Organic Ways To Grow Your Email List
What is considered a "good" list size?
Spoiler alert: There is no specific answer.
But the good news? A small list can be just as powerful as a list of a few thousand.
Personally, I would rather see my clients with an email list of 100 engaged subscribers than a list of 10,000 subscribers that are rarely engaged. You can quickly grow a list with discounts, raffles, giveaways, etc. But those subscribers are not there for your content. They want something for free. I actually succumbed to this once. I partnered with a few other creatives and held a giveaway at the end of 2020 with a prize pack that appealed specifically to business owners (my target market). While I got a quick uptick in new subscribers and these people were seemingly my ideal audience, most of them, I would come to find out rarely opened my emails and/or ended up unsubscribing.
A better tactic for getting those opt-ins? Offer browsers a piece of content that is a bite-sized taste of the thing you actually charge for. Some examples of good freebies could be:
A personality quiz
The first chapter of your book
A recording of a workshop you hosted
A PDF of a trend report or research study
Audio content like a free meditation
A list of resources
A free digital template or printable workbook
A special discount on your product…
My lists grow slowly, and I am happy that way. But there are definitely marketing tactics you can employ that can organically help give your subscriber list a little boost. I already shared my freebie ideas for opt-ins above. Here are a few more strategies to get you thinking about growing your email subscribers.
HOW TO GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST
Place an opt-in on business forms or places you collect info from your customers (eg. a sales receipt)
Bring over your social media followers. (Share links in your stories, polls, your link in bio, DMs, etc.) Do this regularly
Old-fashioned sign-up sheet (great for events or brick & mortar)
Pop-up or form on every page of your website
Offer something of value for when they sign up.
Finally, be consistent with your writing and consistent in promoting.
Don’t get too caught up on just the total number of subscribers you have. It’s not that simple. But if you invest in your current subscribers, the rest will fall into place, and you’ll have a much more engaged audience.