showing up in places where people usually pay to be there.
This means higher quality leads = higher quality subscribers = warmer leads since they’ve already had a more personal touch point with you, such as seeing your face and hearing your voice, before signing up to be on your email list.
Here’s how to grow your email list in Level III “The Magic Beans”:
- Build partnerships for an email list swap (asking another entrepreneur to promote your freebie on their email list and reciprocate on your list)
- Participate in an online giveaway where you and a group of 25-40 people each share a freebie
- Collaborate with entrepreneurs and ask or apply to be a guest trainer in their paid membership or group programs
- Speak in a virtual summit
- Write a guest blog and include your freebie as CTA
- Buy a monthly membership in a high profile Facebook group, that’s already packed full of your ideal peeps, to gain access to do live trainings (or find a group that allows you to do live trainings for free)
Skyrocket your list in the next month by choosing 1 option from the list above to implement.
Last Thoughts on Growing Your Email List
Remember, email list building isn’t about vanity points. These are beautiful human beings wanting to connect. Even small email lists are strong and mighty if you’re keeping your ideal audience top of mind.
Be consistent, provide value, and build relationships with all those beautiful human beings on the other side of your email.
Even if you’re not sure how you’ll use email marketing for your business, just get started earlier rather than later. As your business evolves, this can grow your business in the long run, especially if you decide to create digital products, courses, or programs.
If you’re looking to build deeper connections with your peeps, then snag my free guide that tells you exactly how to harness the power of storytelling for your business.
About the Author
Joanne Homestead is an email copywriter and strategist for women entrepreneurs and coaches in wellness, well-being, and mindset. Orchestrating words that compel and sell is her magic sauce.
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