So you started your business and now everyone's telling you that you should be building your email list... except you have no clue how to get email subscribers!

'I wish I'd started mine sooner!' they say...

'Email is where you'll make most of your sales' they promise...

So you find yourself an email service, you hook it up to your site and you've got shiny new sign up forms everywhere... you've even added a pop-up!

But no one's biting.

So what next? What's the missing ingredient?

How do you get those elusive first 100 subscribers?

Knowing who your ideal clients are won't just help you to get email subscribers. It's one of the key foundations you'll need to grow your business.

After all,  you don't want just anyone on your list, you want people who are actually interested in what you have to offer and who are likely to buy!

What type of people are you going to target?

What are their interests?

Do they share similar demographics?

What are their frustrations?

What are their dreams?

What is it that makes them ready to invest in your service?

The more detail you can build around who your ideal clients are, the better you'll be able to speak to them and to create something of interest to them.

In the right hands (ie. those of your ideal clients), email marketing is the most effective way to build a relationship with your audience - and to make sales.  In the wrong hands, you're just another nuisance email to be cleared out of someone's already overcrowded inbox... 

If you try to target everyone, you'll end up attracting no one - so don't miss this step and get really clear on who your ideal clients are.

Now you know your ideal clients inside and out, you know their biggest frustrations and challenges and you're in the perfect position to find a quick win for them.  The emphasis being on the word 'quick'.

You see, you're going to create a no-fuss solution to that one bug-bear that they've all been telling you about.

Think checklist, blueprint, template or swipe file...

Once they have their eager little hands on your freebie, they're going to be able to take action straight away.  You're giving them a quick win and they'll love you for it.

Once you've decided what quick win you're going to offer your ideal clients, it's time to put it together!

My all time fave resource for creating fab freebies is Canva. Although there's a paid version, you won't need it for this so just sign up for the free option and have a play!  It's super easy to use and you'll be addicted in no time...

Here are a few key things to remember when you're putting together your lead magnet:

This is the page that you'll send people to so that they can sign up for your freebie.  

A landing page is slightly different from a normal page on your website because it doesn't (or at least shouldn't) contain the usual menus, sidebars and other distractions that form the layout of your other pages.

For this reason, you'll need to use a landing page service.  If your budget is tight, then don't worry! Many email services such as ConvertKit, come with landing page builders as one of their features.

In case you're wondering, I use Thrive Architect which I LOVE.

Now, no pressure, but your landing page is going to be a pretty vital element which determines whether or not people are going to subscribe, so here are a few key things to remember:

Ok, now you've created this awesome quick win for your peeps, it's your DUTY to let them know it exists!

If you already have a following on social media, then this is a great place to start when it comes to sharing your freebie.  These people already know who you are and have shown an interest in what you have to say.  They're what's described as a 'warm audience' and they're the people who are most likely to subscribe.

You'll want to create an eye-catching post to tell them all about your freebie.  Remember, this is a social media post, not an ad. Keep it chatty and informal - and don't boss people around....

There's so much wrong with this statement... it's not giving any info on what the freebie is and what it will do for your audience AND it just looks spammy and promotional.  This person doesn't care about me. They just want downloads.

If I saw this in my feed, I'd keep on scrolling - wouldn't you?

See the difference?  This version sounds like your chum. They've just created something in response to people's questions. How KIND! Ooh, and it's going to give me their secrets to writing emails.  Where do I sign?

Finding other groups in your niche is a great strategy to help you connect with your ideal clients. Search out the groups where they hang out and then join them and offer value.

See what I said there? Not 'spam your content' or 'drop your links and run'.... 

Add value. Answer questions, provide helpful content (in a non-smug and self-promotional way) and where appropriate and allowed, tell people about your freebie.

Whether you blog, podcast or make videos, you're going to want to include your freebie as a 'content upgrade'.

This works best when the content itself relates to the same subject as your freebie.  You can give them tons of juicy value in your blog post/podcast/video and then for those that want more - you can tell them about your fantastic free gift and voila - new email subscribers!

This strategy works brilliantly because your audience are already interested and engaged.  Signing up for your freebie is the next logical step...

Want to see it in action?  Well, this post is all about how to get email subscribers, so an appropriate content upgrade might be a cheat sheet which tells you how to create a great welcome series once people do sign up...

And as luck would have it, that's exactly what I've gone and done...

PS. You'll see here that I've added the sign-up form directly into my blog post.  This means you don't have to do any extra work to get your cheat sheet.  If you have the functionality to do this on your blog - then do!

If you're using guest content such as guest blogging as a strategy to grow your audience and authority then good news! It's also a great way to grow your email list.

You will be allowed to include a link in your author bio.  In most cases, people link back to their home page - but you're going to link to your landing page!

Make sure that the post you're writing and the freebie you've created are connected.  If you're writing a post on how to make cupcakes, then your freebie about the top 10 soup makers probably isn't a great fit...

By keeping the two closely connected, you can even make reference to it in the post itself (where your host's guest posting guidelines allow).

Last, but not least, you need to measure your success!

Chances are, you're not going to get everything perfect first time... but that's fine because you're going to measure each stage of the process and you're going to test, test and test again to see what works and what doesn't.

No one visiting your landing page?

Perhaps you haven't created a freebie that people wanted?

OR perhaps you're just not communicating its value effectively.

People going to your landing page but not signing up?

Then it's time to look at that landing page! 

Try a different image

Change the colour of your button (seriously, that can have a real impact!)

Use a different call to action

Or write new copy to describe the benefits (benefits, remember? Not features...)

Follow these steps and you'll have your first 100 subscribers in no time.

Now you just need to keep them interested... There's nothing sadder than seeing those hard-earned subscribers unsubscribing...

So HOW do you keep your subscribers engaged and loving your emails?

By writing an awesome welcome series of course!