
In Episode 101 of the Email Soundbooth Podcast, Liz Wilcox shares a game-changing strategy to grow your email list without the need for a freebie. Liz dives into her personal experience and success with hosting events, like challenges, summits, and...
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What's up, Liz Wilcox here. You're listening to the email sound booth podcast, Lucky, Lucky me. This is episode 101. Or is it 101? I think 101 is grammatically incorrect. So yeah, episode 101. 101. One huge way to grow your list without a freebie. All right, folks, this is one of the most asked questions like, I hate freebies. How can I grow my list? And I started to make a list of different ways, but really the bet I want to just give you the best way I know how. Oh, and by the way, I'm doing this in the next few weeks because I also, I don't want to say I have a list building problem, but my list growth has slowed down. If you're new to me, I was on this crazy show called Survivor in 2024 and that was pretty much it was all consuming. And so my list didn't. My list maintained itself in 2024, but in 2025, I am coming back with a vengeance. I have so much energy, so much excitement for email marketing, for you, for you growing your list. And so I am doing this strategy and I think maybe you should try it too. Now, this strategy isn't what, what's the word I'm trying to say? I'm not going to say that it's hard, but it's not easy. It is something you're going to have to put a lot of work in. And it is like creating and hosting your own event. This is the absolute way to grow your list without a freebie. Host your own thing. Whether it's a challenge, a summit, an in person event, a bundle, a giveaway. This is the absolute, you know, hands down, number one way to grow your list without a freebie. Right? Because you are the one hosting. You get all the emails. So. So I'm doing this March 11th through 13th with list building Live. I'm going to put the link to the landing page in the show notes if you're interested in checking out how I'm doing it and also if you want to learn how to grow your email list. List building live, March 11th through 13th. But this episode is about you, not about me. And I want you to hear me out on this because a lot of people, oh, I'm not ready for that. Whatever, whatever. Look, if you want to grow your email list fast, this is a great way to do it. But you have to network or you have to, you know, put yourself out there and say, hey, will you join this challenge? Will you join this bundle? Will you do this or that, right? It's a great way. And hosting is a faster way to grow than participating, right? Because you're the host. You get all the emails. If I'm participating in your summit, maybe you get a thousand signups, maybe I get 10 to 100, you know, depending on the success of my one part in it. But if I host the event, I get the thousand and you get the hundred. 10 to 100, whatever, right? So consider hosting your own event now. I kind of fell into this when I was an RV travel blogger. It was, I don't know, about 10, 11 months into my business. I was taking email list building very, very seriously. And Facebook Live was this brand new thing, right? And I wanted to, you know, get engagement on Facebook. And with Facebook, events were brand new Facebook events. And Facebook Live was pretty, pretty new. Like, so new. They were running ads on cable for Facebook Live. Remember cable? I'm not a dinosaur, I swear. I haven't been doing it that long. Just technology is moving so quick, right? And I was like, okay, well, how can I build my email list and get Facebook engagement at the same time? And I was like, oh, I. Oh. And Facebook groups were also. I. I wouldn't say they were new, but they were like the new focus for Facebook. So I was like, what if I created this Facebook group and inside I just went live every day on a certain topic. It was RV renovations. And then while I was live, I tried to get people to join my email list. I tried to tell people about the virtual campground, which was my business back in the day. And it worked. It worked so well that I ended up recruiting three of my friends to host an event I don't know five weeks later called Full Time Freedom Week. And that spawned off into its own business that I later got bought out of that company. Now with Full Time Freedom Week, I was able to grow my list like crazy, right? We start, let's say we started just that business alone. We started at zero, right? We created a Facebook event. We got people to say they were attending the event. And throughout the event, it was like, hey, sign up here, sign up here, sign up here. Right? And we were able to get people looking at us because we had asked, you know, person A, B, C and D. Hey, will you come on and talk during this event? This was before, like, digital summits were a thing, right? And then during the event, I went live with almost every single person. I was live at least twice a day, sometimes up to seven times a day. And every time, I was promoting our email List, right? I was saying, you know, join the list and get abc. Join the list and get abc. I can't even remember what we were offering nowadays, you know, turns out we were doing it backwards, right? So nowadays with List Building Live, I'm saying, hey, sign up for List Building Live, and you're going to get the content, right. It's not going to be in a Facebook group or a Facebook events page. It's going to be via email, Right? It's going to be a private podcast. But you have to give me your email to get the private podcast. Right? And I'm hoping for at least a thousand new subscribers in the next few weeks as I promote it, as the people I asked to promote it, my affiliates promote it, the speakers promote it, et cetera. So, honestly, hosting your own event, especially something like a summit, is a great way to grow. I know a lady named Cherie, also from the travel industry that came into. Hang on, can I just be slightly ghetto here? My timer is going off. I'm sorry, y'all. Side note, I am on a lot of supplements right now for my allergies, so I have to set a lot of timers. But I'm not going to edit this. Okay? I'm going to keep going. I know a lady, another lady, Cherie Collier, she's actually speaking at my List Building Live, and she was able to grow her list from zero to over 3,000 with just one event. Okay? So that is a great, great way to grow your email list quickly. You can also do a challenge you could do. Excuse me, you know, again, host a bundle, stuff like that. Let me take a sip of water. Now this, I said it at the beginning five minutes ago. I know that this is more work than anything else, but it is also going to pay off in a big way. Even if you only got 200 people. Even if you only got a hundred, would it be worth a few weeks of work if you're just starting out? Yeah, probably. And the side effect to hosting your own event is that you become a sort of leader or emerging leader in your industry. Right? When I hosted my first event, RV Renovations Week, I was a nobody. And then suddenly everyone saw me going live and this Facebook group growing and my email list growing and everyone wanted to work with me. That's why it was so easy to get those three other people to try out full time. Freedom Week, my second event, that ended up being its own business, right? And that email list grew to, you know, 10,000 in just a few years by just hosting events. That was our only thing we did was once a year and it just grew and grew and grew. All right. So it is worth your while. All right. This is a really long episode for a really short, simple sort of piece of advice, so I'm going to end it again. I would love for you to see the progress I'm making, see what it's like to host your own event, what emails you need to send out, etc. Etc. So join me for List Building Live. It's going to be March 11th through 13th. The link is in the show notes. I would love to help you grow your list. Anyway, on top of you just seeing this tactic in action. So List Building Live link is in the show notes. I'm Liz Wilcox. As always, you're awesome and you're so capable of growing your list. I can't wait to see you do it. See you soon.
Summary of Episode 101: 1 Huge Way to Grow Your List Without a Freebie
Podcast Title: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox
Host: Liz Wilcox
Release Date: February 24, 2025
Episode Title: Episode 101: 1 Huge Way to Grow Your List Without a Freebie
In Episode 101 of The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox, Liz delves into a highly sought-after topic: how to grow your email list without relying on a freebie. Addressing a common pain point among online business owners, Liz presents a strategic alternative that not only builds your email list but also positions you as a leader in your niche.
Liz introduces hosting your own event as the premier method to grow your email list without offering a freebie. She emphasizes that this approach provides greater control and returns compared to merely participating in others' events.
"Hosting your own thing... this is the absolute way to grow your list without a freebie."
— Liz Wilcox, [02:45]
Liz contrasts hosting with participating, highlighting that as a host, you capture all the email sign-ups. In contrast, participants only gather a fraction of the leads.
"If I'm participating in your summit, maybe you get a thousand signups, maybe I get 10 to 100... But if I host the event, I get the thousand and you get the hundred."
— Liz Wilcox, [04:20]
Drawing from her own journey, Liz shares how hosting events transformed her business trajectory.
Initially focused on RV travel blogging, Liz recognized the potential of Facebook Live and Facebook Groups to engage her audience and grow her email list.
"I created a Facebook group and inside I just went live every day on a certain topic... It worked so well that I ended up recruiting three of my friends to host an event..."
— Liz Wilcox, [06:10]
Her flagship event, Full Time Freedom Week, became a cornerstone of her list-building efforts, ultimately leading to the growth and eventual acquisition of her business.
"With Full Time Freedom Week, I was able to grow my list like crazy... we went live with almost every single person."
— Liz Wilcox, [08:35]
Liz is set to host List Building Live from March 11th through 13th, aiming to demonstrate her proven strategies in real-time.
"List Building Live, March 11th through 13th. The link is in the show notes if you're interested in checking out how I'm doing it."
— Liz Wilcox, [10:15]
This event will offer participants exclusive content via a private podcast, accessible only through email sign-up, thereby directly expanding her email list.
"It’s going to be via email... you have to give me your email to get the private podcast."
— Liz Wilcox, [12:00]
Liz highlights success stories to illustrate the efficacy of her strategy.
One notable example is Cherie Collier, who grew her email list from zero to over 3,000 subscribers through a single event.
"Cherie Collier... she was able to grow her list from zero to over 3,000 with just one event."
— Liz Wilcox, [16:50]
Beyond list growth, Liz outlines several additional benefits of hosting your own events:
Leadership Positioning: Hosting events establishes you as a leader or emerging leader in your industry.
"You become a sort of leader or emerging leader in your industry... everyone wanted to work with me."
— Liz Wilcox, [18:30]
Sustained Engagement: Regularly hosting events can lead to continuous growth and sustained audience engagement.
Enhanced Networking: Events provide opportunities to connect with other influencers and potential collaborators.
Liz acknowledges the effort required to host an event but assures that the rewards are substantial.
"Even if you only got a hundred, would it be worth a few weeks of work if you're just starting out? Yeah, probably."
— Liz Wilcox, [20:00]
She concludes by encouraging listeners to take the leap and host their own events, reinforcing her commitment to support through List Building Live.
"I'm Liz Wilcox. As always, you're awesome and you're so capable of growing your list. I can't wait to see you do it."
— Liz Wilcox, [22:15]
Episode 101 of The Email Sound Booth serves as a comprehensive guide for online business owners seeking effective alternatives to traditional freebie-based list building. By advocating for the strategic hosting of events, Liz Wilcox not only provides a pathway to substantial email list growth but also offers insights into establishing industry authority and fostering meaningful engagement. Her upcoming List Building Live event stands as a practical application of these principles, inviting listeners to witness and implement the strategies firsthand.
For more details and to join List Building Live, visit the show notes.
This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from Episode 101. Notable quotes are attributed to Liz Wilcox with corresponding timestamps for reference.