15 Tactics to Grow Your Email List

An email list is a great opportunity to build up a community of people that are invested in you! As an author, you wrote a book for a target audience that you wanted to help in a specific way, and an email list is a great resource for those you want to help!

An email list doesn’t need to be intimidating, in fact, it might just be one of the more fun parts about being an author! You don’t need an email list to be a great writer or have a successful book, but if you want to grow the number of clients you have, find speaking opportunities, or become a thought leader in your industry, an email list is a great way to start. 

So how do you start? Here are 15 tactics that are sure to grow your email list. 

1. Offer Them Something They Will Profit From 

Your subscribers don’t want spam or boring updates, they want high-quality content that will help them out in the future. Tutorials, free assessments, or unique opportunities that provide immediate value are great examples. Offering your subscribers a free automatic assessment will make them interact with your page more and draw them back. For example, you could have a button on your page following a call to action, “Is your marketing strategy reaching the right audience? Take our free assessment!” Once they’ve answered the questions there are two courses of action: collect contact information and email them the results, or give them their results immediately and you offer a free download of your book and can collect their email address in exchange for the download link. 

2. Offer Your Subscribers A Quiz

Curiosity is a sure-fire way to attract customers. Provide a quiz that is surprising or will let them learn something along the way. Surprise your readers with an opportunity such as: “You could be earning 2 times more than what you are earning now! Take our quiz to see how you can improve your work ethic and nail a management position at work.” Offer them your book so they can learn even more!

3. Create Worksheets

Offers of additional content often entice readers. If your book gives lots of advice, why not have a worksheet that will help your readers put that advice into action? Ideally, your worksheet will go along with your book’s content, but it will also guide readers towards your ultimate product or service. 

4. Downloadable Templates

In place of a worksheet, you could also give your subscribers a template. This will help them see the value of your insights. For example, you could offer a creative brief template to help marketing teams or offer a business plan template for startups.

5. Provide Information In A Timely Manner 

Getting the latest scoop on industry news, best practices, or other timely issues? People love to be in the loop. You can offer your email subscribers the latest and most important information in the industry. However, this tactic tends to be very time-consuming, so make sure the information is something you are already researching. 

6. Emphasize Partner Offers And Discounts

Email growth happens much faster when you are part of a community, utilizing your partner discounts will help not only them but also you! Have influencers or colleagues refer their subscribers to your email list and you do the same. Both parties will profit. However these offers should cater to your target audience, or they won’t have the desired effect. 

7. Give Weekly Insights And Inspiration

Insight and inspiration have a very wide application, but they are especially great for authors of how-to and self-help books. You can connect people to your book’s content and help you sell your book and brand. 

8. Webinars And Mini-Courses

You can provide a valuable mini-course that is connected to your book’s content and ultimately the thing you are selling. Remember that quality matters even in a free mini-course. Your readers are going to be more willing to pay for a content upgrade or longer course if the information of your mini-course is of high quality.

9. Create List FOMO 

Once you have a pretty good following, you can use your stats to create FOMO (fear of missing out). People don’t like to pass up valuable opportunities. If you convince them they are the only ones missing out, they are more likely to sign up. 

10. Get Creative With Resources And Giveaways

Readers want immediate information and value. Think about your target audience’s needs, and what kind of information and resources they value. Many companies compete for customers’ attention. Make sure that what you are putting out is worthwhile to your readers. 

11. Appeal To Affluence And Status

Most people want to make money and increase their social status. Money often leads to status and status often leads to opportunities, which often leads to more money. Appeal to potential customers or subscribers by offering them content that will help them achieve these desires.

12. Offer Reassurance

People want to feel confident about their prospects, and they want to feel good about who they are. Weekly affirmations and daily inspirational quotes are good for audiences seeking reassurances. If you are catering to an audience with a lot of fear and anxiety, show them how your newsletter will give them advice to help them.

13. Focus on Time and Convenience

Saving people time or making their lives more convenient provides them immediate value. Things like life-hacks are powerful, if convenience is important to your audience, focus on how you can help them reclaim some time from their busy lives. 

14. Provide Pleasure

One of the most powerful motivators is pleasure and it is also one of the most flexible when it comes to content. There are tons of options when trying to please your audience. Things like a joke, a cartoon, feel-good stories, and even cute animal pictures. Anything that will bring a smile to your reader’s face. Make sure to keep it connected to your ultimate sell, the purpose is to bring in more conversation and customers, not just providing happy content. 

15. Focus On Personal Empowerment 

People want the motivation to do the things that are going to help them. By providing tips or exercises on a consistent basis you can motivate your readers. Connect the tips to your book’s content so people can know how your advice connects their daily lives.

After you have your tactics set up there are only two more things to do, make sure you have a good sign-up or opt-in page that collects someone’s contact info and allows you to send them freebies. All that is left after that is to spread the word. There are so many ways to have information travel. A few examples include: Ads, emailing your friends and family, adding it to your social media profiles, reaching out to influencers and media, and asking people for leads. 

If some of your tactics don’t work at first, don’t give up! These are things that you must actively manage. Look at any failed attempts as an opportunity to do more research on your audience and how you can help them!