How to Grow Your Email List

An email list changes everything.


If you never ask, the answer is always the same.


This post is about the importance of email and the one thing you can do to start building (or enhancing) your list.


First a story.


During a recent exploratory call with a potential client, when asked about their email list, they said, "Yes, I have one." Game changer. Suddenly the entire conversation shifted because this author had taken the most important element of platform building and was doing it.


Having an email list signals to us as literary agents that you take your platform building seriously. You are investing in your career as a writer and author.


“Email > Social Media”


Too often in conversations about platforms, writers focus on followers on a variety of platforms. Mark Cuban said it best when he described why this is a problem: “You wouldn’t build your home on rented property, so don’t build your platform on social media.” Email is the foundation you want to use when growing your platform.


Everyone has an email address. Not everyone is on TikTok, Instagram, etc. Building your platform on email is the best investment you can make when it comes to investing in your platform.


And here’s the great news about building an email list: Everyone starts at the same number of subscribers: Zero. Where you go from there is all about asking for email addresses.


“Everyone has an email address, not everyone has a profile on Facebook.”


A lot of authors will say, What’s the best service to use for email marketing? Easy answer: The one that works best for you today. So many authors get stuck on finding the perfect platform that they never start. Don’t get lost on planning for tomorrow when you can take action today. Action beats perfect every time.


Once you’ve done that, the real challenge begins: Building the list. And this is the fun part that people miss a lot: They don’t ask people for their email addresses. The best tactic is to ask. Let people know the good stuff is in your email. Save that gold for subscribers, and then tell everyone where they can get the best of your writing.


This is the trick that changes everything: Ask people to subscribe. Telling people you have an email list that they should subscribe to is a game-changer. Ask them on Facebook. Tell them about it on LinkedIn. And don’t forget to ask people to sign up for your email when they visit your website.


Doing nothing will garner very predictable results: zero. But just taking one small step, like making the ask, can begin growing your list and gaining momentum. Start there!!!


Take Action: Find out how to Work Smarter Not Harder to Build Your Platform


In our Grow Your Author Platform course you can learn how to reach readers, expand your influence, and direct your efforts to grow your author platform. Learn the answer to questions like: Should I use social media? How many followers do I need? Sign up for our Grow Your Author Platform course and find out more!

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