Email marketing isn’t as fashionable as it once was, particularly following the explosion of videos and other more dynamic and eye-catching methods in recent years. Email is the venerable grandad – kind of boring, but super reliable. It’s a mistake to discount it because of this, because it’s the key to one of the most vital ingredients for your long-term success as a marketer: the email list.
So, you’re probably wondering how you can possibly go from 1 to 1,000,000 in a year. It’s a high number, but it is possible. It’s also a goal worth following, as even getting just a quarter of the way to it will be a powerful boost to your business and its exposure!
The simple reality is that even if you’ve built something super impressive that really does wow everyone, they’re still not going to come. Many simply because they have no idea that you exist. Others because they don’t know who you are and what you do. Others because you’re simply not getting your message across.
Ultimately, content is the big driver for solving each of these marketing problems, and the best solution to getting those all-important sales revenues flowing. It’s one thing to start up a newsletter to make that happen, but how do you build the audience that will read them?
As always, your first step is to look around you and research. Unless you’re in a remarkably tiny niche or pioneering away on a completely new product that nobody else even conceptualizes right now, there’s already an industry around you, competing for the same audience, the same demographics, and even the same readership.
They might not all be after exactly the same products – which is your gap in the market, and also allows you to edge in through that spot and win again because you’re not in direct competition with your marketplace, you’re not indirectly promoting them.
What you will want to focus on is the data: the data that you get about people is worth a lot (hence Facebook’s current privacy woes, a never-ending saga of revelations). By knowing about your market, you’ll be able to build your click-through rates, build engagement, and most importantly of all, explode your email list signups.
How? Incentivising, of course. Rewards, recognition, and even gamification are all proven ways to get the average person doing things for you via basic psychology. Your audience might seek value for money – or that feeling of success in achievement. If you know what drives your audience, you’re closer to the content that will work for them.
You can double down on this strategy by leveraging contests and giveaways – people LOVE free stuff, and if you can use this to boost email signups, you’re doing everything like a champ. This tactic is old as the hills because it’s so effective, and you can even leverage a prize that matches their profile. Just one word of warning here: if you elect to use a partner to fuel the competition, be aware that there’s usually some hand-holding and issues to deal with, so don’t just set and forget this trick: be on the ball!
If you want to build your audience another way, then content swaps are a great idea too. Much like guest posting, this is a great way to rise your profile in your overall niche while also letting you build your credibility and reputation. It’s also a great networking move, which is important if you’re looking to become a key player further on down the road.
Another effective tactic to boost your email signups is to pollinate them: by that, I mean sharing other newsletters, too. They don’t necessarily have to be yours, but consider that people who already read newsletters and enjoy that content are far more likely to subscribe to another one with similar content than a cold lead, fresh off the street.
All of these tactics can be used by themselves, but the real power is developing a witch’s brew of a strategy that throws them all into a bubbling cauldron of marketing magic. It doesn’t matter if you’re starting with a meagre list of 100 or already have a fairly successful one of 10,000 – it’s all about being smart and making the right moves.
Whatever your newsletter is about – whether it’s sharing industry news, advertising your latest products, or simply a bouncy bit of fun, your audience is your most powerful asset, as is building strong links with others in your industry to build a powerful ecosystem that feeds into your burgeoning list almost effortlessly.
All of this can sound incredibly daunting, but the process need not be. Simply start with your research and create a firm strategy based on data driven and empirical decisions which you build on every time you get new data. That way, you’re always moving forward, always optimizing, and always delivering what your readers want to see.
Email marketing isn’t fashionable, but it still remains one of the most cost-effective ways to build a powerful brand and establish your thought leadership, no matter what niche you’re in. You CAN make it to 1,000,000 in a year – or grow a hell of a lot trying!