Growing your email list can be crazy lucrative.  Or crazy hard.  And sometimes both.  You’ve heard a million times to “grow your email list” but what does that actually mean?  Today we’re going to dive into 13 ways to grow your email list (that you may not have thought of yet, and certainly haven’t tried). 

1. Do a giveaway/participate in a giveaway 

I don’t know why this one came to mind first, but likely because I participated in one this fall and loved it! Giveaways are a ton of work if you’re the one hosting it — but the reward pays off when you get to go in front of everyone else’s audience and be the expert.  As a presenter in a giveaway, you get access to an audience you’ve never seen before and if you get your message in alignment with who you’re in front of, the opt-in rate will be astronomical.  I launched my Local Marketing Boss Guide — which you can snag for yourself for free at askmallory.com  to a group of online business owners from all over the world. Despite my topic seeming like it wouldn’t mesh — I know entrepreneurs are out there in the online space wondering how to get clients in their own backyard and that opt-in is STILL performing at 98% optin rate — which is crazy good. 

2. Create a freebie/optin 

This one feels really obvious — except it’s often overlooked because you have no idea either what to put out there that might actually attract ideal clients vs anyone. Freebies get a bad rap for being noise — but I love them. They allow you to introduce yourself, test a piece of your content out, take your lead further into the nurture journey and it costs nothing! 

3. Create a free report/education 

Yes, this technically is an optin, but the reason it gets its own special category is that it attracts a different type of audience and buyer when you’re creating reports and or educating. Reports carry weight, allow you to do polling and research, often have stats and case studies and are REALLY juice for getting people to opt-in…. that is again IF you are creating something your ideal person really needs/wants. This type of option is mostly used in tech and educational sectors, as well as stuffy corporate, so you can take the idea and make it stand out if you’re in a different market. 

4. Ask people to join your community/group 

I love this one! And for good reason. Women who join the #GirlBoss Club not only are amazing but exactly who I’m trying to help grow a business. Despite being on technology all the time, we are a disconnected people and we all crave community. Creating a community, whether that’s on a social platform or in real life is a great way to grow your email list. People who join your community get to know you even faster than those on your list — so when they join, it’s like lighting a match. They begin to show up more in the community and open emails more and respond. We all want these types of people on our lists. 

5. Create a special deal/offer/coupon 

This works for any type of business, but especially brick and mortar stores. People like to shop local if they’re already out, and they will make an extra effort if they have a coupon or special offer that allows them to get something at a reduced rate or for free. In other words, it’s the catalyst for bringing people to your storefront — which allows you to make a sale — not just gain a new subscriber. 

6. Invite people to get an advance notification on an event

Exclusivity is a powerful tool that can be used to inspire people to take action. And as you may have noticed, that’s a lot of what we’re trying to do with growing an email list. We have to inspire them to sign up, click the button, enter their email, join the thing. It’s not a passive event — which makes it so valuable to your business.  When you can tease an event and get people to sign up for a waiting list or to be the first to know —...