List Building- what's in it for me

At the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, you are most likely focused heavily on list building. Depending on how long ago that was, we may be talking about newsletter lists, then social media following, and now newsletters are once again moving to the forefront of digital marketing strategies. List building back then was a little easier, your inbox was inundated with emails, and receiving some carefully selected newsletters from time to time didn’t seem oppressive. Now, getting someone’s email is much more of a challenge. We’re all tired of getting spammed.

But people still want to receive amazing content, and a newsletter received with regularity is easier for most than remember to check a blog. Of course, everyone prefers to receive content in different ways, and I’m a newsletter kind of person.

Now that you’ve been in business for a while, and you’re experiencing success, list building has moved to the back burner. Of course, you’re thrilled when your social media following goes up, you get more views and a few more likes on your posts, but you’re not “concerned” about it. List building is no longer your focus. After all, why add one more chore to your never ending list.

Here are our top 5 reasons why list building is ALWAYS important, no matter what stage of your business you’re at:

1. The most obvious of course – staying top of mind. Your client base may be good now, and maybe you want to grow one day. Plan for the future, if you lose a client, you’ll want a list to promote to. Publishing regular content to fresh subscribers is the perfect way to keep your opportunities open.

2. A little extra income – did you recently host an online event that was recorded? Have you been writing whitepapers that can be turned into an ebook? Do you have a speaking engagement or book being released soon? Having an engaged list can make all of these endeavors easier to promote.

3. A little affiliate/passive income – while you don’t always want to be selling to your list, choosing a few opportunities to promote thought leaders you admire, while potentially also receiving an affiliate income, is pretty sweet passive revenue. Just choose your opportunities wisely, and in line with your brand.

4. Your email list is yours. Social media should be a part of your digital marketing strategy, and the channel you choose to focus on largely will depend on your target market. But what do you know about your subscribers? Can you promote to them directly and segment them? If Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn are offline, how do you contact your followers? Circling all of your digital marketing efforts back to your website to a lead magnet, blog, or newsletter sign up, ensures that you have your list, and can gather metrics (open rates, purchasing patterns, etc.) of those individuals. Don’t neglect your list.

5. It’s not as hard as you think. Many entrepreneurs are hesitant to add another item to their to-do list. You’re already serving your clients, marketing, networking (online and/or in person), trying to write your blog, trying to post regularly on social media, and NOW we’re telling you to create a lead magnet and a newsletter when you’re trying to find time to sleep. We get it. But I’ll guess, that you’re sitting on more content that can be repurposed, right now, then you think. A comprehensive (and low maintenance) digital marketing strategy is easier than you think!

The main takeaway – more prospects are a good thing, and list building is not as difficult as you think to implement. But this, we feel, is the most important part. Your message is important, and making it more available with a focus to reach a wider audience, only serves to benefit them, as much as it may benefit you.