Are you struggling with subscriber shame? Come on, fess up! We all get it at some point.
Are your subscriber numbers well below 4-5 figures?
If you frantically shook your head yes to either question, either secretly or not so secretly, you’re about to be cured.
First, a little tough love…
STOP wasting time increasing your social media followers and START implementing list building strategies.
The thing is, a thriving email list and kick ass opt-in offers will increase your social media exposure by default, so it’s not like you’re giving up one for the other.
Having an email list is non-negotiable because:
1. It’s an asset YOU own.
2. Its gives you access to someone’s personal space, their inbox, which is a lot less distracting than social media.
3. It’s the cheapest and most reliable way to stay in front of your leads, and build a cult like following of fans who keep buying from you.
4. It’s an easy way to organize your leads so they only receives content that hits the spot for them, which will drastically reduce unsubscribes and list bloat.
Your list is the station where the money train starts!
Look, I’m not saying social media doesn’t have its purpose or that you shouldn’t bother with it. What I’m saying is social media is simply another pipeline to the real ocean of opportunities: your list.
I mean come on, would you rather wade in a small stream or frolic in a vast ocean, in terms of possibilities?
I’m going to assume you’re all about an ocean of opportunities.
Social media is secondary to an email list because:
1. You don’t own your social profiles, the social networks do, so they can close your account anytime they want…no questions asked.
2. If your social accounts get hacked, which isn’t nearly as unheard of as you might believe, you’re going to have no choice but to close them down.
3. There are a lot more distractions that you have to compete with to get people to notice you on social media.
Social networks are fickle and may decide to make you pay to play in the not too distant future …Facebook ringing any bells?
To get you off and running towards that ocean oasis of opportunity here are 11 battle-tested list building strategies from pros who are on top of their list building game.
They’re going to share with you what opt-in offers they’re using, how they’re promoting those offers, and what results they’ve seen, so you have a clear picture of how to take their strategy and make it your own!
Mike Allton
List Building Strategy:
Last year, I wrote an article called “The Ultimate Guide To The Perfect LinkedIn Profile” (http://thesmh.co/PerfectLinkedIn) which was a thorough look at every available section within the LinkedIn profile and how you can use and position each one to enhance your personal brand. The post was extremely well received and by October, was ranking very well in search.
I revisited the article once a month for a while and made some minor improvements, but then in February of this year I got serious about it. I grabbed new and more screenshots, added more sections and tips, and then turned the entire article into an eBook.
First, I used MailChimp to handle the details of accepting subscribers and delivering the digital content.
Next, I embedded a customized subscribe form onto the bottom of the article and invited readers to grab a free PDF of the entire article for later reference.
And then finally, I used the MailChimp pop-up option to add a site-wide pop-up to leverage the daily traffic I was getting to all of my articles.
MY Results:
The response was incredible.
Within 30 days, I had added over 1200 new subscribers to my mailing list!
I wasn’t thrilled with the MailChimp pop-up since it was an immediate upon entry style with few options, so after a few weeks I disabled it and left only the invitation to download at the bottom of the article, which still gets me an average of 10 subscribers per day.
I plan to look into better pop-up options for my site – ones that will provide exit-intent options and custom styling – but until then, the steady drip of new subscribers is great.
Ana Hoffman
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
The best (and the most underused, I might add) list building opportunity is to catch your readers right when they are thinking ‘Now what?’ – for instance, after they left a comment on that epic blog post you just published.
Here’s what I do at Traffic Generation Café:
When a commenter leaves their first comment at TGC, I redirect them to a Thank You page, where I… well, say ‘Thank you’, plus encourage them to join my email list.
That’s a very logical ‘Now that you liked my stellar content, here’s what you can do next’ step to suggest.
You can use Yoast’s brand new Yoast Comment Hacks plugin to do the redirection for you. Also, as an example of what you can do with your Thank You page, checkout mine HERE.
MY RESULTS:
How well does this work for list building? Just to give you an idea, that Thank You page form currently converts at about 8% – a lot better than my sidebar optin.
Dennis Seymour
List Building Strategy:
I’ve run a bunch of opt-in offers over the past years for different niches but the most recent one I ran was for my SEO checklist post.
It’s basically a simple funnel of having something that your audience needed, offer a targeted lead magnet and add some traffic.
I used LeadPages mainly to deliver the lead magnet. I also had fun with Bryan Harris’ “List Goal” Chrome extension to track the opt-ins.
The offer was a PDF checklist that they could print out plus bonus things that weren’t in the post nor in the infographic.
I mainly added it at the end of the post. I mentioned it earlier in the post just to get people to scroll down. I don’t use sidebars for my main posts at the moment.
With the offer set up, the main goal now was to get it traffic, by any means necessary.
I did the usual promotional work (roundups, influencers, etc) but I allotted a lot more time to one on one targeted outreach by doing the following:
- I Googled people that ranked for SEO checklist. Scraped the first 3 pages.
- Listed all the people that left comments to them
- Took all the backlinks that linked to those pages
- Contacted each one
The best part of this is that these people are already interested in the content. Better chance to get a link or get it shared out.
MY RESULTS:
I got 500+ people on the list within the first week. I use double opt-in so it’s surprising to see only 2 people not confirm the subscription.
It could’ve been better if the offer was more visible at the top or with a customized pop-up specific for that post. I opted to not do that until later on when I do a full content audit so I can batch up creating custom pop-ups for the other posts.
Julie Harris
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
My most recent opt-in offer was a 60+ Page Free Brand Expansion workbook called Brandsanity. Structured like your traditional workout routine (and named after the popular workout Insanity), except instead of strengthening our physical muscles, we’re strengthening our brand’s muscles. Focusing on the top 5 areas of online business: Core Content, Cardi-SEO, Engagement Intervals, Social Circuits, and Visual Toning. Plus, just like any other workout program and starting and finishing Fit test to evaluate progress and growth. The workbook includes examples, worksheets, exercises, audits, stat trackers, and goal setting calendars to help manage and maintain your brand’s fitness.
BONUS OFFER! Along with Brandsanity, anyone who subscribed was also invited into my private Facebook Mastermind Community, The Creative’s Corner, where we work through each chapter together and hold each other accountable for growth and progress.
With my blog as the primary landing page of my site, I placed my opt-in offer in my sidebar, close to the top for high visibility, with visual mockups of the workbook and an invite to the private mastermind group.
I also have opt-in options at the bottom of each of my posts, on my home page, and throughout my posts as it relates to the content I share there.
I talked about it all the time. I took advantage of emphasizing each chapter through out my blog content, I announced it across all my social networks, I did a number of guest posts on relating content and brought it up organically in conversations with other bloggers.
Another successful marketing choice I made was to add a “Click to Tweet” in my “Thank You for Subscribing” page, giving my new subscribers an actionable chance to socially declare their commitment to brand growth, allow me to thank them personally for subscribing, PLUS it let others know my opt-in existed and allowed for natural promotion similar to word of mouth marketing.
MY RESULTS:
Just before the launch of Brandsanity in March I had 140 subscribers, by April I had over 300 new subscribers, more than doubling my list in one month, with a continued list growth of over 100 subscribers each month since.
Having a free at-your-own-pace product, with a community of support and accountability, and a social actionable promotion method, I was able to double my list and bring a consistent flow of subscribers monthly to my Creative Genius monthly newsletter.
Ashley Faulkes
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
The best thing anyone can do to build their list right now is to make a relevant offer to their audience.
Sounds obvious, but in many cases people are offering the same thing all over their site. Imagine being offered vanilla ice cream with your fries – that is what people are doing (and maybe you are too).
So what is better than vanilla ice cream with fries you might be wondering? Vanilla ice cream with strawberries my friend. Now they go well together right? And the same applies to your list building offers.
So what is my best offer to date? It was, and still is, a simple SEO checklist to fix on-page SEO for the DIY blogger or website owner. Not a 20 page ebook or 30 minute video course. Just a checklist! KISS – keep it simple stupid!
But the trick is – I only offer it on my SEO related posts. Why? Because people don’t want vanilla ice cream with their fries! Yes, you got it. They want it with strawberries.
So I offer them SEO related goodness on my SEO related posts.
But how to do you get them to opt-in to this offer while reading my amazing SEO goodness?
Well there are a number of ways.
- I entice them during the post with in-blog offers, which are links to a popup where they can opt-in (this is called a 2-step optin)
- I bludgeon them with a popup during the first 10-15 seconds (works very well, but is not everyone’s cup of chai!)
- I also add an end-of-post opt-in form, that is very obvious and gets those that made it to the end of the post (aka very motivated readers)
Ah, but now you are wondering what amazing tools I use to do this (yes I know you are not all talented web designers like myself and Dre).
I use a simple, yet powerful optin plugin for WordPress called Thrive Leads. You can check out my review of Thrive Leads here. But the short version is: it enables you to put optins anywhere (or even hide them) based on posts/pages, categories/tags and more. And you can choose what kinds of optin forms you want for each of these filtered pages/posts, which means you can tune your optins very easily and get that vanilla ice cream to the right people (the ones with the strawberries, not the fries).
Oh, and not only that, but this plugin allows you to A/B test your forms so you can get even more optins by trying new ideas (headings, colors, optin types) over time.
MY RESULTS:
And the results – this method has increased my list by over 20% with almost zero new content (my best SEO posts is nearly 2 years old). And that is only on my SEO posts. I have used this trick elsewhere too.
So what is the lesson here:
- offer something relevant
- make multiple offers throughout your content
- tune your offers with testing
- use your old content too
And remember, when they ask “do you want fries with that”, make sure you are not holding a bowl of strawberries!
Brandon Schaefer
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
My most successful list building strategy was my “90DayChallenge” which provided one small business action step (for 90 days) to anyone that became a new subscriber.
I created a simple landing page using LeadPages, and then published it… it took all of about five minutes to do.
I promoted the “90DayChallenge” the same way I promote everything else, by sharing the benefits that a person will receive by taking action on what I share. I always talk about benefits, because that’s what everyone wants.
The social channels I used were, Instagram (video) only, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. The one channel that gave me the most action was definitely Instagram. I did do some advertising on Facebook, but the results were pretty lame… sometimes it’s tough to pick the right demographics, and I definitely didn’t pick the right ones.
As I always do, I wrote a ton of helpful, useful, and engaging blog content around the “90DayChallenge” as well. This is one of the best ways that I picked up a lot of FREE traffic.
MY RESULTS:
Since the challenge was free if they entered their email address, I didn’t capture any money immediately, but the relationships I built through the (90 day) period of small action step emails, ultimately turned into multiple, very beneficial, sales opportunities.
Penney Fox
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
My most successful list building strategy has been a free ebook called 10 Social Media Time Management Strategies. This social media strategy ebook is for small business owners and bloggers who are overwhelmed with all this great social strategy information they’ve learned and can’t figure out how to implement it into their daily to-do list.
With the 10 Social Media Time Management Strategies ebook, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to create a social media routine that works with your crazy busy world. Because it’s not about just learning some new ideas. It’s about turning these cool things that you’ve learned into a habit. It’s about learning social media skills to make your time online efficient and effective.
I use the Hybrid Connect plugin that pops up after a visitor is on my site for longer than 10 seconds. I love this plugin because it allows me to customize the look of the pop-up box to match the look of my site. Plus, it’s super easy to make simple changes like text or changing out the image.
I tested out the Hello Bar program that runs across the top of my site but most people rarely noticed it and it caused some issues with site programming. Once I switched to the pop-up plugin, my email opt-ins doubled in the first month that pop-up box was installed.
Other than the pop-up box that people see when they visit my site, I also promote my ebook in my social networks. Most of my traffic has come from creating promotional pins for Pinterest and posting a link to the sign up page in my Facebook groups.
MY RESULTS:
According to my analytics, I have a conversion rate of 40% – meaning 40% of the people who visit my site, download my ebook. I see sign ups every day but I’m still tweaking the process by reviewing my copy or changing out the time the pop-up box comes up. I know the content is great for small business owners and bloggers, now it’s about creating the right marketing message to get more people to see it.
Marianne Manthey
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
My most successful list-building strategy is a combination of two things: being as helpful as I can be and having a really good opt-in offer.
Being super helpful naturally helps your list grow because people are drawn to those that take an interest in them and show that they care. I make it a point to help people, first by providing AND sharing really useful content and also by answering questions and offering feedback.
My opt-in offer is an ebook on 3 Ways to ROCK Your Blog’s Design. It’s 40 pages chock full of super useful, actionable advice that readers can start using right away. I placed the opt-in and offer on my Facebook page and in all the recommended spots on my blog: front and center of home page, top of sidebar, blog footer, individual post footer and about page.
I have yet to place ads anywhere for it, so I promoted the offer on my Facebook page, as well as on Twitter and Pinterest.
MY RESULTS:
Having an opt-in offer has been instrumental in helping my blog grow to over 1000 subscribers in its first year and keep growing steadily. Another great benefit to having a quality opt-in offer is that it helps raise sales of future ebooks because people have already become familiar with the quality of your products, which makes them less hesitant to spend money on another one.
Sue Anne Dunlevie
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
The very best way to build your list is to convert your blog visitors to subscribers.
There are several ways to do this. An exit-intent popup or a slider works well. I find that a feature opt-in box at the top of your site is the best converter to get visitors to become subscribers. I have one on my blog and Jon Morrow has one front and center at Boost Blog Traffic.
MY RESULTS:
Sidebar opt-in boxes get ½ of 1% of your visitors to enter their info. A feature opt-in box will get 5% – 10% conversion. That’s huge! I went from just 3-7 signups for my free gift each day to 25 – 40 a day with a feature opt-in box. I highly recommend having one!
Tor Refsland
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY
My most successful list building strategy is guest posting.
I love guest posting, because it`s a win-win situation. You will offer to write an awesome post for another blog. The blog owner gets great free content, and you get exposure, backlink to your landing page, build a relationship with the blogger AND get email subscribers ; )
It`s like being in a new band and you get the gig for warming up for a BIG band. How awesome is that?
You will get massive exposure, playing for the big band`s audience.
The only thing you got to do is to bring your A-game and blow the audience away ; )
I offered my free eBook, Insane Productivity Hacks – helping people to DOUBLE their productivity in 7 days. When I guest post, I get a link to my landing page in the bio at the end of the post.
The blog owner is promoting my guest post to his existing audience on all his platforms.
MY RESULTS:
My best guest post so far, has given me 87 signups (66% conversion rate).
Daniela Uslan
LIST BUILDING STRATEGY:
My best guest post so far, has given me 87 signups (66% conversion rate).
My most successful list builder so far has been my 15 Day Blog Makeover Challenge. It’s a 15 day event in which I’ll be sending out daily emails and posting prompts in my private Facebook group as well. The goal is for bloggers to do one challenge a day that will take 15 minutes or less to improve their blogs.
I created a landing page for the challenge, and also wrote a blog post about it. I put it in my blog’s menu as well, and created a pop-up for it using Leadpages.
I’ve promoted the event in a number of ways:
- Pinterest Promoted Pins
- Facebook Ads
- Tweeting about it
- Sharing in Facebook groups
- Highlighting it in my Twitter profile
- Posting in Google+
- Emailing my list
MY RESULTS:
So far, I’ve gotten 170 sign-ups for the challenge. I’ve been promoting it for 7 days, and I have 3 to go, so I don’t have my final numbers yet!
I think it’s been so successful because people are excited about challenges. It’s not only a great list builder, but a community and relationship builder as well!
WRAP UP
Now you’ve got a choice.
Which strategy are you going to implement first?
Don’t make the mistake of tackling all of these list build strategies at once, that’s just foolish. Choose one, get ‘er done, THEN move on to the next.
Choose a strategy that you can implement within TWO days. Don’t get fancy, get it done. Don’t let tools, or resources be your barrier. Work with what you’ve got and bask in the mentality that ‘done is better than perfect’.
There will be plenty of time to perfect things and get fancy down the road. Right now you need to focus on diving into that ocean of opportunity that is your list and finding the subscriber sweetspot that works for your brand.
Remember, it’s a vast body of water with currents that can take you in whatever direction you choose. You’re the captain manning the wheel, so it’s time to target your first destination.
Here’s to there being no shame in your list building game!
These are great tips Dre! I created an opt-in but it hasn’t gotten much traction. It is a “Course Planning Template”. I’m wondering if that is the best opt-in for my niche – which is helping entrepreneurs create online courses. I plan to start doing some guest posts next, but I’d like to have an irrestible opt-in to go along with whatever blog post I write…
Thanks,
Coleen
Thanks Coleen! It sounds like an perfect opt-in for your target market, so it’s probably more about getting more traffic to your opt-in so it converts higher. Guest posts are great, but take a lot of time so make sure you test out other methods of driving traffic like contests, giveaways, social campaigns, and live streams. It’s all about testing, baby! You GOT THIS, sweetie,…just take it one baby step at a time. ?
These are awesome tips, but I find it rather interesting that it’s rare for non marketing and/or blogging/social media bloggers ever seem to write these types of articles. I understand the bottom line is the same, but for some of us with specific niches, growing the lists are a tad more difficult. I do appreciate all the help everyone puts out there and hopefully one will work for me.
I totally agree, there’s certainly NO one size fits all list building solution, but I do believe every brand can build a kickass list, they just have to find the sweetspot of their peeps.
What is your niche, Stacey? What products and/or services are you selling? Maybe I can help you brainstorm!
Hey Dre,
Great expert roundup. I really like Ana’s idea of using a redirect plugin to a thank you page and Ashley KISS strategy which will help a lot with my audience.
I’ve started using content upgrades myself which has increased my opt ins. I’ve used a simple checklist and yes it’s as simple as this to improve your opt ins.
Thanks for sharing! Have a good one!
You BET it can be that simple. It doesn’t have to fancy, you just need to knock it outta the park with value. There are so many epic take aways, I loved what the badasses had to offer up in this one.
Thanks AS ALWAYS for the comment and social love, brotha man. ROCK ON, with your badass self…
Thank you for this post Dre! I have a free offer on my site in my sidebar but I feel I need to try these different options mentioned here soon. My niche is small. so I need to come up with helpful offers for a faith based site. I will keep working on it and thanks for the kick start!
You bet, Horace! Figure out what it is they need or are looking for a create a small resource for them to opt-in to grab. It’s all about finding that ‘must have offer’ they can’t resist getting. Play, test, and tweak and you’ll get there. High five for the comment love, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it!
Hey Dre,
Great post and roundup here. I went through these answers and had a few aha moments … more than a few actually. I learned about that thank you page for comments from Ana from before, but there’s just so much more that I learned in this post.
As always, thanks for this. Great stuff.
– Andrew
I’m right there with ya, Andrew! There is soooo much stuff I’m planning to implement from this list it’s one of my favorite roundups to date! High five for the all the love you’ve given this bad boy – you ROCK, brotha!
Here a question I own a new guitar company I have built some social media followers and have lots of interest in my product. Creating e-mail news letter subscribers has been an absolute dud. I have read through this killer post and it all makes perfect sense, but I feel my market is a different animal and I just don’t how to grab followers/ people interested in my guitars to sign up for my news letter. This may seem like a silly question and the answer is right under my nose but I can’t see it lol. any help to poke my brain into the right direction would be awesomeness. I hope I don’t sound too pathetic but I have a full plate and this is an area I lack skills for sure.
Thank for any help Dre and contributors
Wayne
Hey Wayne, you do NOT sound pathetic! I couldn’t for the LIFE of me think of stuff to offer and right about when I first got started, so I feel your pain.
You need to find the right offer and content that your audience will go coo coo for cocoa puffs over. For example, if someone is going to buy a guitar from you what might they need before that…maybe a break down on the different features of a guitar? What things would go side by side with a new guitar? Music sheets to write their own songs? Tutorials about playing? Learn how to tune a guitar? Clean it? Etc What could you teach them or empower them with that would make them a better guitar player? Think along those lines and I bet you will find the perfect offer to craft.
You know what I mean, Wayne?
Love the list of strategies here, Dre!
Seems like exit intent popups was a commonality between your participants… and frankly, I would say the same. Mine converts better than my sidebar and end-of-blog-post opt-in form combined.
Like the idea of promoting my giveaway through guest posts. May need to try that… you looking for a guest post? ?
I suppose I should try the exit pop up but I absolutely HATE pop ups and just can’t bring myself to do what to my readers what I hate done to me…it’s a horrible disorder of mine! ; )
I would absolutely LOVE to have ya on the blog, brotha. Email me with some proposed topics and lets get the ball rolling!
I’m just before launching a Blog. My question: Is it a good idea to start collection email NOW which I would use to email an announce (kind of like an advertisement) of my blog once launched? Is this acceptable or not? If it is, any suggestions for sources to pull from for forming the list. I feel like I’m wasting so much time not utilizing emails I get from my Pinterest followers, etc. Please tell me the rules of this blogging game.
It’s NEVER too early to start building your list. What you need to do is put an opt-in for on single page for your site {while you build the rest out} asking people to opt-in and telling them what they can expect when they do. Offering training, one-on-one time, cheat sheets, discounts, anything of value to your audience is a great way to get folks to subscribe. It’s all about providing them enough value that they want to stay tuned for more.
Just make sure you are getting people’s permission to be added to your list. Just because you have access to an email address doesn’t mean you can add them to your list – they HAVE to give their consent. Hope that helps. Holler if you have more questions, Karen!
I have a lot of things to still try on my blog like the feature box. I haven’t even started with guest posting so that’s definitely something I NEED to do before the end of the 3rd quarter.
SO MUCH TO DO!!!! You just filled up my next month! LOL
Keep rockin’ it Dre! Sharing this out
Right? There’s so much new stuff I need to implement from this list too. I’ve done a whopping ONE guest post so that’s definitely high on my list to tackle by year end too.
As always can’t thank you enough for all the social love you shower me with. You and your badassness ROCK, Dennis! : P
What a great post! I just seriously loved loved loved the tip by Ana Hoffman, I never thought of having a separate “thank you” page for first time commentors. I feel like this would do very well, because if people took time out of their day to comment – then they must be interested!
Couldn’t agree more, that’s something I want to try as well. Keep me posted on your results…I love hearing how people are crushing it with their list building efforts. High five for the love, Diana!
Hey, Dre Whaaaat up.
Loved the post lots an lots of goodies in it Keep it up my friend.
Your wish is my command, Walter! HIGH FIVE for the encouragement and love, brotha!
Ah another post full of brilliance Dre! What fantastic ideas everyone had here, I love how there are just so many ways to build a list. For anyone out there that hasn’t started building one yet, do it now! It will be your biggest regret if you don’t. If you’ve got nothing to say at first, just share your posts with them or something new you learned in your blogging journey. People appreciate transparency and behind the scenes stuff like that.
Thanks once again for including me amongst such awesomeness!
That’s SO true! Transparency is the most under utilized tool we have as bloggers. People are sick of being marketed to but they love and appreciate honest experiences and epic tips. I lost count of how many of those I’ve gotten from YOU, lady! BIG ass high five for your stellar strategy and for all the social love. You’re the bestest in the whole wide world! ; )
Oh girl you flatter me! But really no one can beat YOUR honesty and social love!! You’re THE rockstar when it comes to that! ?
Thanks so much for this! I’m just starting out and can use all the tips and tricks I can get. I enjoyed this especially because it’s something I never even considered (oops!). But I’m going to start implementing the ideas. Thanks again!
OH YAYYER…I love hearing that, Tillia! You’re going to love the awesome sauce that comes from building a list! Holler if you ever have questions.
I can’t wait to try some of these ideas. I am working to start my blog and the one thing I have put off until the end is setting up the email list. I think I better start working on it now and have it ready to go at the beginning. Thanks so much.
That’s so exciting, Kim! This is a great list of strategies to get you off and running in NO time! Keep me posted on the results you see, I love hearing about how others are killing it with their list!
Kim do it now! ? I had my list building on a coming soon page months before my blog actually launched. It works!
Finally – it’s wonderful to see some tips that aren’t the usual cookie cutter, heard it before ideas. I am curious to ask Mike Allton what he means by “customized subscribe form,” and I am intrigued by the notion of a multi-day challenge. It’s easy to see the value and if people follow instructions, they will see results.
And when it comes to lead magnets, the title and promise make the difference!
I’m not a fan cookie cutter either, so thanks for that love! I will ping Mike and have him add some feedback for you on what he’s talking about. I can’t wait to hear how you use these strategies to build your list!
Hey Cathy!
By customized I just meant a form that has been altered to look and flow better with my site. I found the MailChimp form to be very limited. Both in style and function.
For instance, beyond the lack of exit intent which I just mentioned, I also had just three image/text layouts to choose from with no control over how an uploaded image appeared.
JUST IN TIME! I’m literally tweaking my opt-in boxes today to feature my new giveaway launching on Friday. I was debating about doing a pop-up optin but seems like the popular vote says YES.
Thanks for putting this roundup together, Dre! It will definitely help me and many others.
Wooohoooo, I love when timing is perfect! Thanks-o-ton for the comment love and keep me posted on the results you see – I know you’re going to kill it, lady!
Great insights from some respected people!
I’m going to share this post with some mummy bloggers i work with who swear blind list building isn’t for them and it’s social all the way to the bank.
Nice one.
Also, there’s a distinct lack of the word badass in this post compared to normal but kudos for getting ‘badassified’ in.
– Peter
Hahahaha, I LOVE that you count on my ‘badass’ references – that made me grin from ear to ear! ; ) Those mummy bloggers need to be schooled so I’m stoked to hear you’re going to share this post with them. I was a skeptic for a long time too but I now know from personal experience…having a list is THE fastest way to building a badass tribe. High five for the comment love, brotha!
This is amazing Dre! (Not that anything you do is anything less than fantastic.) Email marketing and newsletter are such a powerful asset to any entrepreneur. I love seeing such a variety of options, ideas, and experiences from entrepreneurs of all levels collected in one amazing post! This inspires me to really get creative with my next offer.
Thank you so much for including me in this inspiring round up. I am so honored to be amongst so many of my favorite bloggers and biz pros!
The sure are! It still amazes me how many bloggers are dropping the ball on list building. I can’t thank you enough for your amazing contribution and for all the love you shower me with. You are grade A badass to the bone!!
Hey Dre,
I’m hurting a little bit in this area and seeing what others are doing is what I need to know. I see that most people are doing ebooks which is what I have, but I like to write ebooks that relate to each topic I write about which is what Ashley talked about.
I also like Ana’s idea of “what to do now”. I can imagine how often this goes through the Minds of commenters, so why not give them some extra direction of what to do.
Thanks for sharing this list! It was quite helpful!
I la la loooove hearing that, Sherman! There’s so many good tips in this one you’re going to be a list building machine in no time! High five for the comment love, brotha!
Another great post coming at precisely the right time as list building is my current priority.
Really great to hear what works for these amazing bloggers and to get chance to pick their brains.
Thanks Dre, and cheers!
Isn’t it though, Jane! These are a lot of the people I’ve learned list building from so they KNOW what they’re talking about. Now go get your list building on, lady! Wooohooo…
Thanks a lot for including me in this great roundup with these great bloggers. I`m truly honoured ?
List building is the #1 income generating activity for every online entrepreneur. Do you want 100 people on your email list or 10 000 people?
Stupid question, right?
I think that EVERY blogger would have MORE subscribers to their list, if they were to FOCUS even more on list building.
Many great tips here, I certainly do see several new ideas that I have to implement ?
Have a great day.
Best,
Tor
I feel ya, bro! This is THE list I will be working from as I create more list building awesome sauce. Thanks again for sharing your strategy you rockstar, you!
Wow! Tor’s conversion rate from guest posting is awesome! I just started guest posting in earnest, among other things to grow my list and I’m looking forward to seeing how it converts. Thanks!
You GO GIRL!! It’s great to hear you’re on the right track, huh!
This post came at the perfect time, Dre! I decided that this week would be all about building an email list, so I’ll be filing these tips away for later! I’m definitely guilty of LET’S TRY EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE AHHHH, so I’ll be coming back to your reminder at the end to keep myself in check!
Don’t you la la loooove when the universe delivers exactly what you need?! I’m right there with ya, I’m famous for trying to tackle everything at once, but I have to say when you let yourself off the hook and stick to just one thing at a time it’s a LOT less overwhelming. That overwhelm is a KILLA! Holler anytime you need a loving kick in the arse, lady! ; )
Haha! This is exactly why I’m glad I found your site! ?
Great post, Dre! Was enlightening to read what these different bloggers are doing to garner subscribers. I did notice that the results section for Tors section is missing. Would love to know the results of his guest posting, especially since he was the only one who talked about that.
thanks!
Good catch, Jody – thanks for pointing that out! I’ve fixed that and added Tor’s results, which are pretty impressive. Thanks again, you just earned yourself one of those BIG ass high fives… ; )
Hi, Dre,
I read this post thoroughly and am going to apply each and every idea.
Building your list is the key action to take on your blog and all of these bloggers gave great ideas on just how to do it!
Thanks for including me in this wonderful post.
Sue
It’s mind blowing how many bloggers are STILL not building a list. It’s truly been the magic sauce for me, so I’m right there with ya…I’m implementing all of these! Thanks again for your contribution, lady!
Another cool post with a TON of information! I’m still sorting through all the tips from everyone and will be implementing quite a few of these ideas.
Thanks for including me in this awesome round up ?
I know right, I’ve been devouring and implementing these strategies with giddy excitement! Thanks again for contributing your epic strategy, Penney – you ROCK!