The easiest way to start an email list as a beginner

 

 

By now you must understand the importance of having a mailing list. If not maybe you have heard the famous phrase money is in the list.

If you have been following these big bloggers and reading their income reports you must know that big chunks of it comes from email marketing.

Social media is not what it used to be. With all the algorithm changes, not every follower get to see what you post.

No wonder most people on Instagram are always telling you to turn on the notification so that you can know when they post.

There is no guarantee that you will still have your social media account a month from now, you can wake up one day to find out that Facebook or Twitter or even Instagram is no more. Imagine that.

With an email list, it’s a different scenario. It’s all yours. You own it 100%.

Growing and nurturing an email list is a lot of hard work but it’s the most lucrative way of making money blogging.

One of the biggest mistakes that bloggers make is ignoring to start an email list from day one.

Make sure you check out my previous post where I went into more details on what is a mailing list and why you need one.

(This post contains affliate links see disclaimer for more details)

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If you haven’t started a blog yet,check out my step by step tutorial guide.Where i show you  how to start a successful blog in less than 30 minutes.

How to start a profitable blog in less than 30 minutes

As a bonus when you start a blog via any bluehost links in the post above I will send you a copy of my ebook The Beginner’s whisper guide for free.

When I started I wished all the information in one plan or even someone to walk with me for the first month at least, that’s why I want to help you to start your blog with Confidence.

I will show you how to set up your blog professional, write your first post and one that attracts readers,how to drive traffic to your brand new blog,how to monetize and much more.

Once you have purchased your bluehost hosting email me juelz@juelzjohn.com and I will send the book asap.

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Related posts

5 reasons why every blogger need to build an email list

Mistakes new bloggers make an how to solve them

7 blogging tips for beginners  that you need to know

9 simple tricks to grow your email list fast

5 Amazing hacks to grow your email list with Pinterest

 So how exactly do you start an email list?

1. Know your purpose

For you to start an email list successfully you need  to know the reason behind it. Why do you want to start collecting people’s addresses?

Building an email list takes time and it’s a lot of hard work.You need to ask yourself these questions.

What and how often do you intend to email your list?

What is the end goal of why you want to start an email list?

Maybe in the future you want to create a product or start offering services on your blog.

Knowing the answers to those questions will make sure you are more focused.

2. Choose an email marketing provider

To start an email list  you need to pick  an email marketing provider.

Email marketing provider is a company that allows you to collects and send emails to your subscribers.

You can’t send out your emails to a lot of people through Gmail or Hotmail you need to look more professional.

You need to have an email address that ends with blog Url such as juelz@juelzjohn.com not juelzjohn@gmail.com.

You can easily create a free professional email address through your hosting.I did mine through Bluehost in less than 5 minutes.

What should you look for in an email service provider?

• Segmentation.

This is something you want to consider because it’s very important you send targeted emails to your subscribers.

For instance, if your blog niche is broad then not everyone will be interested in all the topics you blog about.

Am currently blogging about faith and blogging tips, it’s obvious that if one signs up because they want to learn more about blogging and I send the tips on how to grow their faith then they will end up unsubscribing.

Also for blogging tips, I can further segment it to beginners and intermediate bloggers.

At the end of the day, you are able to send content that is relevant.

• Good customer service

In case of anything, you need to be able to contact the email service provider immediately to resolve.

Remember what they say money is in the list, so good customer service is very important.

• Sequence

Sequences are basically everything in email marketing. It’s not possible to email everyone on your list individually.

A good email provider should have the sequence option, this is where you send out a series of emails over a certain period of time.

For example, in my free email course, how to  a profitable blog(8 day free email course)I use sequence where I send out the emails after one day.

You can schedule how often you want them to go out, if it is daily or after a day or so.

• Ability to create forms and landing pages.

That is what you will use to collect email addresses.

I use and highly recommend is convertkit. I think it’s the best tool for any blogger out there.

Other providers include:

Mailerlite

MailChimp

Aweber

Some have monthly subscription fee while others don’t have. Before you settle on one, make sure you do a thorough research.

Why I use Convertkit

To start with convertkit doesn’t have a free package but you can get a free trial through my link.

With the free trial, you will be able to test and try it out , see if you like it before fully committing.

It’s super easy to set up and use. Designing and setting up the opt-in forms and the landing pages is extremely easy.

Convertkit is designed for bloggers. Basically, it covers all the needs a blogger would want in an email service provider.

Some of the features I love about convertkit is the landing page, opt-in forms, triggers, tags, and sequences

You can add multiple opt-ins to your posts as you want.

Convertkit doesn’t double count my readers when someone optins for two or more different freebies.

The automation is awesome.

Convertkit isn’t free, it’s 29$ per month. Get a free trial through my link.

If you want your blog to grow, and finally start making an income from blogging then you should invest in a good email provider.

I don’t think investing in the right blogging services and tools a waste of money, it’s a step forward in my blogging journey.

Why would people want to sign up for your email list?

Simple. You must have something valuable to offer them. Whatever you offer to your readers must be something they are interested in, which will solve a problem they have.

That is why you need to know your target audience. No one will sign up if the only thing you are offering is your newsletter and updates.

If you just have a subscriber box asking people to join, no one will.

You need to be specific. They need to know what is in for them too. How will you benefit them?

Bottom line you need to solve your reader’s problem.

Start an email list: Create an incentive.

Also known as a lead magnet, opt-in or a freebie.

For you to collect emails you need to have an opt-in. These are freebies that entice your readers to subscribe to your email list.

Once you have known your why and you have picked out an email list provider the next thing is to create something valuable for your readers.

This should be something in line with your blog niche otherwise you will have 0 subscribers.

A good opt-in should be easy to use, solve your reader’s problem, should be well detailed with valuable information and it should a quick fix or win.

Lead magnets can be in form of:

• Short eBooks
• Short email courses
• Guides
• Cheatsheet
• Printables
• Checklists
• Short videos
• Spreadsheet
• Planners

 

You can have more than 1 lead magnets.

For example, I currently have 2.A SEO eBook where I share all the best tips and tricks to help you master and understand SEO easily.

The other one is email mini-course on how to start a profitable blog.

If you are finding it hard coming up with lead magnet ideas, an easier way to jump-start your thoughts is to check on Facebook groups.

Find out what questions most people are asking and find a way to answer their questions. You can also check what other bloggers in your niche are doing and what is working out for them.

Another trick you can use is to go through your post and find out the one with most shares and comments

Content upgrade

Content upgrades are little additions to a specific blog post.

This can be you can have your post as downloadable pdf.

Check your top performing blog posts from google analytics then create an upgrade or an opt-in for them.

I love Canva for making my upgrades things such as printables, checklist.

It’s easy to use and you can really make really nice eye catching content.

What if you run a blog with many topics?

Your email list should be super niche. Pick one of the topics then focus on it.

How can I collect emails addresses?

Once you start an email list there are somany ways you can use to collect email addresses.

1.Sign-up forms

It’s super easy to create forms on convertkit .

Include sign up forms on your website. You need to make it easy for people to register.

Some of the places you can place your forms are:

• Navigation bar
• Sidebar
• Embed in your article. Works very well. Especially if your post is super long you can insert the form twice.
• Footer
• In your about me page.

About me page is the second most visited page after homepage so it only makes sense if you include a sign-up form either once or twice, depending on how long the page is.

• Top part of your homepage/header if your blog theme allows.

How i wish my theme has that option.I think it’s genius.Check out twinsmommy.com  by Elna Cain.Hers is awesome.

• Contact page
• Welcome mats
• Smart bar.I currently have one where i offer my SEO free ebook.

2.Landing pages

This is a page that is solely dedicated to your freebie.

It tells your reader more about it and convinces them to sign up. Check out an example with my landing page.

3.Pop-up boxes

Have you ever visited a blog and you saw a box pop up, that’s a pop –up.

I also have a few and I think they are perfect for collecting emails.

Some pop up when you just load into the page, others wait until you scroll like 50% and some a few seconds before you close the page.

Am currently using convertkit and sumo me for that. I just love how pretty they look.

Make sure that your pop-up boxes, landing pages and sign up forms are clear on what you are offering, they are eye-catching and use a good font that is easy to read.

How to grow your email list

1.Promote your freebie.

You have done most of the hard work already now it’s time to have some massive fun.

Promote your lead magnet like it’s the only job you have.

You can have the most awesome freebie but if no one sees it then no one will subscribe to your list.

Have in mind that it’s the same as promoting any blog post.

You need to have as many eyeballs on that lead magnet as possible.

On Facebook

You can promote your freebie on promo days.

Facebook banner you can add a call to action .See what Suzi fromstartamomblog has done with her facebook cover

You can do Facebook live videos

Utilize Pinterest

I love Pinterest. It’s the best way to drive traffic to any blog out there and especially new blogs.

Make graphics directing people to your freebies. See one of  my SEO ebook pin

Create multiple pins for the freebie and actively promote them on groups.

Use catchy headlines that will entice people to click on the pin.

You can tailwind to schedule your post. If you are not using it already,try it today and get free 100 pins

Try tailwind today

2.Webinar

3.Host giveaways

4.Guest post

Guest post on other blogs and instead of sending people to your homepage, direct them to your landing page.

 

For you to grow your email list fast you need to drive massive traffic to your blog and to your content upgrade or your lead magnet.

Check out my post on 30+ ways to drive massive traffic to your blog.

You need to treat your list like they are your best friend.

The way you check in which your best friend often, you need to do the same with your subscribers.

Nurture your relationship and build trust with them.

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A QUICK CASE STUDY

I want to use a real example to show you how email list can transform your blog and take it to the next level.

Suzi from startamomblog.com .She is one of the bloggers that I follow and adore because of how knowledgeable she is.Her blog posts are always so detailed and packed with actionable tips.

She grew her blog from $0 to over $20,000 per month in just over a year all thanks to her email list. 60% of her incomes comes directly from her email list.

Which blogger wouldn’t love to make that in their first or second year of blogging? I know I would.

She started growing her email list from the word go and in a year she grew her list to 14,000 subscribers through convertkit. Didn’t I say Convertkit is the best email service provider for bloggers?

She has a course called List by Number.In the course she teaches the best tips and strategies to use to grow your email list.

From the List by Number you will learn:

How to come with the high converting freebies.

24 ideas to grow your email list. All unique and proven ways.

Welcome series and distinct funnels

Tagging and segmentation

Automation systems and advanced topics and much more.

List by number has 11step by step videos and 11 lectures where you will learn everything you would like to when it comes to email marketing.

When I started blogging I enrolled in her course blog by number and honestly the course changed my blogging journey. You can read my experience on this post.

I can attest and say that her ebooks & courses are worth every penny. She is so open , she shares what worked and what didn’t work for her.

Meaning you don’t have to waste your time doing the wrong things and trying to figure out things on your own. Big time saver.

If you really want and you are serious about growing your email list List by number is a course i highly recommend.

You can check  out her other ebooks & courses here.

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I hope you are enjoying this series of email marketing and if i have missed anything on today’s post on how to start an email list let me know.

Have you started your email list? If yes how has the experience been?

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