I never saw myself doing this
I never saw myself starting an email list.
If I already had connections on social media, why would I need another marketing channel? Who has the time?
But then, by following other content creators like Jay Clouse and Neil Patel, I came to understand the importance of email for things like:
✅ deepening connections with our audiences,
✅ providing an "owned channel" for distributing our content, and
✅ allowing us to gain more insight into what our core audience wants and how we can better serve them.
That's all well and good. But the next question was how could someone with a relatively small audience begin to build such a list
This is what I'm working on now. And here's my experience so far.
Best Beginner Strategies for List Building
From what I've seen, these strategies work best for beginners.
Freebie Lead Magnets
My freebies have been the largest source of new list subscribers, accounting for 47% of my initial sign-ups—about half of which come from my "top freebie," the Video Content Management System.
This speaks to the value of putting more effort into one or two great freebies to start and promoting them consistently versus generating a bunch of lower-quality "mini-products."
It's okay to do something "easy" to get started, but once you've mastered the process, it's better to focus more on quality over quantity.
Direct Outreach
Reaching out to existing contacts directly generated the next 30% of subscribers, about half of which came from email contacts and half from social media messages.
The key is that this was a group I already connected with, including prior podcast guests and people I had engaged with and/or DMed before. So, the conversion rate was high, but the "pool" of available prospects was limited. That's why this method came in as number two.
Promotion via Social Media
In a few cases, I posted simply saying, "Hey, I've launched this newsletter. Here's what it's about. Do you want to sign up?"
That approach got me the remaining 23% of subscribers. As long as it's not overused, this strategy can supplement the first two over time, so I rank it as number three.
What Doesn't Work
I've also had some experience with things that don't work.
Link in Your Profile or Content
Unfortunately, dropping a newsletter link in your profile or content will not likely generate many sign-ups.
How many times have you seen content by one of your favourite creators and then said to yourself, "I've got to be on this person's newsletter list?" Probably not often because most of us don't want more emails. We're already inundated with information push. So, we're not likely to "opt-in" for more for no reason. This is why I think Freebies are much more effective. A compelling freebie makes it more of a "fair exchange."
What's Next?
I will keep going with the three beginner strategies described above, as they've been shown to be somewhat effective and relatively easy to start with. In addition to that, I'm going to work on:
- Enhancing the packing & promotion of my existing freebies
- Developing a "flagship" freebie to drive even more sign-ups, and
- Researching potential options for paid offerings
What do you think?
I'd love to hear your thoughts about the best list-building strategies for beginners. Does my ranking fit with your experience? I'd also be very interested in hearing your ideas about a freebie you'd like to see from me. Thanks for checking this out. Happy Friday!
