Today we’re going to share how to build an email list FAST and completely organically!
Growing an email list has had a massive impact on our business. If you’re here, you likely already know just how powerful it can be – especially in an era where it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reach your subscribers organically on social media channels like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram!
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One of the most powerful ways to build an email list organically is with a YouTube channel. We’re able to convert over 30% of the number of our new YouTube subscribers every month over to our email list, completely organically and 100% on autopilot.
So, whether you’re just starting out and wondering how to build an email list from scratch, or you’re a seasoned pro and looking for new list building strategies to help you grow your email subscribers FAST, this guide is for you!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- The Best Email Marketing Strategy
- How To Make A Lead Magnet
- How To Create A Landing Page
- How To Send Your Lead Magnet
- How To Promote Lead Magnets
Let’s dive in.
PRO TIP: Haven’t decided on an email marketing platform yet? Check out our roundup of the Best Email Marketing Software here.
The Best Email Marketing Strategy
The goal of an email marketing strategy is to drive targeted traffic to your email list by offering an incentive for people to join.
This incentive is usually called a lead magnet, an opt-in or a lead generation.
A lead magnet is something you can offer your audience to help them in the next step of their journey. They provide their email address in order to receive the opt-in.
We’ve found YouTube to be the most powerful tool for promoting lead magnets but you can do this in other ways as well such as using your other social media accounts.
This list building strategy allows you to collect email addresses and build your email subscribers by adding value for them.
The first step is to create a lead magnet.
How To Make A Lead Magnet
This can be anything that will be of value to your target audience.
It could be a PDF guide, mp3 download or another format. Here are some suggestions:
- Quick start guide
- Gear list
- Checklist
- Step-by-step process
- Free ebook
- Exclusive content
The biggest thing to remember is that it needs to be high value. If it isn’t something that your viewers actually want, there’s no way they’ll enter their email address to receive it.
You also want to make sure it will be applicable to a big percentage of your target audience. A lot of people in the digital marketing space will tell you to go super niche and create heaps of lead magnets. But we only have three main opt-ins and these drive the bulk growth of our email list.
Having said that, you can get quite targeted here if that’s something that will appeal to people.
To get your creative juices flowing, here are the lead magnets we offer:
- Filming Checklists For iPhone & Android
- Step-by-Step Video Editing Process
- Advanced Email List Growth Workshop
Pro Tip: Start Simple
The biggest thing to remember is to start simple. We started out with a one page Google doc!
Now we’ve moved to PDF guides which look a lot better! But you don’t need to start with something that’s super polished. You can test and update things over time.
Once you’ve got your lead magnet sorted, it’s time to move onto the next step.
How To Create A Landing Page
The next step in your email marketing strategy is to create a landing page for the lead magnet or opt-in.
A landing page is essentially a basic, one-page web page where people can submit their details in an opt in form for something. They can enter their first name, email address and any other details you add into the sign up form.
This is where you’re sending the traffic from your YouTube videos.
What to include on your landing page:
- A graphic, picture or some kind of visual representation of what the lead magnet is
- Text describing the lead magnet (including features, benefits and what the lead magnet will help people do)
- A sign up form with fields for people to enter their first name, email address and any other necessary information
Just like with your lead magnet, the landing page is something you can test and build out over time. It doesn’t need to be perfect or complex, especially when you’re getting started.
It just needs to be something simple where people can enter their details.
If you’re not a tech person, the idea of creating landing pages might be a bit overwhelming. But don’t worry, there are some awesome platforms out there that allow you to create them incredibly quickly and easily.
In fact, most also have landing page templates with sign up forms built-in meaning you can get one up and running in no time! We cover this in our advanced training workshop.
How To Send Your Lead Magnet
Once you’ve got a lead magnet and a landing page, you need a way to send the lead magnet to anyone who opts-in.
Platforms like ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit have built-in features that can help you do this.
The process itself will vary depending on which email marketing platform you choose.
Basically, the email platform will capture the email address that was submitted on the landing page, add it to your email list and then send the lead magnet to that email address.
This is something you just need to set up once, and then the platform will automatically do all of this for you.
How To Promote Lead Magnets
Now the last thing to do is push your lead magnet out so your target audience can sign up for it!
You can really prompt your lead magnet anywhere. This includes in a blog post, on your Facebook page, on other social media accounts. But this is where we’ve found YouTube to be the most powerful option.
One lead magnet that you create can be linked to multiple YouTube videos which are all driving traffic to that lead magnet.
But remember to keep this relevant.
For example, we’ll only ever mention our ‘Step-by-Step Video Editing Process’ lead magnet in YouTube videos that are directly related to video editing (e.g. a video editing tutorial or how to edit videos faster).
This way we know that for anyone watching those videos, downloading the guide is a logical next step.
From then on, whenever you create a video where the lead magnet is a fit, make sure you include a call to action where you mention the lead magnet at the end of the video.
There’s no point sharing a link to the lead magnet at the start of the video because at that point the viewer likely doesn’t know why that lead magnet will help them.
You can also have it linked in the video description of your YouTube videos.
Now you know how to build an email list and collect email addresses using our proven email marketing strategies.
But remember, getting new subscribers on your list is just the beginning. Once they’ve found your content, watched your video and signed up for your lead magnet you now have the perfect opportunity to add a ton more value for your email subscribers.
You know what they’re struggling with, what topics they’re interested in and what stage of the journey they’re in. From there, you can create some automated funnels to start sharing more valuable tools & content that will help them next.
This will not only help your most loyal subscribers and drive traffic to your existing content, but it’s also an amazing way to build deeper relationships by adding value over and beyond. Plus you can do it all on autopilot!
If you want a full walkthrough of this entire process, including walkthroughs for setting up email platforms and landing pages, check out our complete Advanced Email List Growth Workshop.
FAQ
How do I create a free email list?
You can create an email list for free by sharing valuable opt-ins on platforms like YouTube that users can sign up for.
How do I make my mailing list faster?
To grow your email list quickly, we highly recommend using YouTube and following the above email marketing strategy.
How do I create a list of email subscribers?
To create an email list, you’ll need to find the right email marketing platform. Create a high quality lead magnet and an accompanying landing page, then users will be able to sign up to your email list to receive your lead magnet.
Recommended Gear & Resources
Check out an up-to-date list of all the gear, software & tools we use and recommend right now at Primal Video on our resources page here!
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