Building an empire is the dream, right?
Everybody dreams of sitting on an empire one day and feel the satisfaction from the impact and freedom they’ve created.
But, if you’re building a business online you’ll know that it doesn’t come with a manual.
In fact, it’s like learning a whole entire language.
There are a LOT of things that you need to learn.
One of those things is…
(dun dun dun!)
If you’re not familiar with list building, it’s the idea of growing the right audience of email subscribers, so that you can attract consistent customers in your business.
Think about it for a second: email is one of the most intimate ways that we communicate online. F’real!
But an email address is a HOT commodity and people hold it tight to their chest and they don’t want another email in their inbox.
So how can you build a list of raving fans that not only love what you say and do, but are also willing to open their wallet and spend a few hundred dollars with you?
To answer this, I’m going to be giving you every single one of my tried and tested tips and tricks on list building.
Because list building – when done right – can create amazing opportunities for your business, such as selling ebooks, doing webinars and launching your first online course. Tada!
So, buckle up, and get ready to create a list building machine that runs on autopilot.
But before we dive in, let me share with you my journey so far so that you can get to know me a bit better.
I started my coaching and consulting business a few years ago, but it was a struggle because I got into the trap of trading time for money and sitting on the ‘yes train’. I would say yes to make clients happy and then I’d end up with a laundry list of things to do.
The stress, the guilt and the overwhelm of being on the hook with clients made it sooo overwhelming. Sound familiar?
That’s why I decided to change my business model and strive towards creating an online course business. This would mean that I wouldn’t have to say yes to anything that didn’t light me up and that I’d be able to create consistent income in my business.
So, I decided to make list-building my number one priority if I knew that I wanted to create passive income products in my business.
Ready to break free from soul-sucking projects and (finally) build a business that serves you first? Let’s go!
Here’s my four-part strategy to list building.
1. Know Your Dream Customer Avatar
Before you kick-start your list building you need to think of your dream customer avatar. Knowing your dream customer avatar will help you to pinpoint what they need.
But if you’re not sure who your avatar is and you’ve got a varied audience of people on your tiny tiny list, choose the lowest hanging fruit.
For example, if you’re a website and graphic designer you might have one group of people who want to learn how to create a Squarespace website and another group of people who want to learn how to create workbooks. Go with the biggest subset for now and focus on them.
2. Create a Profit-Driven Lead Magnet
Once you know what your audience needs, you can create a lead magnet that is hyper-relevant to them.
A lead magnet is a valuable and action-packed piece of content that you “gift” your audience in exchange for their name and email address.
Back to the designer example, you know that your audience wants to learn Squarespace. So, you might create a Squarespace checklist that outlines the key steps for getting started.
Still with me? Good!
After you’ve made a valuable lead magnet, you need to think about how you’re going to drive traffic it.
3. Leverage (What’s Working Now) Social Media Strategies
Since social media is always changing, you want to think about using what’s working now strategies. For me, that’s creating pins on Pinterest that invite people to my blog and email list.
This looks like promoting 20 pins a day on Pinterest and promoting my best content to Tailwind Tribes. (Hint, hint, this is exactly how I get email subscribers every single day!).
4. Create Weekly Consistent Content
If you want to move the needle with growing your email list, you need to create weekly and consistent content.
This needs to be a blog, podcast or video every single week (come rain or shine!). This will attract your audience, make them intrigued to learn more from you, and you guessed it: sign up to your lead magnet. Woohoo!
So there you have it! My four-part strategy to list building.
If you’re ready to get started with list building OR if you’re not attracting new subscribers to your list every single day, check out my Ultimate Starter Kit To Grow Your Email List to 1,000 people.
See you there!
Victoria Hockaday is a Launch Strategist who helps online entrepreneurs and course creators launch profitable online courses, so that they can impact more people and teach what they love. She is passionate about helping creators lead with their hearts, so they can overcome fear, imposter syndrome and become Brave Creators.
