My husband is a complete techy. I am not. I’m not lost really easily, but it certainly doesn’t come naturally to me. Thinking about building an email list may seem overly complicated to you, but I promise it doesn’t have to be. It can be really easy to start an email list.
1. Make A Choice
There are a lot of great email service providers (ESPs) out there. You definitely should evaluate what you need your list for and how you’re going to use. This way you can make an informed decision about the ESP you’re using.
I personally use Convertkit and love it. It’s intuitive and will grow your business, so you don’t need to worry about outgrowing your email system.
Being able to simply set up opt-in pages and forms without the hassle of knowing how to code or anything super techy is a dream. Also, I love that I can just add in my downloads directly on the platform so I don’t need to use any other service to hold my digital gifts for people.
I also really like that you can easily set up an email sequence and Convertkit has visual automation.
My FREE email course that teaches the steps you need to take in order to be able to photograph your own products was really quick to create. I just created all the content then entered it into Convertkit. The email sequence section walks you through the set-up.
2. Create an Opt-in
Once you have your ESP the next step is to create a lead magnet for your customers. For your lead magnet, you’ll want to have some type of offer (a freebie, freemium, etc.) that will attract and help your potential customers. It needs to be a benefit for your customers!
Some shop owners decide to give a bonus or percentage off for anyone that signs up for the email list. I like this because it encourages sales right away, but it doesn’t have to be a discount!
After you create your lead magnet you can set-up a form or an opt-in box. This is how a potential customer will provide their name and email address and you will be able to give them their free offer.
Convertkit makes creating opt-ins really easy because you don’t need to worry about coding or where to store a pdf. It can all be done through their platform!
3. Promote Your Email List
The last step to start your email list is to promote your offer for your email list! Now that you have an amazing offer to give to people you need to share it like crazy. Let people know about the awesomeness that you have to give. If you don’t share what you have then people are missing out on the potential benefit!
Website
You need to place opt-in forms on your website (If you don’t have a website it’s totally not the end of the world, but I highly recommend you get one started). Make sure you have your opt-ins placed directly on your homepage!
Shop Listing
Another place you can let people know about your email list is directly your shop listing. This can be a great way to attract them back to your shop. Maybe they’re not ready to buy, but they love the idea about knowing more about what makes your product amazing!
Social Media
The final place you should be sharing your offer is on social media. Social media is a fantastic way to be spread the word with a wide audience. Asking directly for a sale on social media will not work as well as through your shop, but a free offer that is helpful is always valuable to your customers!
***Affiliate offers are present in this post. I only share quality products that I use and love.