February 21, 2023

Struggling to Grow Your Email List? Use This Strategy for Success

Sarah Brumley

Your email list is one of the greatest assets a small business owner can have. But, if you’re struggling to grow your email list, then it might feel like a burden rather than a blessing. That’s exactly why today I’m focusing on one strategy you can use to attract your ideal client and get them to give you their email address without batting an eye. Sound like something you need? Well then, let’s get started.

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Struggling to Grow Your Email List? One Strategy for Success

Well hey there! I just have to say that I love knowing that you are also a mama, likely dealing with chaos in your own life as you squeeze this episode into your day. Just knowing that makes me feel so much more comfortable about the fact that as I record this episode, my family is in full swing around here getting things done and not being all too quiet in the process. In fact, my son is learning all about farm animals and making all the sounds. Moooooo seems to be the one of choice at the moment. Hehe. And that’s reality, right?

And it’s so good to share that reality with you as we focus on business growth strategies that don’t require us to do all the things at the expense of our families.

And today’s strategy is no different.

A little while back I released a couple of episodes (actually episodes 28 and 29) all about email marketing. Afterwards, I had a listener DM me to tell me she loved those episodes, started her list, and wanted to know more specifics about HOW to get people onto her list. And you know me – I LOVE to answer listener questions, so that’s exactly what we are going to do today. I’m actually going to give you one of my absolutely favorite strategies for getting people onto my list so that you can replicate it within your own.

Sound good?

And…if you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast, feel free to submit it directly at sarahbrumley.com. And remember – there are absolutely no stupid questions, but it does impede your growth when you need help and you don’t ask for it. So…something to keep in mind.

Alrighty, let’s jump in to this. My absolute favorite strategy for growing my email list is and has always been the use of a lead magnet. In it’s simplest form, a lead magnet is something you offer for free to your ideal clients or customers in return for their email address. And you’ve probably seen this before on other people’s websites or even in stores when they say that you can have a discount or get points toward things if you just enter your email address.

It really is as simple as that.

Some common examples of lead magnets used in online business include:

Coupon codes
Checklists or other printables
Workbooks
Mini-Trainings
Offer of weekly strategies and updates
Early bird specials

…among others.

In fact, the sky is the limit and really depends on what your ideal client needs in order to be successful. We’ll talk a little more in a minute about how to choose the best option for your specific situation, but first I want to talk about why having a lead magnet is important for any online business.

Why is a Lead Magnet Important for Business Growth?

And the reason is that a lead magnet has the potential to ATTRACT potential clients and turn them into actual paying clients. And it does it so much more effectively than just offering someone a place on your email list. Why? Because they get something they want and need and then they look forward to hearing more from you. I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a discount code that will save me some money or a cheat sheet that helps me stay on track with my goals. I have no problem giving my email address for those things when I believe they will be of value to me.

…very often, I’m also going to go back to that same person or business and purchase something from them in the future.

Within my own business, we refer to our lead magnets as printables, as they are typically something that a reader or listener can download and print for use. These are things that go along with specific blog posts or podcast episodes to help prospective clients get an immediate result that goes just slightly deeper than that blog post or podcast content. For example, with my family finance blog – I offered different budgeting worksheets in order to get my readers a quick win when it came to tracking their debt payoff or monthly expenses. From there, they would realize that they got an amazing result with that one worksheet, so how much better it would be if they purchased my year-long financial planner or jumped into my monthly membership with even more resources available to them. The same rings true for the Mama Business podcast, and if you want an example, you can choose one that suits your needs by heading to sarahbrumley.com/resources.

And I see this ring true for not only myself, but my clients as well.

Let’s talk about a photography client of mine who, despite having a sign up form on her website for several months, had seen no growth with her list. We added a lead magnet in the form of a checklist of what to do ahead of family picture day to be prepared and within a few short weeks, she’d add a significant amount of subscribers. Subscribers that then she could market her photography skills and courses to.

A divorce financial analyst I worked with had a similar experience with her stagnant email list growth. We designed a lead magnet checklist to help her potential clients determine whether they needed a divorce financial analyst for their own situations. It was quick, easy, but it sure got her (and her potential clients) results. Not only did her email list grow, but she also saw an increase in the type of client she wanted to work with. So, income grew and her clients got even better results because they were a good fit. Plus, for those that weren’t a good fit or couldn’t afford her one-on-one services, she was able to share that she had workbooks and other resources that they could purchase to help.

All with one lead magnet.

So, now that you know why a lead magnet is valuable for your business, it’s time to talk about when to use a lead magnet for business growth.

When to Use a Lead Magnet for Business Growth?

…and I feel like this one should be fairly self-explanatory having just gone through all of the value that a lead magnet can offer you, but the answer is ASAP. Because the sooner you use one, the sooner you can start to see that growth.

So…definitely use one when you are just starting to grow your business.

Another time you might want to consider using a lead magnet could be when you are launching a new offer. You might choose to offer something that gets potential clients a small result and then use that to point them to the paid offer that helps them get the big result. Free trainings and webinars are great ways to exchange value for an email address. And then, once you’ve shown the value you DO provide, your subscribers will be jumping at the opportunity to sign up for whatever you have next. For example, let’s say that you just created a membership all about how to keep your home organized all year round. So, each month you offer a list of things that your members can do to stay on top of things, plus you have a community of other members that want the exact same thing. That’s pretty general, but honestly – sounds pretty good to me. Anyways, you have this membership, so you could offer a free mini-training about how to do one part of what you teach within the greater membership. For example, maybe it’s – I don’t know – some specific strategy you use to make sure dust doesn’t collect under the couches. When a mama like me who absolutely hates dust under my couches learns that there’s actually something I can do to keep that dust at bay – and it works – I’m going to be all over your membership. Why? Because you offered something of value that got me a result and I want more. I want all the knowledge now, right?

So that’s a really good example of using a lead magnet to point toward your paid offer.

You may also consider using a lead magnet when you have a “bonus” for your loyal listeners or readers. Once again, this could come in the form of a coupon code they can get or an early bird special you offer only to people on your list. So, you’d let them know that if they want to stay in the know and get that early bird price or whatever it might be, they need to jump on your list ASAP. More often than not…they’ll choose to do just that – even if they aren’t sure that they are willing to click “buy now”. Because if they do decide that they want to purchase, they don’t want to miss the opportunity for that discount. This alone gives you the ability to continue sharing the benefits with them once they are on your list, and if they do buy – GREAT. But if they choose not to, they are still a very warm lead on your list and will likely purchase from you in the future.

So, the time to employ a lead magnet is:

When you are just starting to grow your business.
When you are launching a new offer.
When you have a “bonus” for your loyal listeners or readers.

…and, ultimately, anytime but ASAP.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Lead Magnet

Once you have a lead magnet ready to go, then it’s time to get traffic to it. Because, once again – when you are growing your online business, there’s no truth in the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. Nope. You can build it, but you have to share it as well. You have to get it out into the world so that people can find it.

So, we should probably change that line to “if you share it, they will come”. Especially if what you’ve created has value for them.

How do we do this? Well, there are a few ways.

Strategy 1: Add to your website home page and/or sidebar.

It’s really as simple as that. You can create a box on your website pages with a button that links to your email list sign up page. If you don’t know what that is or how to get one set up, then you’ll want to go back to episode #29 because I detail that there. But, ultimately, once your website visitors find your site, they will also see the opportunity to subscribe and get your value-packed lead magnet or resource.

In fact, if you want to see this in action, you can head to sarahbrumley.com and if you scroll down about halfway, you’ll see several options for this. First, I’ve added a place where you can subscribe (and as a bonus I gift you my goals workbook), but there are also other free resources that you can click on the link for, enter your name and email address and get the resource. No matter what my website viewer chooses, he or she ends up with the resource they need and I get them as a lead on my email list. That’s a win-win situation all around if you ask me.

Strategy 2: Add as a pop up on your website.

Very similarly, you can add a pop up on your website with your lead magnet offer. And you’ve likely seen this on other websites with coupon codes if you provide your email address or whatever else they might be providing. And no matter how you personally feel about running into popups across the internet, the truth is that the conversion rate on popups is really high. So, it’s a great way to get the word out about your free resource AND grow your email list at the same time.

Strategy 3: Share the link within all of your cornerstone content

All things that are search engine friendly which means that someone can search on Google or another search engine like it for a topic related to the content that you created and then be directed to your platform. And once they get there, you certainly don’t want them to walk away without getting on your list, right?)

So this comes down to actually talking about the lead magnet you have. Of course, I wouldn’t refer to it as a lead magnet while you are talking with potential clients or customers – maybe a free resource or a printable or something along those lines – but no matter what you are calling it, you want people to know you have it and that they need to have it, too. And what better place to start than with your cornerstone content. So make sure that you are sharing your lead magnet or, at the very least, your email list with potential subscribers.

Strategy 4: Share the link on Pinterest

A lot of business owners use Pinterest to get traffic to their website, but forget that they can actually drive traffic to their lead magnet as well. So, create a few pins, schedule them out and use the free traffic from Pinterest to continue to grow your list. Remember, if you are offering something of value, potential clients and customers will want it. They’ll be willing to give their email address in exchange for that value.

…and Pinterest is a great place to get the word out.

Strategy 5: Share the link to your social media

OR just let people know that you have a free resource that can help when you see a question asked regarding the problem you solve. Going back to my example of that cleaning membership, if you see someone on your social media platform complaining that they can never keep up with the dusting in their home, that might be the perfect time to ask if they’d love the new (and free) resource you created to help them get the dust under control. If they say yes, you can send them the link. It’s a win for them and a win for you as well. Plus they can always say no and that’s okay, too.

There are a lot of other ways you can share your lead magnet, but I highly recommend starting with these. Once you have it on your website and are consistently sharing in your cornerstone content then, as your traffic grows, so will your email list…and your client bookings…and your revenue…and your business as a whole.

Who doesn’t want that?

Take Action: Use a Lead Magnet for Business Growth

And that brings us to the action part of this episode. I’m a huge proponent of taking action, because action is where the dreams turn into the reality. Ideally I’m hoping you’re going to take action on all of the things we’ve discussed today, but if you only have time for one, it’s this:

ACTION: I want you to create a lead magnet and share it in your cornerstone content. If you do nothing other than that one thing, you will set yourself up for success when it comes to growing your email list and by proxy, your business as well. Remember, your lead magnet doesn’t have to be anything complicated. If you are pressed for time, offer a coupon code or create a basic checklist. Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s something that your potential client needs and will motivate him or her to engage your paid offer.

I know from personal experience that I am more likely to accomplish what I set out to do if I am accountable to someone. So jump into the Mama Business Facebook group and let us know what lead magnet you have. Who knows? Maybe someone else needs what you have to offer and will get connected with you as well! Either way, you know I’m cheering you on!

Have an amazing day and I’ll chat with you again soon.