When you’re trying to grow your email list, it can be tempting to try the quick-and-easy route of buying a list of email addresses to bump up your numbers. Just like that—voila! You’ve got 5,000 names on your list! But, just because you’ve got the list, doesn’t mean you’ve got an audience tuning in to what you have to say.
Here are 3 reasons why it’s a good idea to grow your email list organically.
1. Email List Engagement Can’t Be Bought
Buying a list of email addresses and adding them to your list does not ensure that the people behind those email addresses will pay attention or buy what you’re selling. In fact, you’ll probably get a lot of unsubscribes this way, and maybe even an annoyed email or two. Think about it from your own perspective: how do you react when you somehow end up on an email list that you never signed up for? When it happens to me, I unsubscribe immediately!
Most people don’t like being added to an email list without their consent, even if it’s something they might potentially be interested in. In this era of overcrowded inboxes, people like to be in control of what enters theirs. Being added to a list unwillingly is often a big ol’ red flag—not the best way to start a relationship with someone!
Also, when you add random email addresses to your list, there’s no way to know if those people are in your target audience. So while your email list may grow, the number of people on the list who are genuinely interested in what you do may not grow much at all.
For example, if you’re a watercolor artist, you may think it’s a good idea to buy a list of gallery owners and shopkeepers—but the reality is that there may not be that many people on the list who are actually a good fit for what you do. There might be modern abstract galleries and western galleries and sculpture galleries on that list, none of which are actually helpful to you as a watercolor artist.
2. You’re the Best Person to Attract Like-Minded People
People who sign up for your email list of their own accord want to be there. They like what you do and are interested in learning more. When you put yourself out into the world of the internet, via social media, etsy, flickr, etc, you’ll begin attracting the people who are meant to be on your list. By being yourself online and engaging with people naturally, your list will fill up with like-minded people who love what you do.
And eventually those like-minded people might naturally begin to tell their friends about you, forward your emails to someone who’d be interested, rave about you on their own blogs, tell others about your list … these are your people. Your tribe. They gravitate toward what you have to say and how you say it. These are the people you want on your list.
Talk about your email list often. Link to the signup page on your website. Put a signup tab on your Facebook page. Let people know your list exists and why they might like to be on it! Your people will come, and the right people will stay, and they will help you spread the message you want to spread in the world.
3. Your Own Products, Services, and Expertise Can Be Enticing!
Growing your list organically gives you the opportunity to test different types of content with your audience. In actively trying to get people to sign up for your email list, you can test different incentives and see which work best to grow your list most quickly.
Perhaps if you’re in the business of selling something online, you can offer a 15% discount code on someone’s first order when they sign up (this is what I do!). Perhaps if you have a retail store, you can offer a special gift with in-store purchase only for email list subscribers. Maybe you’re a coach, and you can offer a free PDF workbook on a topic that resonates with your audience. The possibilities for enticing incentives are endless !
You can change up the incentives as often as you like, you can play with different types of email newsletter content, and you can ask people for feedback. Growing your list organically allows you to develop a relationship with your readers and in turn use that relationship to focus your content on what they want to hear from you.
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While it can be appealing to try to fill up your list as quickly as possible, and while it might even seem like a good idea if the list seems like a good fit for what you do (as in the watercolor artist example above), over the long-term, growing your email list organically will better serve both you and your audience. Over time, you’ll learn who your audience is comprised of and what’s attracting them to your list, as well as why they’re there in the first place. Then you can continue to give them what you have to offer, all while attracting more of the same type of people who want to the same thing from you.
It’s a win for you and a win for them! What’s not to love about that? Your list might not get as large as you’d like as quickly as you’d like, but you’ll have a much better quality list from the start.
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Jessica Swift, a full-time artist and surface designer in Portland, Oregon, is on a quest to inspire everyone on the planet to pursue their wild + colorful dreams … and never give up. Her magically uplifting artwork is licensed by companies and manufacturers for iPhone cases, fabric, stationery, and much more. You can find her colorfully creating and blogging online at JessicaSwift.com.