Your email list isn’t big enough (at least, that’s your opinion)!

You want a bigger email list. I totally get it.

Let’s say you have a small email list (<5000). Countless bloggers and gurus will happily cheer you up and make you feel good about it, saying you can still make thousands of dollars and all your dreams will come true. Right? I’m not like them, and I’m not that kind of person; I prefer addressing realities and fixing the problem.

Instead, I’m going to tell you flat out, you need to grow, and you need to mimic your list of buyers to find more exactly like them.

Telling a blogger that they can make a ton of money with a small email list is assuming an awful lot, honestly. They’re making the assumption that 2-5% of that list will actually buy into what you’re selling, because that’s essentially what you need in order to have a six-figure income as a blogger selling $1000/email subscriber. The assumption is also that 2-5% of your email list has the funds to be able to invest in your work. What if that number is more like .05%, like 25 people?

The Reality of Trying to Make Income with a Small Email List

Let’s suppose you’re able to sell a $1000 course to those 25 people. That’s $25k. But then what? You’ve made that money, but now you’ve tapped that list out for income for several months. If you’re looking for consistent income, you’re going to have to find more people like those 25, and continuously grow your email list.

Allow me to level with you for a minute.

Small email lists can be mighty ones, but admittedly, bigger email lists foster bigger results. More income. The probability statistically is simply higher that you’ll make more income from your work. Let’s set aside all those blog posts saying that you can do amazing things with a small email list; the reality is that bigger email lists produce more revenue. And that’s the bottom line. So you need to grow, and find a way that works best for you, your brand, your time budget, and your finances to make that all work and come together.

Ads and Missed Opportunities for Email List Marketing

Whenever I’m working with someone who has a small list, I often discover a few things that could be growing their list like crazy. Opportunities (that are free) not taken, and those irons should be struck first while you’re hot. Resources and search mediums are often not being used even though they actually work. Trying to target a population because it’s a popular medium rather than a medium that is rich with disposable income.

Typically, entrepreneurs I have worked with or have written solutions for have posted their lead magnets only on social media, and have even taken out ads (thus, paying for something you don’t actually need to). Lackluster results followed, and ad spend resulted in a few leads with no conversion. And, getting their own existing list to subscribe to a resource add-on has often ended with fruitless results.

Lead magnets once posted don’t get set to repeat. Instagram feeds not showing the mockups of covers in each 9-grid setting. I mean, if you’re making bank and are gaining 500 subscribers a month and retaining over 80% of them, by all means, this post is not for you. But if you’re under those numbers, and want to improve, I may just have some ideas.

So if you’ve been posting sporadically, taking out ads, and haven’t been getting consistent results, and STILL have a small email list (<5000), this one is for you.

Diagnosing Why Your Email List is Still Small

Things like this scenario are not uncommon. It’s a growth issue, a money issue, scaling problem, getting your lead magnets and offers in the right position and areas, figuring out where your audience truly hangs out, while also providing perceived value.

I’ll help you DIY-diagnose your problem, and we’ll start with these simple questions, but just know that in “The Story Your Email List Tells“, I provide a lot more questions, quick solutions, and activities to do to fix these problems.

• Is the email list growth issue one related to scaling your business?
• Are you placing your lead magnets in the right places where disposable income is prevalent?
• Are you promoting the right kind of relevant lead magnets that promote your business?

Here’s a few things to know about not having enough subscribers on your email list:

1. You don’t need to be taking out ads to be successful in growing an email list. Don’t get me wrong – you certain CAN take out ads, but there’s no absolute NEED to. There are already people out there interested in what you have to say and want / need the kind of expertise you offer. What you need to be doing instead is aligning your lead magnets and products where a) people are searching for it and b) people have the money to spend on it.
2. Growing your email list correctly—finding the right kind of people, not buying into pre-fabricated email lists or “sharing” newsletters, impressing your audience enough to stay tuned to your messaging, adding 500+ people each month, managing a solid metric of 80% retention, and aligning your lead magnets with your products for ongoing revenue—takes time, effort, consistency, and steady review of results so you can make changes needed.
3. Posting a lead magnet as a means of offering something in exchange for an email address requires that the lead magnet be something of value that cannot be gained somewhere else. There must be some level of exclusivity and perceived value, and you must overdeliver on your promises by providing quality content.

Ideas for Email List Growth

While your need for growth and fixing what’s happening with your strategy goes beyond getting a myriad of ideas and implementing them, consider starting with these ideas. Each of them is a great way to start building an audience that is engaged with what you have to say or offer.

• Mini course or challenge
• Webinar
• Discount code
• Hosting a survey
• Implementing a quiz
• Giveaways
• Free download (lead magnet)
• Group or exclusive community

But suppose you’re doing all of these things, and you have been posting like crazy to get people to sign up. But they don’t. What else could be going on? And why might your new subscribers be unsubscribing the minute they get signed up for your email list and download your lead magnet?

Going to level with you here – all the great ideas above are not going to fix your email list growth problem alone. When I was growing my own email list, there were a bunch of things and behaviors with my list that I had to figure out. So I put together “The Story Your Email List Tells” as a way to help you identify, diagnose, and figure out what your specific problem or challenge may be. Plus, it gives you tasks and goals to work on and attain as you improve your email list situation.

This is a 160+ page interactive guidebook that walks you through specific email list challenges and provides 10 solutions/activities to work on for each situation. Plus, you’ll learn metrics you can work on and what to look for, how to encourage more sales from those lurking & downloading, but never buying, and how to set up workflows that combat inactivity, low open rates, download dashers, and more. And finally, you’ll learn an easy to implement system to get your funnels organized, and create a smooth transition from one to the next.

10 challenges with tactical & strategic solutions for the creative email list marketer. A 100+ page interactive guidebook to help guide you through 10 different email list challenges, including:

• Not enough subscribers (list isn’t big enough – I need list-building help)
• List never grows and shrinks with every email (list growth doesn’t outweigh unsubscribe rate)
• Unsubscribe right after freebie (download and dashers)
• Downloads all freebies and resources but never buys (lurking but never investing)
• No sales from emails (no one is buying)
• Low open rate (are my emails boring or lack value?)
• Low email to blog rate in nurturing sequence (no one reads all my helpful tips and added value content)
• My email sequences are all out of whack and unorganized
• I’m not telling any stories in my emails (not relating to my audience)
• I’m not selling unless I’m emailing (need help with nurturing and nudging)

Inside you’ll receive activities, tactical solutions, and a larger strategy to make your email list building and management effective and easy.

You’ll learn:

1. What the problem seems to be (the cliche response) versus what the problem actually is
2. Tactical steps to improve each scenario
3. Strategies to implement that will align your brand with a bigger picture result
4. Metrics to shoot for at various stages (beginner, advanced, intermediate)
5. Goals (both long- and short-term) to work on each month
6. My own story with each challenge and what I did to correct them (a behind-the-scenes look at my funnels, stats, and more)
7. Workflows to set up to conquer download dashers and set up rewards-based system to give favor to your most loyal readers
8. What to check in diagnosing any of these challenges
9. How to test and measure results
10. Quick fixes (for the short-term results) and long-term solutions (for achieving those big dreams of yours)
11. Other thoughts and suggestions I’ve given clients I’ve worked with and implemented myself that have been helpful

Ready to finally solve your email list growth challenges once and for all? Download the guidebook today!