Youpreneur List Building Challenge: 5 Ways to Skyrocket Your Subscribers

I’ve got a challenge for you. As everyone knows, I say it often enough, email has been the number one way I grow my business. I want you to have that success too. This week on the blog, I am laying down the gauntlet. I have 5 ways you can grow your list which you can put into action this week.

Yes, these ideas are quick and easy. No excuses. There will be at least one of them you will look at and be able to put into action immediately. You might call them opt-ins, giveaways or freebies, whatever, these are all offers people on your site can receive in return for their email address.

They are tried and tested. I hooked up with my good friend Isa Adney, over at Convertkit, to do a webinar on how to grow your list back in March and these are 5 of the strategies she put forward. She knows these work for people.

I love them for their simplicity and ease. I also love them because they all allow you to segment your audience. If someone signs up for one of these, you can immediately put them in a category so you know where they are in the buying cycle (just browsing or looking to buy) and if you play it right, what information they are looking for so you can give them more of it.

Are you up for the challenge? Here we go:

Strategy 1: Create a themed newsletter

This one is for anybody who has yet to commit to a newsletter. You might not call it a newsletter, you don’t have to. Give it a name that works for your audience.

Here at Youpreneur we recently launched the Youpreneur Weekly Digest. It’s a round-up of everything that's happened in the world of Youpreneur over the last seven days, so you never miss a blog post, podcast or event announcement. It all comes straight to your inbox and then you can follow the links to what interests you. If you’re not getting all that Youpreneur goodness directly then sign up to receive it now.

People are following you on social media or coming to your website for a reason. Focus on what they want from you and give them more of it in a handy email every week.

Don’t overthink this one. If you are already blogging, podcasting or sharing video regularly, simply package it up as an email. You’re saving your fans the trouble of going to see if you’ve posted yet by giving them your latest content as soon as it drops. Pop a little bonus in there too to reward them for their loyalty – an additional tool or some behind-the-scenes knowledge.

Strategy 2: Price guide

Yes, I said price guide. What better way of qualifying a lead than knowing they wanted to download your price guide? There’s an act of intent right there, my friends.

Now this one is so simple, there’s no excuse for not trying it to see if it works for you. You all know your prices, right? Of course you do. Think of it like a menu. Show people who are interested in working with you what they can choose from.

Use a simple tool like Canva to create something attractive and you’ve got a PDF download ready to go.

This might be a good time to have another look at those prices too. Are you truly charging what you’re worth?

Strategy 3: Checklist

What do people on your site need help with most? If there’s a clear process or a task list that they need to follow, turn it into a checklist.

This can be anything from setting up a webinar to what information you need to file your taxes. Whatever service you are offering, I guarantee there will be something that you can go through step by step and create a checklist for. You probably have material for one of these in your blog so all you need to do is repurpose the information.

It works for equipment too. If someone wants to know how to get your studio set-up, create that look, or get started with a new activity, give them a list of what they need.

Make your customers’ lives easier by giving them a simple list they can download and use.

What do people on your site need help with most? If there’s a clear process or a task list that they need to follow, turn it into a checklist. Make your customers’ lives easier by giving them a simple list they can download and use. #Youpreneur Click To Tweet

Strategy 4: Printable

This is similar to the checklist. A printable is just that: something people can print off and put on their desk or their wall that they can make use of. It could be a 5-step guide or a blueprint, for instance. It should fit on one sheet of paper. Make it attractive to look at (again, look at Canva) and use it to teach somebody something they need to know.

The possibilities are endless with this one really. Look at your analytics and see what your most popular ‘how to’ blog posts are. Then think about how you could turn that information into something your customer would want to print out and keep. What are they struggling with right now that you can not only give them the answer to, but also provide a handy ready reckoner for that they can rely on?

Strategy 5: A free sample or credit

This is the simplest by far. You don’t need to make anything. You’re just offering something you’ve already got. We all like an incentive. Give people a free sample of something or offer them a credit to use for your services.

Have you written a book? Giving away one or two chapters of your book can be huge. People start reading what you have to say, they get on your wavelength, and boom, they want to know more.

Video courses too. I know people can get defensive about this one. You’ve created a paid-for course and I’m suggesting you give part of it away. It’s one video. One. You can do that. It works the same way as the book chapters: they see you in action, they like your style, they’re going to buy the whole course and learn everything they can from you.

So what’s it going to be? Are you going to create a newsletter, a price guide, a checklist, a printable or give away a free sample or credit? Let me know.