Learn how to build a targeted email list, why bigger isn't always better and why a smaller email list might even save you money.

Pair down and target your email list

• It may not seem very intuitive, but you actually want people to unsubscribe from your list. Sometimes people sign up for the freebies but they don’t open your emails after that. 
• The more targeted your list, the more deliverable your email and the better open rates you will get.  
• Paring down your list saves you money and helps you make more money, especially if you are paying by the contact on your list.
• If you are spamming people that aren’t engaging or opening your emails, over time it may hurt the deliverability of your email.

How small is too small?

• We all start at zero. Start building your list and today. You’ll own your list and no one can take that away from you. 
• If your average open rate is about 30% and you have a good conversion rate of 2-3%, think about how many people need to come into your funnel, opt-in, open your email and convert. 
• Obsess about your open and conversion rates, not necessarily the size of your list. The larger your list gets, the lower your conversion and open rates will be. Work on the quality of content you’re sending and the way you’re segmenting your list.

Attract the right people to your list

• Build really good lead magnets and freemiums that will attract your ideal community and audience.
• Know who you want to attract and what they want. Ask them or do a poll and build lead magnets around that. 
• You want to attract the right people. While your product may have a broad appeal, it’s not good for everyone. You’ll be more successful if you can appeal to a specific audience and speak to an individual when you’re writing copy. 
• Attract the right people and repel the wrong ones. It keeps your list smaller, but it has a better opt-in rate, open rate and conversion rate which leads to more income. 

Engage with your list

• When people trust you and look forward to your emails, you’ll have better open and conversion rates. Focus on adding lots of value to your emails. 
• Smaller lists make it easier to connect with your audience, but you don’t have to turn people away.
• In general, keep your list tight and small and limited to the people that are really interested in your content and potentially being your customer. This will make it much easier to engage and interact with them.

Tools, links and apps mentioned:

• How to Hit 1M with a List Under 20K
• 10 Time Tested Ways to Increase Open Rates

Take Action

Download our free spreadsheet (Google Sheets) for that allows you to plug in your own numbers to determine how big of a list you will need to meet your goals. Sign up here for our weekly updates and we will send you free gifts like this one, plus our weekly episode reminder. Fill out the form below and you will be sent to the form instantly!

How to reach Kami:

If you’d like to learn more about Kami Huyse, visit her website at www.zoeticamedia.com. You can contact her by email at [email protected] or tweet to @kamichat.

How to reach Madalyn:

If you’d like to learn more about Madalyn Sklar, visit her website at www.madalynsklar.com. You can contact her by email at [email protected] or tweet to @MadalynSklar.

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