When To Start Building Your Email List
Hey everyone.
I just finished writing an article on my site where I detail all my experiments with email lists, and the question came to my mind afterwards...when should we start building lists?
I decided to share my thoughts on this with WA, and also ask for your opinions.
Is It Ever Too Soon To Start Building A List?
I honestly think a lot of us wait too long to build a list, I know I did!
Here are my thoughts for why we tend to dawdle (let me know in the comments if you have any other suggestions):
- Signing up to Aweber or other list builders is a bit expensive (you can try the free one, Madmimi instead by the way)
- We're too busy trying to get traffic to worry about nasty technical things like lists.
- We have no idea what to do with a list, even if we did get one!
I think this last point probably applies to most of us; it sure applied to me.
Something To Do With Your List
Here's the thing. In my experience/opinion, a great way to start getting return visitors (and thus growing traffic and more importantly, your audience) is to just encourage subscriptions and share your latest posts with them. You don't need to worry about promos.
As long as you don't start sending emails out every day with each new post you publish (like CopyBlogger does, which is why I unsubscribed from them), you'll slowly start getting return visitors.
Return visitors = good.
You'll also learn more about what kind of blog posts are getting the most clicks from your list, and so on.
By the way, if you do post a lot, just email a weekly roundup of your latest posts.
Plus, once you are ready to promote to them, you'll already have a list!
You've got nothing to lose!
While filling your site with promos and affiliate links too early might make your site look spammy, I can't see any reason why having a subscribe opt-in form on your site is going to damage your site/reputation...if you can think of a reason not to build a list early on..please let me know!
Getting a List Built
You can go the Aweber paid route if you like, but I think it's a good idea to start building a list for free. I made a training here at WA about getting a free list built with Madmimi:
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/setting-up-a-free-mailing-list-with-madmimi
Now as for getting people to sign up to the list; that's what I'm terrible at. As I told you earlier, I just made a blog post where I share my woes with list-building:
http://www.humanproofdesigns.com/4-tests-ive-done-to-grow-my-email-lists/
I'd love your input on the following things:
- When do you think is a good time to build a list?
- What are your biggest questions regarding list building?
Recent Comments
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Nice post Dom; fits my life perfectly, as I recently signed up with an email provider. My thoughts? Building a list comes right after you get the hang of the basics of site mgmt.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but once you get with an email provider, you (knowingly or unknowingly) are opening the doorway to another host of skills to be acquired. AND another skillset needs to learnt in order to see any kind of return from your marketing efforts (right?).
That's a LOT for a noob to swallow ON TOP OF setting up a site, getting hosting, building out content, etc., not to mention SEO. To me, this is the equivalent of popping open the hood and expecting a rookie to change the transmission! Baby steps.
Heck, I'm not new and still haven't monetized a list. But it's a process....that's what keeps me sane.
Yeah a valid point, and probably the main reason most people put email marketing off until a later date.
I'll check out your blog post about the woes, but maybe after I've done a bit more of my own experimentation. Thanks.
Hi Dom! I read your post from Google+! :D I'm just starting with the email "thing" but I'm stuck on one thing: how do I know if the people I have on my "subscriber" list within my site dashboard user list are "real?" And it they are, what do I do with them?
You can make them double opt in which means they need to confirm the subscription in their inbox. Can't see many bots doing that.
What to do with them? Just share your latest posts initially.
As Dom share your post initially possibly with them and possibly a little anecdotal paragraph
Dom, I tried building a list with internet English lessons online. It really got me no where. People just liked me to send free lessons and then wanted to unsubscribe. It was just a nightmare. I have a new business venture and they encourage us to list build immediately. I appreciate your training and will take a look at it this week. Thanks for sharing. Debbie
So you sent them a lesson every day, or just offered a download? I had similar results with offering an eBook, a whole bunch of I subscriptions
Sent them a lesson on a grammar topic, business English topic and vocabulary each week to those on my list. They were video lessons.
Oh I see. I was kinda thinking a one off download would have people unsub after, but a series of lessons shouldn't, especially as they're getting value out of it.
I would send them out for a month then end the emails which is why they probably unsubscribe. I wanted them to sign up for the video lessons so I thought sending out the free lessons would encourage them.
Thanks for the tip on madmimi--I will have to try that one out. I just don't know what to offer as an incentive to signing up for a list?
Hi, I want to know what to give to the subscriber opt in to our list?
I just build my sites and currently have few articles there, should I wait more traffic and start to get people opt in to my list?
Thank you! :-)
If you are getting traffic you should be building a list. If you can afford it go Aweber or GetResponse. Less chance of spam complaints and better deliverability.
I certainly agree that it is never too early to build a list. However, I also think that if you are in the IM niche it can send out the wrong message to use a free autoresponder. I would love to know what anyone else thinks. I would think in any other niche it is not important, bit in IM your potential clients know that Aweber or Get Response are the market leaders and if you are not taking your business seriously why should your clients?
This is not to say that anyone else should agree with me I am not the list police! Interested about your thoughts.
Interesting point there, but if you're marketing IM to beginners, they wouldn't have any idea. Also madmimi is only a short term list builder.
Hi Dom,
Good point, but of course importing lists is not as easy as it was. I certainly did not mean to suggest that anyone should not use this method. Any list is better than no list
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Good stuff Dom, thanks