Are you ready for some shockingly simple warp speed email list building secrets?
Then you’re in luck because I’ve got a couple of clever marketing tricks up my sleeve that are bound to give you great results. Plus I have a fantastic free email list building gift for you at the end of this post!
I’m going to cut right to the chase: Ana asked me to write this for you, sharing some ideas I had early on in my blogging journey for monetizing your email list building.
While those ideas were great, I’ve also learned some new strategies along the way.
So today, you are going to get the skinny on how to use your most important piece of email list building real estate–your “Thank You” page— in not one, but two very powerful ways!
But, first things first:
What’s your email list building plan?
If you don’t have one, your first step should be to figure out what your ultimate goal is for building your email list.
a. Is your email list building goal to generate leads for your home based business?
b. Do you want to build a list and monetize it with affiliate offers?
c. Do you want to build an email list to sell your own products or services?
d. All of the above?
e. None of the above?
Everything you offer to your email list, starting from your blog content, irresistible offer, and everything else in your marketing funnel need to be RELEVANT to your ultimate email list building goal.
It must also be a message to market match, meaning that what you offer has to be something your market is hungry for.
Three Email List Building Steps:
Step 1: Your Free Offer
Your email list building system needs to start with your irresistible opt-in offer.
If you’ve not yet downloaded Ana’s irresistible offer, what are you waiting for?
It’s the perfect example of a valuable piece of content that solves a problem for her readers, and gives them actionable steps that will result in more targeted web traffic for their site.
The goal for your irresistible offer is to get your readers in the door, so you can absolutely blow them away with your brilliance and then follow up with more helpful products and services.
You must over deliver in your free opt-in offer, so that your subscribers will think, “Wow! If her free content is this great, I can only imagine what her paid content is like!”
Step 2: Your “Almost Free” Offer
Now it’s time to leverage the spellbinding power of your thank you page!
Your next step is to follow your free offer with an almost free offer on the thank you page after your readers subscribe.
It should be something that is related to your free offer, that compliments it, or something that will enhance your subscriber’s results.
The goal with this almost free offer is to leverage your subscriber’s momentum and help them to take that next step into doing business with you right when they’re super excited about getting your free offer.
Not everyone will take you up on this, but the ones that do are likely to become loyal customers. Especially if, once again, you over deliver on the value the offer contains.
I can hear some of you, clever marketers, asking, “How much should this almost free offer cost, Heather?”
While I can’t answer that for you exactly (that’s what split testing is for), I suggest you start somewhere between $7 and $47 for this initial offer, so that your subscribers are not having to take a big “risk” when they’re making their first purchase with you.
(BTW: There is magic in the number 7 for purchased made online. Study after study and split test after split test confirm this, so go with the flow and pick a number that ends in 7 for your almost free offer.)
Step 3: Follow Up with More Value
You will want to continue to deliver value through your follow up emails that is relevant to your free offer and that makes the case for the value of your almost free offer.
Show examples of the benefits it will give them, share what it has done for others, and don’t forget to tell them how to get it.
Almost Free Offer Ideas for Your Email List Building Funnel:
- You could offer a physical version of your free offer (great because you’ll get their physical mailing address too!)
- You could offer a free consultation or coaching session
- You could offer an eBook, audio, or training video
- You could offer a trial to your membership program (giving you possible continuity income)
- You could offer a bundle of your best blog posts or articles in one place so they don’t have to hunt for them
Two Things Your Free Offer and Almost Free Offer Must Do:
Your free opt-in offer has to overcome the fear of failure in your reader’s mind.
They’ve probably opted into many, many lists and we all know how cluttered our inboxes can get with offer after offer. (I bet you’ve had subscriber’s remorse a time or two yourself.)
- You can overcome this by providing social proof and testimonials from happy subscribers and customers.
- You must offer a rock solid, no risk, guarantee. (Even on your free offer!)
- You can pile on the value with great bonuses. (Yes again…even on your free offer!) These don’t have to be difficult; things like a transcript for an audio download, a checklist, or a list of resources will work great for bonuses.
You must also give people a reason to take action now on your free offer or your almost free offer.
People who click away from your site without subscribing are not likely to come back and subscribe later.
Make sure that you’re giving them incentive to take action NOW.
- Have a clear call to action and tell them exactly how to get what you’re offering
- Create some scarcity, like taking away some bonuses after a limited time, or only offering a free trial to your membership for a certain month, or offer some fast action bonuses for a certain number of people who subscribe or purchase first
Another Email List Building Strategy for Your Thank You Page:
If you are really wanting to focus on email list building in a big bold way, and you are willing to hold off on the monetizing of your list for your follow-up email autoresponder sequence, you are going to love this idea!
The viral “Tell a Friend” script, referral marketing at it’s finest, is something I’m sure you’ve seen other marketers use before. Gurus like Mike Filsaime and Frank Kern use them and you’ll see hundreds of other clever marketers using something similar.
Basically it is a program that takes the one-in/one-out process of opt ins and turns it into a one-in/many-out system. When someone opts in they get taken immediately to a tell a friend page where they are offered a special gift if they refer others to the opt in page!
“But Wait! I have another free gift I’d love to give you. You probably know others who would love _____! Enter their names and email addresses in the form below to send them a link and I will give you ________!”
Can you see how powerful this could be?
The downside to the email list building tell a friend script: It’s not allowed by biggies like Aweber because they see it as spam since the people receiving the email have not asked for it.
I so badly wanted to use it on my blog! For those of you who don’t use Aweber, and your email provider allows tell a friend forms, I’ll give you the links on my blog to both of the tell a friend scripts I have. They have awesome potential!
But if you’re an Aweber user like I am, fear not! I’ve shared on my blog another clever marketing email list building tip, very similar to the tell a friend script, that will give you way more exposure, more blog traffic, back links and subscribers, in the most perfect of win/win scenarios!
Please come say “Hi” to me on CleverMarketer.com and check this clever marketing idea out for yourself!
So tell me, new friends: what you think?
Please share in the comments below your email list building struggles or secrets, and of course, please share this on social media so we can help build Ana’s list, as a thank you for all the incredible value she shares with us!
Heather C Stephens
Heather C. Stephens is passionate about helping other business owners successfully market online! You can find her on her blog, Clever Marketer.
Thank you Oliver, for your thoughts! You’re right that we need to always know what our desired outcome is before we do anything.
Heather
Hi Heather,
You emphasized two things which really stand out here for me.
Continuing to provide value after an offer is made is great because it allows you not just to continue a relationship, but to then strengthen it.
Also, determining goals for each of the steps you take is so important. After all, how do you know if you are succeeding or not?
Great post. Have a good day!
Thank you Mark!
I’m very glad you were able to take away some value here! 🙂 It seems to always come down to relationships, doesn’t it?!
Have a great week!
Heather
Hi Heather,
Besides the fact that I just like you because you’re one of the nicest people I know online :)…. I also love how you always deliver Value with a capital V.
This post is no exception – clear, logical and excellent advice for anybody to maximize their email list building campaigns. I know I have a few tweaks to make thanks to you.
I don’t know if it’s just me but I am usually far more attracted by the almost free offers rather than the free ones. Maybe I have come across too many free offers that were not even worth being free.
~Marcus
Thank you Marcus, the feeling is mutual.
I agree with you on the almost free offers. I feel the same way, that there are lots of freebies out there that aren’t worth even being free. I also think that someone who jumps on an ‘almost free’ offer is likely to actually read it, watch it, or consume it and get value from it, than the free offers that sit and take up space on someone’s hard drive never having been implemented.
Thanks for your comment!
Heather
Hi Heather… Here’s the thing about freebies… depending on the niche you’re serving (Internet marketing in particular), people can become jaded to the whole freebie thing. So – like you said – you really should include testimonials, even on freebies. There’s no substitute for an abundance of social proof. They do help ‘make the sale.’
Nice!
Dahlia
Free isn’t free, is it Dahlia?
Especially with email inbox overwhelm, that we all struggle with, subscribing to a free offer has to out-weigh the feeling of vulnerability in giving up our email address. I believe that our free offer is as much of a “sale” as a $97 product, so we should treat it as such, with testimonials adding content.
Great comment, thank you!
Heather
Hey Heather,
Excellent post on list building. I know there are some things I need to implement into my business plan right away.
I can’t wait to try out the new forum on clevermarketer.com should be fun 🙂
Thanks for your insights Heather and Ana for having such great content!
Ian,
I’m so glad to have you in the forum and glad to have your comment here! Let me know how things go for you after you get done implementing the ideas you liked here!
Thanks for the comment,
Heather
By offering something free of cost is really great way to attract lot of people to sign up. It’s the best way to start your email list building.
Heather, you know I think you ROCK! …and that was before I read this post! 🙂 Read this one twice and I have some implementing to do now. Love it when you can take away an action item from a blog post. Ana, bring her back again!
Awww, thanks, Dani! I appreciate that! I love how much of an action taker you are! You are the one who ROCKS in my opinion!
Keep up the awesome work!
Heather
Heather,
I like the way you use your thank you page, making it simple and interesting. You already have the subscriber in the mood to get something free and you quickly turn them into a buyer.
Nice plan.
Thanks Shelia!
That’s the goal. And even if they don’t become a buyer right away, as most probably won’t, we can still build a relationship with them and lead them to that buy button later on. 🙂
Appreciate the comment!
Heather
Oh Mine! This is not another LIST BUILDING SECRET!
This is the REAL LIST BUILDING SECRET!
With all the goodies laid down, I wonder if anyone will not want to join such mailing list. I particularly love the idea of using almost free techniques like offering audio version, etc. That alone build credibility.
What more can I add? NOTHING other than the fact that reading this will not do you any GOOD. Taking ACTION WILL BRING THE DESIRED RESULTS!
Tim.
This is my TRIBE!
Wow, Tim!
Thank you SO very much for the raving comment! I’m thrilled you loved it and so excited you’re joining our tribe! You’re 100% right that reading doesn’t help one bit…taking action is the only way forward!
Glad to have you,
Heather
Hi Heather,
Wow, wow, wow! What more can I say? Honestly, I’m speechless…
Fantastic list building strategies you’re sharing here. I have seen “gurus” making the most of their “thank you” page, why am I not doing the same? That’s a real estate, not utilised by many of us!
I can’t wait to hear about what you have up your sleeve over at your blog, I’m headed there now, but I need to catch a breath first… Lol! See you there!
Amazing guest post – well done my friend! 🙂
All the best,
Mavis
P.S. Ana – thanks for inviting Heather to share this with us.
With all the amazing ideas you come up with, Mavis, I highly doubt you’re speechless! 🙂
Glad I could return the favor and share a great tip with you that you’re not already using. I always learn something on your blog!
Thanks for the comment!
Heather
Yea Mavis ,
Thats so true, your thankyoupage is real-estae that not alot of use use and its really targeted..
Same principle if a customer is going through checkout buying one of your products and you put some optionsal products to buy on the order page..
Cheers
Yo Mavis,
Thats so true, your thankyoupage is real-estate that not alot of use use and its really targeted..
Same principle if a customer is going through checkout buying one of your products and you put some optional products to buy on the order page..
Cheers
Precisely, Jack.
Jack & Mavis,
I think we can all take a lesson from Amazon on this one, don’t you? Others who bought ___________ also bought ___________. 🙂
Heather, aloha. Thx for your well defined plan. Reading this post, you make it seem so easy.
Earlier today when I read your post, I went over to Clever Marketer, joined your community and downloaded the free software. Mahalo nui loa.
Heather, I truly appreciate you sharing so generously of yourself and knowledge. I look forward to learning from you and, as the song says, “getting to know you.” Aloha. Janet
Hi Janet!
Thank you so much and I look forward to getting to know you as well! I hope you can get some benefit from the plan and the free download. I’m going to spend some time fiddling with it, after I can catch my breath with all the stuff going on in the mastermind. 🙂
Glad you decided to join us!
Heather
Thanks for sharing so much valuable information Heather. You have gone beyond just a few valuable tips here to include some real “meat and potatoes” of list building. These suggestions are great ideas, and really get my wheels turning on ways to use these on a couple sites I am working on now. Thank You too Ana for all your list building information you have provided. I have a lot of reading to catch up on !
Thank you Tom!
I appreciate that and I’m glad I gave you food for thought! Please let me know how the ideas work out for you!
I’m still trying to get caught up on all of Ana’s amazing list building goodness myself. Great stuff, huh?
Heather
Hi Heather awesome tips. I really like the nano-continuity aspect you are building in with your “almost free” idea. Great way to monetize. And if people don’t take you up on it, you can always mention it again in your autoresponder sometime down the road.
Hi Robert!
I’m glad you liked the idea! 🙂 I take it that you’re a student of Ryan Lee as well? Great training, huh?
I totally agree that not everyone will take the offer right away. It takes time for some people to develop the trust, but it costs nothing to offer and nothing to keep them on your email list until they’re ready for more.
Appreciate the comment!
Heather
The nano continuity product he released is the first product I’ve purchased from Ryan. I liked it and am already putting it into effect along with my other strategies. Good stuff there.
Glad to hear you’re liking it as much as I did, Robert. He’s got great content. I bought his continuity summit training a while back as well and learned a lot! I’m planning to implement one of the evergreen systems very soon.
Awesome post! Love when all the puzzle pieces start to come together, and this article really did that for me. I can’t wait to implement these strategies on my site. With much gratitude– Nanette
Hi Nanette!
I’m honored that I could help you put some more of the online jigsaw puzzle together for you. There are a lot of components to building an online business, but the fun part is implementing each of them, knowing that you’ve just leveraged yourself a little bit more.
Baby steps…
Heather
Hi Heather,
Really great tips for email list building. The points you have mentioned are very simple and can be easily followed as well.
Thank you so much for the comment, Riya. Glad you stopped by!
Hi Heather-
Love the idea to offer a almost free consultation to go along w the free offer. Nice!And I completely agree that the offers have to blow them away to get the excitement building about the value and utility of your paid products.
I’m a psychotherapist, so I’m wondering if you have any advice for ways to lessen the stigma of looking for mental health services online. My blog posts are down-to-earth, non-jargony, w a fair amount of humor. I guess I’m wondering about appearing too salesy, since what I offer does not translate into increased $ in someone’s pocket…
TY:)
Hi Linda,
Great question! Have you followed any of Tellman Knudson’s training? He works a lot in the list building arena of course, but he also helps people with Adult ADHD. His hyper focus course really helped me to leverage my strengths and look at what I thought as a weakness as a gift.
I wonder if there is a way to approach what you do in a similar way to what Tellman does?
Another thought, after a quick glance at your very fun blog, it looks like you focus frequently on with women with families and it looks like a lot of it is how to prevent issues from happening.
So your question is outside my area of expertise, but putting my adhd brain on it’s favored “storm” setting. Could you approach taking care of our mental health in a way that is similar to going to the dentist? You need to do it so you don’t ever REALLY need it.
Think of the pictures in the dentist office of horrible teeth, painful swollen infected gums contrasting to the beautiful similes. What a motivator to shell out $100 bucks twice a year for every family member when they’re not having any issues. Same deal with getting your oil changed and taking care of your car. It may be running fine, but we all know that it won’t continue to do so if we don’t maintain it well.
Could you somehow apply that same concept to what you do? Helping people to avoid years of therapy, by addressing the little issues before they escalate.
No your rewards for your services are not going to end up with dollars in someone’s pocket, but they definitely help people and will pay off in the long run with something much more valuable than a buck or two.
What do you think?
Heather
I think that is some mighty useful and appreciated marketing advice, Heather. TY for taking the time to check out my site and offer your suggestions from a marketing standpoint.
Yes–we don’t need to go to the dentist until we really NEED it. I like the tip of approaching the ‘how to avoid years of therapy’ angle. Now if I make that into an eBook title, I’ll be sure to attribute, accordingly;). You also gave me an idea for a post, or something “Maintaining Mental Health.”
This is so awesome–just love this site! Off to check out Tellman Knudson…
Thanks again, Heather!
Linda,
I’m so glad that my thoughts weren’t way off base. Since I’m not very familiar with your niche, I wasn’t sure. Hopefully you found some ideas with Tellman. He’s a great marketer with a huge heart…a little crazy with is boy-ish style and love of action figures, but fun to follow.
Good luck…let me know how it goes, please!
Heather
Thanks for the post Heather. Well I must be doing something right as I do implement these methods already.
As for the tell a friend script. Yes I am with Aweber so can’t do that tactic. Oh well never mind.
Cheers
Craig
Hi Craig!
I was bummed when I learned Aweber didn’t approve, but although I’m not positive, I’m thinking that the Frank Kern one would be okay because you’re not emailing anything to anyone. It generates a link that you can share in social media or email from your personal account to a friend and if they confirm then you’ll be sent your gift.
I’m going to try it out when I can focus on setting it up and see how it works!
Glad to hear you’re doing this all already! Kudos to you! 🙂
Heather
So how exactly does the Frank Kern tell a friend tactic work. I have seen it mentioned a few times. I suppose it is like a viral report but a bit more social. You will have to let us know how your finds go and a little training would be very much appreciated.
I also have another idea to help boost your subscriber list. Create a cheap report $7 to $12 and set up an affiliate programme giving away 100% commissions. The report is at a level that most people can afford. Of course it needs to be packed with great content.
Affiliates will love to promote it at such a cheap price and for 100% commission they are happy to. You will be building your subscribers list with no extra work. Well apart from recruiting more affiliates. I see it as a win win situation.
What do you think Heather or do you have something similar in place already?
Hi Craig!
I LOVE your affiliate idea! That’s fantastic. May I ask who you use for your affliate tracking? I was thinking of idevaffiliate because it links nicely with my membership plugin, but I have not tried it yet. Wonder if you have a recommendation?
As far as the Frank Kern thing, I give a simple breakdown of how it works on my blog. I’m not seeing why it would be a problem with aweber, the more I look at it because it generates a link for someone to share, and their friends click through the link which takes them to your lead capture page.
I am going to try and figure it out when I get things settled in the new blog marketing forum. I did give it a go earlier this week, but I didn’t have enough brain bandwidth to figure it out. I was afraid I would mess up the API notifications between Aweber and my membership site that are already set up.
If you’re wanting to give it a try, there training on the link I shared to download the Frank Kern software. I think about 3 or 4 videos walking through how to set it up.
I’ll be sure to report back with my results!
Have a great weekend, Craig! 🙂
Heather
Thanks Heather!
I am glad you like the affiliate idea, but as always these are ideas which I have in my head but don’t get round to setting things up. So I do not have any affiliate tracking set up.
There is a $7 secret script which you can use and pay affiliates direct to their pay pal accounts as well as more software like Rapid Action Profits. I do have the $7 secret script but not set up. Also you could add your products to another affiliate programme called Digi Results created by Andy Fletcher.
It’s a little like clickbank but you get paid instantly for any sale. No $100 or $50 threshold, also paid instantly into your pay pal account.
Hi Craig,
Thanks so much for the tips on the affiliate programs. I’ll look into them soon!
I appreciate your help!
Heather
Great post Heather. I’m visiting your blog right now.
Before that, I just want to tell Ana that I can’t retweet this post using the box since I get this message: /2/authorize Invalid / suspended application.
I’ve tried a few times. Maybe it only happens to me.
I’ll RT no matter what. This “List Building week” certainly deserves to be promoted. Kudos Ana!
Cristina
Hi Christina,
Thanks for the comment! 🙂 Hope you enjoyed my blog! It was a fantastic list building week and brilliant of Ana to pull it all together…
Heather
Great Post..
Never thought of using my thank-you page like that..
Will definetly stop by heather to say what else uve got including that great tell a friend idea..
Cheers
Jack
Thank you Jack! I look forward to seeing you on my blog! 🙂