How to Grow Your Email List for a Profitable Launch

I don’t need to tell you about the super cool powers of email marketing because I know you are aware of the incredible impact this strategy can make on your current + future launches. But I want to make sure that on your next launch you are talking to the RIGHT people. The people that are begging for your product or service and they feel as if you created it just for them. By growing your email list with those that fit your brand nicely you will have better feedback on products, a higher open and click through rate, people who genuinely care about the content you put out, and loyal fans.

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Let’s walk through the eight steps that will show you one type of strategy that you can use that grows your email list with the right people so that when your launch day comes, you will have an audience that truly resonates with what you offer.

Step One | Define the Goal

We have to start somewhere, and I believe this is the perfect place to start. What’s your goal? Are you selling a new online course?  Launching a new product? Launching a new service? Define specifically what it is that you will be leading people to. What is the product/service that you have on your sales page?

It is always important to start from the end, where you are leading people to so that you can work backwards from there. It really helps you create better copy, understand what your audience is being led through, and tailor the steps leading up to your goal perfectly.

Now that you have defined what you are launching, create a quick list of all the features or problems that this product/service provides your audience.

Step Two | Decide on Your Incentive

Incentive meaning a coupon, free checklist, resource guide, free e-book, etc. A super low-barrier offer that anyone can access at no cost to them, that’s our goal here!

Grab your list that you made in step one that has all the features or problems that your product/service provides and let’s step back a bit. What is your offer solving? More than likely, it is solving a major pain point in your audiences lives that your audience is willing to pay you to solve. Let’s think of something we can give your audience for free that solves the same problem but on a smaller scale. This way we know that anyone that signs up for this freebie would also be interested in your product when you launch because it addresses the same pain point.

It’s important to make sure that this incentive relates and goes hand in hand with the goal you decided on in step one of this process. I know a lot of my audience gets stuck with what type of freebie to create for their audience. So if you are feeling a little stuck, don’t worry about it! There have been so many people in your position scratching their head over this exact dilemma.

Here’s a formula that will help make this process a little easier for you.

The formula for creating the perfect opt-in (incentive):

Attracts Ideal Customer + Solves a Problem (that only your ideal customer has) + leads into your offer = the perfect opt-in

Step Three | Build Registration Page or Create System

Now that you have decided on what you want your incentive or opt-in to be you will need to create a registration page to capture their email address in exchange for your awesome incentive. ConvertKit has a free landing page feature and if you have never used ConvertKit then first of all why the heck not but second of all, grab a free month of this software by clicking here. This platform not only allows you to monetize your list in value-packed ways but has this landing page creator that you can embed on your website and makes your job a lot easier.

Here are some examples of some registration pages that I created last year:

Free Video Series called Make Google Play Nice

Free 4-step Program to Monetize Your List

There are so many different options when it comes to creating registration pages. But if you haven’t tried ConvertKit’s landing page feature I definitely recommend you try it and you can always  grab a free month of Convertkit by clicking here!

Step Four | Create Value-Packed Content

I’m talking about blog posts that are 1,700+ words and podcasts that are full of actionable strategies or tips. The type of content that makes your audiences head spin with thoughts of “holy crap I can’t believe they gave all of this away for free.”

I’m not one for creating any type of content that does not have actionable strategies. I’m one for creating really great information that doesn’t make someone feel like they wasted their time. I hate going to blogs that claim a certain solution in the headline but the blog post itself or podcast episode is full of fluff and not real, solid details that I can apply to my business or life.

So promise me you will create value-packed content only, no fluffy stuff is coming from your brand. This will help build up trust with your audience as well as make your content more shareable as well!

Step Five | Promote Free Content

Get your calendar out and plan when each piece of content will go out that way you have time in between each post or episode. Having a schedule for when each blog post or podcast episode or guest post needs to be promoted is key to driving as many eyeballs to your content as possible. Keeping a good amount of space between each content promotion is perfect.

Get creative in how you promote this content! Get on live video whether that be Facebook or Instagram, send a creative email campaign to your list with cool graphics, get on Instagram stories, go post in Facebook groups, use as many platforms as possible to get the word out. All that work will be worth it, pinky promise.

Step Six | Nurture

This is the step where we are going to nurture our audience and email list so that they get used to opening our emails but also establishing that trust of providing quality content in your emails that you are sending them.

Create a calendar of how often you are going to send an email to your audience. The reason why I suggest this is because consistency is very important when it comes to email marketing, sending emails all over the place makes it hard to build that trust with those on your list. So get your super cute planner or calendar out because I know you have one and start setting dates to when your emails will go out. I suggest at least once a week that way you are not overwhelming them but you are also showing up on a regular basis.

You can also create all this content ahead of time, remember! I create my emails way in advance and schedule them out that way I not only save time but I can make sure that I am being consistent and providing as much value as possible to my list.

Step Seven | Promote Incentive

There are multiple ways to get your free content out there as well as your opt-in or incentive. You, of course, want as many eyes on this registration page as possible so that you can not only capture email addresses but the right email addresses that you will nurture until the time of your launch!

Within the free content that you are promoting during step six make sure to have this incentive (registration page for the incentive) linked on as many places as possible. If you need a few ideas, here’s some that I listed out just for you:

• Sidebar image that links to registration page
• Links within blog posts
• Links at the end of the blog post
• Navbar link
• Link in slider on homepage, if applicable
• Special link in podcast episode (or guest podcast episode)
• Link in live video description

Those are just a few to consider! Make sure the registration link is placed anywhere and everywhere. That is key to increasing the conversion rate of those who get to your free content because remember, your main goal is to get them from the free content to the registration page to sign up for your freebie!

Step Eight | Launch Time

The final step, the step where you actually launch your new product or service to your list and audience.

You have gone through creating a freebie, creating really amazing content that leads to the registration page which sends people your freebie, you have nurtured that list giving them awesome information this whole time and now it is time to actually ask them to pull out their wallets.

It can be intimidating. Launching can be scary.

But don’t worry, you have made your list feel so loved throughout this process and if your product solves one of their biggest issues/problems they will be begging for the opportunity to work with you or buy what you created!