I know you’ve thought about it. And then stopped.
Building your list is just too complicated when you have so many other things on the front burner. Right?
Well … what if you were wrong?
Because there are a slew of really cool, powerful idea you can use to build your list. And you don’t have to wait until you have a big budget, a bunch of extra time (said no one, ever!) or can finally understand those more complicated strategies you thought you had to master.
And I want to show you 11 of the best ones you can get started on today!
After you dazzle audiences with your amazing talk, offer then a cool free gift or resource that gets them on your list, and gets them started toward the big transformation at the core of your talk. Even if the group won’t let you sell, they almost always allow you to offer a free gift that moves people onto your list. Speaking is a great way to get an instant boost for your list.
When you’re networking, rather than just tell people “what I do”, have a cool resource handy that can actually help them get started. You want to create a real live, prototype they can look at, hold and leaf through.
And say “while I can’t give you this one, I can drop you an email with a link to where you can download a digital version. I also have some cool starter ideas I can follow up with. Does that sound good?”
Create a short, captivating Facebook post (with a cool image or graphic) that links to a valuable post on your blog. And in the sidebar next to your blog post are links to opt-in for one or more of your cool free gifts. (Include the link to your free gift at the end of your blog post also!)
Use an automated Social Media tool like Hootsuite to schedule regular posts that link to your opt-in freebie. Be sure to feature the benefit —> “Would you like to know 11 cool ways to build your list fast? + LINK” as opposed to making it about you, “Hey sign-up for my new opt-in freebie!”
Be sure to create a variety of these posts, and make them interesting, so it doesn’t feel like you’re spamming up their feed.
Create an intriguing online quiz, using a tool like Lead Quizzes. Your prospects fill out the quiz, and opt-in to get the results. To up your conversion rate, craft your quiz so the results they receive offer valuable insight into why they are struggling with a specific issue, as well as suggestions on how to move through it.
Carry your iPad or Tablet with you to live events and networking events, so you can engage attendees with your online quiz and move them onto your list. It’s a cool conversation starter, visual and tactile at the same time, and not only gets them on your list, but moves them to want to know more about how you might help them.
Whatever challenge your followers are struggling with most, create a challenge to help them move through it. Over 7-days, 15-days or 30-days, drip out ideas that move them to action, and get them to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Community, accountability, and great free tips are a huge magnet for people too sign up.
For an extra list boost, schedule 2-3 of these annually.
Connect with 10 of your favorite colleagues to cross promote! Here’s how it works:
Every 2 weeks, all 10 participants email their list with a link to one person’s freebie. After two weeks, rotate to the next person. Then rinse and repeat. That means twice a year you’ll have 10 other folks sending traffic to your opt-in page. And as your lists grow, the benefit and impact compounds.
Facebook Live may be scary (video … yikes!) But it really is the simplest way to create content. Push a few buttons … and talk!
So twice a week, create an informative Facebook live and mention your free gift (and the link to that gift) at the end. You love talking about what you do, right? So twice a week, make a point to talk into the camera in your smart phone or lap top … and build your list.
Spend just $5 a week to Boost a post on your Facebook business page that links to one of the posts on your blog. And of course, in the blog sidebar (and at the bottom of the post) are links to your free opt-in gift or gifts. Or you could just boost one of your Facebook Lives (see List Builder #9).
For $260 a year, you’re sending a steady stream of traffic to your site. Just one sale and it’s paid for itself! And once you get the hang of it, you can boost your budget to drive even more prospects to your site.
Create a “Viral List”, designed to provide a ton of ways to solve a pressing problem for your target market. For example:
Speaking Coach? —> 98 Places to Find Speaking Gigs.
Help folks to start a side business? —> 124 Awesome Ideas for a Profitable Side Hustle.
Client enrollment mentor? —> 72 Persuasive Ways to Overcome the “I don’t have the money” objection.
You get the gist.
The keys:
It needs to be focused on solving a big issue for your market.
It needs to be related to your business focus.
The potential payoff needs to be huge.
It needs to offer enough possibilities to captivate them. They may not read all the options, but with 72 on the list, there’s gotta be one that works for me!
Whether you ask people to opt-in for the list, or just feature it as a blog post (with opt-in links in the side bar), these tend to get shared a ton on social media, which drives more traffic, which generates more shares … you get the picture.
Then … run through the list of some of the strategies above (1 thru 10) to drive traffic to your Viral List.
Hot idea:
Create a blog post featuring 5 of your amazing ideas to achieve an outcome. Then ask “Want access to 72 more just like this?” and link to your opt-in page.
Once you have the budget or the expertise, there are a ton of more complex ways to build your list that can be extremely effective. But if that’s not in the cards this year — you still have options to grow your following and your bottom line now!
