Amyporterfield_kickstartemaillist1_createcontent_emailsubscribers.pdf

How to Kickstart Your Email List To Grow Your Online Business PART 1: CREATE WEEKLY CONTENT AND EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

© AMY PORTERFIELD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

How to Kickstart Your Email List To Grow Your Online Business How to Kickstart Your Email List to Grow Your Online Business is the ultimate guide that will show you how to attract a bigger audience, supercharge your email list and build real relationships with your subscribers. The focus of this strategy is to help you build momentum in your business, so that when you launch your products and services, your audience is ready to buy. The only way these strategies will work is if you commit to showing up consistently. I can show you the steps to take, but you have to take action to make it happen. You might be thinking, “When should I start?” The answer is NOW. The sooner you start intentionally growing your email list with potential customers, the faster you will grow your online business. List building is the kind of thing we all should have started yesterday, so today is the next best time!

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I want you to think of this as the way you do business. It’s not something you only do right before you launch — it’s something you engage in EVERY SINGLE WEEK. It should become part of your business. It’s HOW you do business. Commit to attracting new subscribers every single week, so that you can eliminate any unnecessary mindset drama around list building, and instead just make it happen! Before we jump into the step-by-step plan, let’s look at the big picture...

How to Kickstart Your Email List to Grow Your Online Business

STEP 1: CREATE YOUR ORIGINAL CONTENT (blog, podcast, video)

STEP 2: EMAIL YOUR SUBSCRIBERS WITH A LINK TO YOUR NEW POST

STEP 5: SHARE YOUR CONTENT AND LEAD MAGNET ON SOCIAL

STEP 3: CREATE A LEAD MAGNET

STEP 4: CREATE A STAND-ALONE OPT-IN PAGE AND THANK YOU PAGE

STEP 6: ENGAGE IN REAL CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR AUDIENCE (on social, in groups, etc.)

© AMY PORTERFIELD AND DIGITAL COURSE ACADEMY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Why This Is Important The goal of this training is to help you build momentum while you’re creating your digital course and before you begin your launch. Building your email list and nurturing it week by week will help you move into your launch with ease and confidence, knowing your audience will be ready to buy. This training will help you...

01

Attract More Social Media Followers We all know that most online engagement — the back and forth conversations — happens on social media. It’s important that you build your social media following in advance so that when you’re ready to fill up your webinars, your social media audience feels connected to you and is ready and willing to dive deeper into what you have to offer.

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02 Attract More Email Subscribers The energy of your business is directly tied to the quality of your email list. You don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of email subscribers to have a healthy, profitable email list. This training gives you the benefit of building relationships over time — rather than jumping into a conversation with them cold when you’re ready to sell your course — and is designed to up your “know/like/trust” factor.

03

Prime the Pump Your potential customers will begin to hear from you more often. “Oh, it’s an email from [insert your name here!] packed with value!” Over time, your email subscribers will get accustomed to opening your emails, or watching your Facebook Lives, or seeing you pop up in their Instagram Stories, all of which is a great rhythm to get into before you kick off your launch efforts.

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Keep These Words In Mind Consistency: You are in this for the long-haul. When others get impatient and start looking for the “magic bullet” to make things happen faster, you are going to continue to move forward. The most successful way to build trust and connection with an online audience is to keep showing up. Make this your non-negotiable. (Side note: Consistency is great for audience building, but it’s also a fantastic way to build your confidence and skill. The more you show up, the better you get.)

THE THREE C’S

Community: You do not need everyone to pay attention. In fact, you need just a tiny sliver of the online universe to take notice. Let’s put this into perspective. If 100 people watched your next Facebook Live, you would likely think, “Just 100 people showed up. Ugh! I need to build my audience.” However, if you then invited those same 100 people to join you at your house for a free training session, now those people are real and sitting in your family room. . . you would likely think, “Yikes! 100 people?! That’s a lot!” Puts things into perspective, right?! Stop chasing big numbers; instead add value, and wow those that are right in front of you, waiting for you to show them the way.

Conversions: OK, so 100 people viewing your next Facebook Live is awesome. However, 100 paying customers . . . that’s next level awesome. As an entrepreneur marketing your business online, you must focus on conversions. First, you want to convert your audience into email subscribers by offering something of value so that they sign up for your free lead magnet. From there, after you nurture the new relationship, you want to convert your subscriber to a webinar registrant. Once on your webinar, you want to convert your webinar attendee to a paying customer. This all takes time and intentional effort; but remember, you are in this for the long-haul and the payoff can be huge. You’ve got this.

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How to Kickstart Your Email List

STEP

01 Create and Post Original Content Weekly This is a BIG one, because nothing helps build raving fans like delivering content for them once a week, whether it’s a written blog, podcast, or videos. When you’re in front of your potential customers every week — when they’re listening to you, watching you, or reading your words — you are making a connection with them and building a relationship. Your audience is getting to know you through your weekly content, and this is where trust begins to develop. If you get stuck on what to create for your weekly blog, podcast or video, think about where your audience is right now. Where are they struggling? What kinds of questions do they ask you? What can you teach or share with them that will inspire, empower and educate?

3 Things to Keep in Mind: Don’t platform-switch. Don’t do a blog post one week, then a video the next, and then throw in a random podcast episode the following week. Stick with what you do best and what best serves your audience. One platform is best. Stack the value. This should be some of your best content. Don’t hold back. Brainstorm in advance. Acknowledge their pain and desires. Your weekly content should directly speak to the challenges and struggles, or desires of your audience. It should also inspire and educate. Remember: You want to be their go-to solution; and to do this, you have to let them know you know what they’re going through and you’re here to help. PAGE 7 | AMY PORTERFIELD.COM | © AMY PORTERFIELD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

I know you have enough content ideas in you right now — use the two-month content calendar template on the next page and push yourself to brainstorm 10 ideas in the next 20 minutes. Think about the questions your audience is asking you. Check your calendar to see if there is something timely (like a holiday or special event) you could talk about that’s coming up in the next eight to ten weeks. Don’t overthink it, just start creating. Once you get into motion, it becomes easier. To learn how to create a few months of content in one sitting, listen to episode #250: How to Create a 3-Month Content Calendar, where I break the process down step-by-step.

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#10

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OMME Podcast amyporterfield.com/319

Small List Strategies For Generating 5-Figures Launches with HollyAnne Knight

June 11, 2020

Ex.

#1

PLATFORM / LINK TO POST

TOPIC/TITLE

PUBLISH DATE

WEEK

NOTES Student Success Story DCA Pre-Launch Runway

Two Month Content Calendar Template

STEP

02 Email Your Subscribers Weekly With a Link to Your New Content You’ve done the work of creating your content, so you want everyone on your list to know it’s ready for consumption! Email your list each week with a direct link to your new, original content on your website. Link directly to the blog post, or show notes for your podcast episode or the page with your new video. (Note: Make sure to link to a specific page on your website, not to YouTube or iTunes—you want the traffic going to your website for the SEO boost). One other bonus for sending the weekly email to your subscribers: You’ll get a lot better at copywriting as you communicate with your audience each and every week via that email.

3 Things to Keep in Mind: Get creative with emails. Experiment with your opens—try a story, or a series of questions, or an example from one of your students. Test your copy so you can see what people gravitate toward. Try A/B subject lines and different pain points, and make a note of your open rates and click-throughs. Remind them to look for your lead magnet in your emails. If your weekly content happens to include a mention of a lead magnet, include that in the P.S. of your email. For example, in my weekly podcast emails, when I have a free resource with my weekly content, I make sure to tease my audience with the cool resource they have waiting for them in my shownotes ;-)

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To learn more check out my podcast episode #229: The Power of the P.S. Strategy. To get those creative juices flowing, following are two examples of emails I’ve sent to my subscribers. Take a look and get to work!

EMAIL EXAMPLE #01

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EMAIL EXAMPLE #02

Check out the second lesson and guide in the How to Kickstart Your Email List to Grow Your Online Business training, where I walk through the next two steps in the framework — Step 3: Creating an Irresistible Lead Magnet, and Step 4: Creating an Opt-in and Thank You Page.

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