Are you looking for ways to make money with your blog? I got you. Besides immediately adding affiliate links to young blogs, building an email list can help you monetize your blog early on.
Most bloggers earn six figures from selling products to their email subscribers; you, too, can make it. So, whether you launched your blog yesterday or are a seasoned blogger who has postponed building an email list, this guide is perfect for you.
Keep reading to explore how to build an email list for your blog. You might also enjoy reading: How long does it take to make money on a blog? (With tips to earn money faster!)
What Is an Email List For a Blog?
An email list for a blog is a list of email addresses you collect as a blogger from:
- Readers who love your content and want future updates
- Customers who have purchased your product and opted in for updates
- Potential customers who have received a free product for a series of emails.
Your readers or customers give you their email through a sign-up form on your blog site because they expect you to send them emails on special promotions, new blog posts, helpful insights, and other relevant information.
Now, let’s tackle the second question.
What Is The Purpose Of an Email List?
Why should you go to great lengths to build an email list? The benefits are worth the price. I have already stated that you can make money from your email subscribers (more on this later), but there is more.
Here are additional benefits of building an email list for your blog.
- Increased traffic: High web traffic is a priority for most bloggers, and the email list is the fuel to drive it. When you notify your subscribers of a new blog on your site, they click to check it out, sending a positive signal to Google, thus boosting your traffic.
- Increased engagement: Your subscribers are readers interested in your business. An email list allows you to reach them personally, allowing them to engage more with your blog. In turn, increased engagement leads to customer loyalty and better brand awareness.
- Better blogging strategy: The data you collect from email subscribers like their interests, location, gender, age, and preferences can help you improve your content strategy.
- Monetization opportunities: I promised I would come back to money matters, so let’s discuss a few ways to make money with your blog email list.
- You can sell your products or services to your subscribers, who will likely buy because they trust you. Alternatively, you can use data you’ve collected from the emails to personalize affiliate promotions and recommendations.
- You can even sell your email list should you decide to change careers.
- Build a community: A community of loyal readers and followers strengthens your brand authority. With engaged email subscribers, other industry players’ listen to what you have to say.
Now that you know what an email list is and why it is vital for your blogging business, let’s move on to the gist of this article.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Building an Email List
I believe you are looking for this information because you want to launch a blog. But even if you have an existing one, it is never too late to start building and growing your email list.
If you are starting, I recommend you read the 14 free blogging tools for beginners and how to use them and 10 high-demand blog topics you can start to choose your ideal blog niche.
You’ll then buy a domain, pay for hosting services, and set up a WordPress blog. Self-hosted WordPress blog is suitable for serious bloggers who want to make money online.
And besides self-hosted websites, you can check out this article on the 3 best blogging sites. If you have launched your blog, here are the steps to building and growing your email list.
1- Select a Suitable Email Marketing Service
The first partner you need is an email marketing service provider to help you email addresses from subscribers. You need a good email marketing platform for easy life down the road.
Fortunately, you have different options to choose from. However, before jumping into any platform, research well and find a suitable one with features and prices that meet your needs.
For me, I am a big fan of ConvertKit because:
- It is easy to use for newbies.
- Its rules and visual automation help segment and target specific audiences.
- It grows with your business, allowing you to meet your evolving needs
- You can also automate your email marketing with ConvertKit.
- It comes with a wide range of landing page templates, enabling you to promote your newsletter.
- You have a free month trial before committing.
2- Continue Creating Value-Pack Content
Have you subscribed or signed up for an email? Why did you sign up? The chances are you loved their content and wanted to catch the next article the blogger published.
People sign up for your email because they know you’ll give value. And one way to provide them with value for free is to publish value-pack content that solves their problems.
So, invest in your blog posts and ensure you publish super-value, well-organized, and easy-read content. Your blog should answer specific questions for your potential subscribers and address their search intent.
While sometimes, you may think that you know a topic well. I recommend diving deep into research before you start writing before you type a single word.
Identify your keywords, and research the first 5-8 articles on Google to write an outline. Then make H2, H3m, and H4s independent research topics. Ensure you address your audience’s pain points.
After writing, give the draft at least 12 hours before you begin editing with fresh eyes. Refine its structure and format for easy reading and Google ranking.
3- Provide Freebies Incentives
Freebies nudge undecided potential subscribers on edge to hit the sign-up button.
What can you include as opt-in freebies for your subscription? Use content upgrade, standalone freebie, or both. For instance, incentivize your reader with different blog writing templates besides offering free content.
Your copy would tell them to provide their email addresses to receive the free template. Most new bloggers will part with their emails because they value your content and want similar results for their blogs.
Your freebie can also be a free advanced media kit Canva template to help your subscribers design their images and infographics.
Other freebies you can offer include:
- Insightful case studies
- Blog writing checklist
- Related free online course
- A webinar
- Ebook
4- Strategically Place Your Opt-in Form
Now that you have a freebie idea, the next question is, where do you place the opt-in form? You want most people to subscribe after seeing the value they are getting from your blog.
The best place would be in the middle of a relevant blog post.
For example, if you have a post with the title: Are Keywords Still Valuable for SEO? your opt-in freebie could be a “Keyword Research Cheat Sheet” that provides readers with a quick reference on how to find keywords for free to improve their website.
In the cheat sheet, you could include tips on how to identify keywords, tips for choosing the right keywords, and a list of tools for conducting keyword research,
Alternatively, you can promote the freebie as a content upgrade at the end of a related blog post. Remember to promote the blog on relevant social media groups on Facebook and Pinterest.
5- Design Your Email Content For Your Subscribers
Now that you have some subscribers, what do you include in the emails? You could send them a newsletter or notify them about your new blog, but that can be boring if done weekly.
I suggest you plan to incorporate exclusive tips, informative interviews, and promotions.
6- Send a Series Of Onboarding Emails
Having your first couple of email subscribers is exciting. But what do you do next?
Send them a series of follow-up emails.
For example, assuming that someone signs up to access your freebie, the first email could have a link to the library. You could then send an email introducing yourself, what you do, and what your subscribers will get.
The sequence can be short or long, depending on your goal. Begin with several valuable freebies before selling your product or service.
7- Send Weekly Emails
Email marketing is not a one-day affair. Your subscribers signed up because they value your thoughts, so ensure they do.
However, you need to show balance. If you send daily emails, your will annoy your subscribers, and they could even unsubscribe.
On the other hand, weekly emails are manageable. You will not experience burnout and your subscribers will remember your brand favourably.
Also, if you wait too long, subscribers will forget who you are, which is not good. Provide them with valuable freebies, and they will stick around to be customers.
8- Sell to Your Subscribers
The reason for building a community of email subscribers is to sell to them. However, some bloggers experience shame in selling their products to their followers.
You are in business, and your subscribers are your first market. They trust you because you provide valuable content, leverage that trust, and sell useful products that solve their problems.
Maintaining an email list involves spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a month. Surely, you have to make money to finance this expenditure.
But what if you are a new blogger without a product or service to sell? You can sell other people’s products. You remember we mentioned the affiliate link in the introduction of this article. Join an affiliate program and start generating passive income through affiliate links.
And when your email list has grown, and you have expertise in your niche, you can sell an online course.
Note: I will not do you justice if I don’t prepare you to expect some people to unsubscribe once you tell them something. Don’t feel bad. It is okay. While some people will unsubscribe, many others will also buy.
9- Remove Cold Subscribers
You can send the best email with killer hooks, but some subscribers will not open your email!
If you have many of these subscribers, it sends a signal to your email subscribers that your emails are spammy. That means all your emails may end up in the spam folder for any new subscriber willing to buy from you.
The inaction of cold subscribers is costing you money!
What can you do? Remove or purge them from your list. Do this after every few months, and you will see great success.
What to read next:
- 9 Unique Ways to Do Keyword Research Without Tools.
- Can a Blog Have More Than One Niche? (Yes! and here’s how!)
- 7 Blog Headline Writing Tips That Get 10x More Clicks.
Bottom Line
Building an email list for your blog is the best decision you can ever make if you want to monetize your content. If you write and publish valuable blog posts, include an opt-in sign-up to get your readers’ emails.
Every time you publish and promote stellar content, include a call-to-action (email subscription). Plan to build an email list before launching your blog. This way, you get immediate benefits with limited friction.