Expert Round-Up Topic: What Strategies Do You Use to Build Your Mailing List?
HEIDI RICHARDS MOONEY
One of the most effective strategies I use to build my mailing list is to give people a reason to continue the relationship after our first encounter. My books, websites, magazines, speaking engagements, online communities, directories, and events all create different entry points. Rather than simply saying, “Join my mailing list,” I try to offer something useful in return—resources, information, introductions, opportunities for visibility, or invitations to upcoming articles, events, and collaborations. I believe strongly in cross-pollinating audiences. Someone may first discover me through an article, podcast, speaking engagement, or book and then subscribe to a newsletter, attend an event, or join one of my communities.
I’ve also found that one of the best ways to grow an audience is to help other people grow theirs. Through communities and platforms I’ve created, including Women in Ecommerce and My Pink Pages, I give entrepreneurs, authors, podcasters, and other professionals opportunities to share their expertise and increase their own visibility. In the process, relationships grow organically and people have a reason to stay connected. I don’t necessarily want the biggest mailing list; I want a list of people who genuinely want to hear from me. My philosophy is simple: visibility may introduce you, but value gives people a reason to stay. Every time I create something, I ask, “How can I make it easy for the right people to continue this conversation?”
Heidi Richards Mooney is the author of The Expectant Author: A Trimester-by-Trimester Guide to Writing and Delivering the Book Inside You, a publisher, and The Word Architect™.
LAURA DOMAN
I have authored chapters for anthologies and use the books as credibility boosters when running my masterclasses. On occasion, I have given them away as prizes at conferences after my speeches or when I’m sponsoring an event. I build my email list through these masterclasses, from lead magnets hosted on my website or offered at summits where I’m a featured speaker, and through my networking partners who help promote my events to their email lists.
Laura Doman is an author, speaker, and masterclass instructor.
DAVID COSTELLO
The most common misconception I observe regarding mailing lists is that all participants of the list subscribe to the list for the same purpose. A good mailing list is not one list. A mailing list is a group of people who have raised their hands for different purposes. As far as non-fiction books are concerned, the natural entry point is provided by the content of the book itself. Each main issue addressed in the book can become a natural entry point to the mailing list of the author through articles, checklists, templates, assessments, guides, etc. It is crucial not to forget the very motivation for subscribing to the mailing list. When someone subscribes to the list to get a free checklist on a certain issue, they do not need to be getting the same generic series of letters like everyone else. They need a continuation of what led them to subscribing to the mailing list.
David Costello is the founder of editing.services.
SAMARA BETH
At Samara Beth & Co., we don’t chase followers. We build trust first, and the list follows. Our biggest win has been networking and speaking, whether at in-person or virtual events. It feels personal, not like a form they’re filling out for no reason. People are far more likely to sign up when the ask feels connected to something they just read or watched, instead of a random pop-up on a website. We use QR codes on banners, in my books, on lead magnets and links on my digital business card, which I text to everyone I meet. The second piece is giving people something worth trading their email and phone number for. When someone comments or DMs a word like “WIN” on social media, our system sends them a direct message with a link to join our list and many of the times receive a free lead magnet or strategy zoom appointment. We built a workflow from our digital Ovou business card that “zaps” (with Zapier ai) their provided information to our CRM and my phone.
My book, Win Your Brand plays the same role. Readers who want the tools behind our “W.I.N.N.I.N.G. Brand Framework” or “Networking Your Way to Wealth” sign up to get them, which means the list fills up with people who already trust my voice before we ever talk. That’s the real secret. A mailing list isn’t about the number of names on it. It’s about how many of those names know and trust who you are. We aim for omnipresence across as many platforms as possible.
Samara Beth is the author of Win Your Brand and the founder of Samara Beth & Co.
MARIA CHAPMAN
I am a ghostwriter and author who helps thought leaders write their books and develop profitable business ecosystems around them. The email list building process is one of the most important steps an author can take and should start as soon as you decide to write the book, thank you for writing about this for your audience. Some of my strategies are listed below.
I coach my clients through a couple different strategies for building their list and I find it best to use a few different ones to capture different segments of their readership.
- Offer an ethical bribe. The marketing world calls these lead magnets, but I think ethical bribe has a better ring to it. This should be something unique to you that ties in with the book. Many authors hesitate to give away too much for fear people won’t then want to buy the book. I urge my clients to consider that the more they give away the more they develop trust, and the easier it is for folks to then pay for their goods and services. The ethical bribe should be on your website with an email collection form; you should use it every time you’re on stage speaking and have a QR code for it when you attend conferences.
- Podcast interviews are great for getting the word out about your work and your book. I like using sites such as Pod Match to find podcasts in my niche. If this is one of your strategies, have a free gift for listeners so you can capture their email addresses, rather than just having them listen to the episode and then bounce.
- When my clients attend trade shows in the niche and have an exhibit table, I encourage them to have a raffle of something related to their book. One of my sexual health clients raffles off a basket of self-care supplies. People are entered in the raffle by providing their email.
Maria Chapman is the author of The Power of the Pivot, the owner and CEO of Connected Ghostwriting, LLC, and the host of the Business Words Podcast.
