Email marketing is probably one of the most important things you can do in terms of developing an audience and growing your fan base. In fact, self-published author Tom Morkes generated $12,979 in 30 days from an email list of 1,599 people. The money is in the list, and it’s one of the best ways to build a loyal fan base. But where does one even start with generating a loyal following and email list? We created a step by step guide on how to build your email list, so you can start building yours today.

Step #1:

Create a landing page along with a freebie you would be willing to share with your target audience in exchange for an email address. This can be an E-book, a free course, or consultation. Anything which your target audience would find valuable. We recommend utilizing the following tools to create your landing page and freebie. 

1.LeadPages– Leadpages has many free templates for any freebie you would like to create, from webinar sign ups to E-book sign ups. It also has integrations with many email platforms such as Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign, and much more. We recommend signing up for the free trial to see if it works for you.

2.Canva– Canva is a free tool you can utilize to create E-books, presentations, and much more. There are so many amazing pre-made templates you can use.

3.Demio- While we use Zoom for our free online workshops, I would personally recommend to anyone to try out Demio. Demio is an online webinar software which automatically allows you to create polls and send notifications before the webinar occurs. It has a free trial, so I would recommend checking it out to see if it works for you. 

Step #2: 

Sign up for an online email provider. Located over here are a list of email providers which compares cost, price, etc.. We personally use Constant Contact because the platform has an easy to use interface and great customer service.

Step #3: 

Create an automated email sequence. An automated email sequence is a sequence of emails which is created and scheduled ahead of time. Once someone sign ups for the automated email sequence, they will automatically receive your sequence of emails on the dates and times you schedule them to be sent. You can also set up email triggers, which is when an email is sent out based on a beavior’s interaction with an email. For example, if an individual clicks on a link which says consultation, they would receive a follow up email  (which was preplanned in an automatiation sequence) to schedule a consultation for your site. We recommend following this guide over here from Campaign Monitor on how to create an email marketing campaign which will convert your audience like crazy. 

Step #4:

Find online groups where you can provide valuable information (and these are online groups where your target audience will be). Located below are my favorite online platforms and communities, where individuals are more than happy to interact with you and provide information.

    1. Quora– Quora is a forum community where people ask questions about any topic, ranging from book publishing to eating. Once you sign up for a Quora account, you can answer questions and link to your landing page.
    2. Facebook Groups- Facebook’s algorithm is automatically favored towards Facebook groups, and less more towards Facebook pages. We recommend either joining Facebook groups, or creating a Facebook group of your own around a particular topic or theme related to your book. For example, if you are writing a book about how to combat OCD, I would recommend finding or creating groups about how to deal with OCD.

Step #5: 

Last but not least, drive traffic to your landing page. One of the best ways you can drive traffic to your landing page would be the following methods:

    1. Facebook Ads- If you know how to run Facebook Ads well, it’s a great way for you to grow your email opt-in list and also build more brand awareness about your book. However, if you don’t create a Facebook funnel, do the right A/B testing, or create the right ad copy, your Facebook Ads are not likely to convert, and you can risk burning through a lot of cash. We linked a course which goes over step by step how to successfully run Facebook Ads, so you can replicate it for your own business as well.
    2. Incentivize your audience to share your landing page in exchange for a reward. For example, if you incentive people to share your landing page, in return, they can receive a free chapter or copy of your book.
    3. Share your post in Facebook Groups, and see if anyone would be willing to optin to a landing page in exchange for a free webinar, workshop, etc.. Again, find Facebook groups and online communities which are active and related to the theme of your book. Remember that when you join a group, don’t constantly spam or only promote your content. Comment on other people’s posts, create engaging questions, and put yourself in the position that you are going to help people, not sell to people. No one likes being sold to, but people love free content and helping authors like yourself.

How have you been growing your email list? Let us know in the comments below and we would be more than happy to assist you.