Nobody likes your posts on social media anymore?
It's not your fault!
It's not that they don't like you or like what you're saying...
It's the algorithm.
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Let me explain...
Do you know that on Facebook, only 5 out of 100 people see what you post on your page?
On your horse blog's page, I mean.
Most people on you page don't even see what you're posting.
The only way to let them see your posts is by running paid ads.
This is how Facebook made about 70 billion dollars in revenue in 2018, according to Statista.
They literally hire addiction experts to make sure Facebook users get hooked & that's how FB gets paid!
Despite the fact that there are over 2.7 billion monthly active users on Facebook as of the second quarter of 2020,
and that on average people spend about 3 hours daily on the platform,
when it comes to bringing your message to your audience,
email is still by far the winner in 2023!
Email does better...
Out of 100 people, 6 will see your Facebook post but about 22 may read your email.
That being said, most horse bloggers, are still not paying enough attention to email list building.
If you're like most horse bloggers, you're probably making a few common mistakes that are killing your email list building efforts.
I'll tell you about in moment.
But first, let's get clear on some basics...
One of the questions I get asked most often is:
What Is An Email List?
An email list is a list of audience' emails that you get through your blog. It's a list of your audience' email addresses that you can use to connect with them or offer them your products & services.
Why Do You Need An Email List?
Building an email list is important because you don't have to pay extra money for ads to reach your audience, prospects or potential customers. You're not just a status update or a scrolling feed that's gone in a few seconds; you're right in someone's inbox, where they receive other important communication from their work, family & friends.
How To Build An Email List On Gmail?
# 1 – Sign up or log in to Gmail the go to Contacts
# 2- Click the “+Create Contact” button on the top left corner of your web page
# 2 – Select “Contacts” that opens in a new window
# 3 – Click on the “Labels” drop down menu
# 4 – Click on “Create label”
# 5 – Write your new group's name
That's cool, but how do you get email addresses to fill these groups with?
How to Build Your email List For Free
There are several ways marketers use to build their email lists.
Or what digital marketers call "lead generation".
What is lead generation in digital marketing?
Lead generation is a set of marketing activities that are built as "stages in the buyer's journey".
It starts with driving visitors to your free offer, then converting visitors into subscribers & finally converting those leads into repeat customers or ambassadors for your brand.
Lead Generation Takes 2 Forms:
- Outbound or reaching out to "cold prospects" or strangers by cold calling, advertising & e-mail marketing.
- Inbound or attracting cold prospect or strangers to your brand by SEO, social media & PPC).
Here Are The Most Trendy Ways You Can Use To Build Your Email List For Free
(in 2021)
You can use one or a combination of these lead generation methods, that I personally use & recommend to generate thousands of leads to my brands (EquiJuri & EquiTraveler):
Quiz
A quiz is like a game in which you attempt to answer some questions.
You get a score based on your answer. Accordingly, you can be placed in a specific audience group, or client segment.
You can use a quiz to know your client or audience a bit better, get an insight about their preferences,
budgets, history ...etc.
Quizzes are fun to take. You can further entice your prospects to take it by offering them something in return, like getting access to all the results or another free present, report, checklist or template.
A very handy tool that I use to build quizzes is Thrive Quiz Builder. It's included in the Thrive Membership too.
Here are examples of quizzes that you can build with Thrive Quiz Builder:
I like to start the quiz with a simple question that my prospect would easily answer.
Like for example, are you a man or a woman?
Then a couple of questions that I want answers for like for example, what piece of equestrian clothing have you bought most recently?
Finally, I end my quiz with a funny unrelated question, that makes my prospect curious to get the quiz answer to discover what this is all about. Like for example, do you like to party every weekend?
Challenge
A challenge is when you invite or call someone to engage or take part in an online contest or competition, that takes place on your platform or Facebook group for a few days to a couple of weeks.
A challenge is A good Lead Magnet Because:
- Your prospect will know you better & engage with your content for some time.
- It's also one of the best ways to make your client feel what it's like working with you
- It helps your prospects make a transformation or breakthrough, or get unstuck.
For example: check out the EPIC Challenge with EquiJuri!
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Live webinar or workshop
A live webinar or workshop has the same benefits of a challenge, but doesn't take as much time.
Usually, it takes between 30 to 90 mins.
One of its great benefits is that you can engage directly with your prospects, live
which will help you know them better.
Live webinars or workshops also help you test your material & get live feedback from your prospect,
that can help you improve your teaching style, creative or material.
I like to use Google Meet for my live workshops which comes free with Google Workspace.
I read a couple of months ago about some security issues with Zoom so I'm more comfortable using Google.
For example: check out this list building live webinar or workshop:
=== Building Your Email List In 2021 ===Newsletter
Here are the questions I get the most about newsletters:
For example, check out our newsletter now!
What is a newsletter?
A newsletter is an electronically published piece of your created or curated content that you send to your prospect, clients or audience at large. A newsletter is sometimes also considered "grey literature".
Newsletters are normally sent on a regular basis in a unique brand format & design.
They can be free or paid.
Since your prospects are required to give you their email addresses to subscribe to your newsletter,
it's considered a lead generation tool in your marketing arsenal.
What's an email sequence?
An email sequence is a bit different that a newsletter.
It's a series of emails sent in a specific context. Like for example, to welcome a new client.
Email sequences Are commonly 2 types:
- Time based or triggered to be sent on pre-set time intervals.
Here's an example of a time based email sequence that I used to sell an exclusive showjumping clinic.
You can check out the details of the 3 emails that I've sent in this sequence here.
- Action-based or triggered based automation reacts to certain actions your subscriber took, like for example, a click on a link
An example of an automation that I'm using to deliver a Unicorn Coloring Book using ActiveCampaign,
would look like this:
You can see this automation in action from a user experience perspective & get the Unicorn Coloring Book for free here:
Do You Have Kids Who Love Horses?
Get your FREE Colouring Book of a sweet girl traveling on a unicorn
to see the 7 wonders of the world!
What's An email automation?
An email automation is a set of trigger based automations that reacts to certain actions made by your subscriber.
The easiest way to think about it is: an "if ... then" statement.
For example: if the recipient didn't open the email within 48 hours, then send another one immediately.
Or if the recipient opened the email, but didn't click the link in it, then send another reminder after 48 hours.
An email automation is a bit different than an autoresponder.
What's an email autoresponder?
An autoresponder is a script or code that automates email replies to specific inbound emails that share certain characteristics, like for example a certain date. The most common of which are these automatic responses you get when someone is on holiday.
Some people mix between autoresponders, sequences & blasts.
How does An email blast work?
Email blasts or bulk or mass emails is the strategy of sending a single email to a large number of subscribers (email list).
These can be your own list or a list that you bought or rented from an email list broker.
Sometimes, renting a list, doesn't mean you get the email addresses of the people on that list. All it means is that the email broker will blast his list with your email message.
These email blasts should abide by the CAN-SPAM Act or GDPR if you're targeting people in the EU.
They should also include an "unsubscribe" link & identify the person or business that is sending the email.
How can you use these email blasts to build your own email list, you may ask?
You could give them the option to exchange their email address with you for an exchange of something of value to them. Like a free report, case study, checklist, template or discount ...etc or any other type of freebie.
What digital marketers usually call bribe to subscribe or lead magnet.
Commonly, an email blast service is offered by an Email service provider company.
What's an email service provider?
An Email service provider is a company that offers email marketing or bulk email services to other people or businesses.
I personally use ActiveCampaign as it is the company that offers the best deliverability rates to the best of my knowledge. It also has automations that can run on autopilot, without you having to interfere in it once you've set it up.
Want To Learn How To Build Your Email List For Free In 2021?
Snag your seat at this Thrive Live Webinar to learn how to build your email list in the fastest & easiest way.
This Thursday 17th of December at 10 AM Los Angeles (that's Noon in NY & 7 PM in Paris).
It's going to be all about:
In This Live Webinar You'll learn:
- The mistakes that are killing your list building efforts and how to avoid them.
- The one strategy you'll want to apply in 2021 to build a list of qualified leads.
- The exact tech setup you need to use this technique.
Happy Email List Building!
EquiJuri
P.S.: The Live Webinar will be recorded & it will be available in Thrive University thereafter.
You can create a 100% FREE account here to enjoy all the virtual education & classes on Thrive University.
I recommend you join live so you can ask any questions you might have right then & there.