Episode 103: 3 Ways to Grow Your Email List Fast - The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox

Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: Episode 103 - 3 Ways to Grow Your Email List Fast

Podcast Information:

Title: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox
Host: Liz Wilcox
Episode: 103: 3 Ways to Grow Your Email List Fast
Release Date: February 26, 2025
Description: Tailored for online businesses aiming to revitalize their email marketing strategies, this episode delves into effective methods to build a profitable and engaging email list.

Introduction

In Episode 103 of The Email Sound Booth, host Liz Wilcox addresses a common challenge faced by online businesses: rapidly growing an email list. Acknowledging that while fast growth is desirable, sustainable and quality expansion should not be overlooked, Liz outlines three potent strategies to expedite email list growth without compromising list integrity.

1. Leveraging Paid Advertising

Timestamp: [00:00 - 03:30]

Liz identifies paid advertising as the most straightforward method to accelerate email list growth. Platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Ads are highlighted for their prominent roles in various industries.

Key Insights:
- Effectiveness: Paid ads can quickly increase visibility and attract a substantial number of subscribers.
- Learning Curve: Mastery of ad platforms is essential. Understanding audience targeting and ad optimization is crucial for success.
Notable Quote:

"It takes a while to learn Facebook ads and like, how you know who's signing up and how to find the right people." – Liz Wilcox [00:45]
Recommendation: Liz recommends collaborating with experts like Zach Spuckler, a Facebook ads specialist, to maximize the effectiveness of ad campaigns. She mentions providing an affiliate link to Zach's resources in the show notes for listeners interested in this approach.

2. Enlisting Current Subscribers

Timestamp: [03:31 - 08:15]

The second strategy focuses on mobilizing your existing email subscribers to aid in list growth. This method leverages the trust and engagement already established with the current audience.

Key Insights:
- Referral Programs: Utilizing tools like Sparkloop or her upcoming platform, ListGadget.com, can incentivize subscribers to refer others.
- Direct Requests: Sometimes, a simple ask can be effective. Encouraging subscribers to share the email list with their networks can yield significant results.
Notable Quote:

"Hey, I want to, you know, if you know anybody that needs emails like this, send them my way." – Liz Wilcox [04:10]
Upcoming Resource: Liz announces her involvement with ListGadget.com, a tool designed to facilitate and incentivize subscriber referrals, enhancing the effectiveness of this strategy.

3. Participating in Bundles

Timestamp: [08:16 - 14:00]

The final approach discussed is participating in or hosting bundled offers. Bundling involves collaborating with other businesses or influencers to offer a package of products or services, thereby reaching a wider audience.

Key Insights:
- Industry Variability: While bundling is highly effective in certain sectors like travel, its efficacy may vary in more saturated markets like online business.
- Quality Over Quantity: Bundles can attract a surge of subscribers, but ensuring these are quality leads aligned with your business is paramount.
Notable Quote:

"It really depends on the industry. In the travel industry, bundles aren't everywhere and everything right now that I'm an email marketer." – Liz Wilcox [09:50]
Expert Endorsement: Liz praises Kate Doster of KateDoster.com as the "bundle email queen," citing her expertise in utilizing bundles to successfully grow email lists.

Strategic Considerations and Final Thoughts

Timestamp: [14:01 - 17:30]

Liz wraps up the episode by emphasizing the importance of strategic growth over mere acceleration. While the discussed methods can rapidly expand an email list, the quality and relevance of new subscribers are crucial for long-term success.

Key Insights:
- Targeted Growth: Focus on attracting the right audience rather than just increasing numbers.
- Balance Speed and Sustainability: Fast growth strategies should align with overall business goals and audience engagement.
Notable Quote:

"If you're going to try these strategies, really think about them strategically and how you can get the right people, not just grow fast, but get the right people on your list at the same time." – Liz Wilcox [15:20]
Upcoming Event: Liz promotes List Building Live, her Micro Audio Summit scheduled from March 11th to 13th, aimed at delving deeper into effective list-building strategies with industry peers.

Conclusion

Episode 103 of The Email Sound Booth offers actionable insights for online businesses aiming to swiftly expand their email lists. By leveraging paid advertising, harnessing the power of current subscribers, and engaging in strategic bundling, businesses can achieve significant growth. Liz Wilcox underscores the importance of maintaining quality and relevance in subscriber acquisition, ensuring that growth efforts translate into meaningful business outcomes.

Listeners are encouraged to explore the recommended resources and consider attending the upcoming List Building Live summit for more in-depth strategies and networking opportunities.

Additional Resources:

Zach Spuckler's Facebook Ads Expertise: [Affiliate Link in Show Notes]
ListGadget.com: [Link in Show Notes]
Kate Doster's Bundling Strategies: [kateDoster.com]
List Building Live Summit: [Link in Show Notes]

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Transcript1 lines

[00:01]
A
What is up? Liz Wilcox here. Lucky me that you are listening to episode 103 of the email sound booth podcast. 103 episodes. Still no intro music, still awkward. Still doing it. Anyway, this is three ways to grow your email list fast. Now, I want to caution you, I want you to think, why are you wanting to grow it fast? I mean, I totally get it, but remember that slow growth is still growth. So I'm going to share these tactics with you. Maybe they're not all my absolute favorite way to grow, but this is a common question and I wanted to give it a response. So how are we going to grow our email list fast? Well, number one, the most obvious way is to grow it with ads, right? Facebook ads, Google Ads, you know, whatever is prominent in your industry that is going to grow your email list fast. Okay, now remember, a word to the wise. Like, it takes a while to learn Facebook ads and like, how you know who's signing up and how to find the right people. So I'm gonna link in the show notes. Zach Spuckler, I think, is how you pronounce his last name. I always, I feel like I always get it wrong, but he is the Facebook ads pro that I suggest. I'm gonna put his affiliate link to his website or whatever. He runs challenges all the time. He's really, really good. Because I don't recommend just running Facebook ads by your. This is an advanced strategy, hence why it goes faster, right? And so I really recommend checking out Zach. He's even got like, not your average membership membership. And so I, I if you're gonna go the Facebook ads route, that's who I suggest. Now, the second way to grow your email list fast, and this is something I'm hoping to do in 2025, is enlist the people on your email list already. Now, I haven't formally announced this, but I actually am now part owner, founder, whatever, with a software that's going to be able to or what we're working on. And I don't want to, I am like jumping the gun here. I didn't want to announce this yet, but basically I'm co owner of ListGadget.com and one of the things we're working on is to get recommendations. Now, I know Kit.com already uses Sparkloop, you know, things like that to help incentivize people to share the email list, but I wanted my own. And so that's what listgadget.com is. So I'll link that in the show notes too, if you want to check that out. But yeah, enlisting the help of your subscribers. Hey, I want to, you know, if you know anybody that needs emails like this, send them my way. And you can use Sparkloop, you can hopefully one day use listgadget.com you know, to help people, to help incentivize people, to actually promote. But also you don't even need those things. You can just ask, right? But it's going to work better if you have incentives. Now the last way you can grow your email list fast and I've already done, I think it was episode 18. I talk a lot more in depth on why this isn't my favorite thing but, but it really depends on the industry is to be a part of a bundle. Now Kate Doster of Kate Doster.com, she is the bundle email queen. She knows a lot more about bundles than I do. And depending on your industry, bundles are still working really well. Again, I used to be a travel blogger, right. So I was part of a few bundles back in the day and they grew my list like crazy and it was awesome. Subscribers. Because in the travel industry, bundles aren't everywhere and everything right now that I'm an email marketer and I'm in the online business industry, I find that bundles, there's just so many of them and there's so many freebie seekers, so to speak. And I hate that term but you know, we want to keep this episode short that you know, people just gobble it up everywhere and then, you know, there's not much to show for it after. It's not growing the list in the way I want it to grow. But if I was in a business to consumer industry, I would definitely participate in bundles or host my own bundles to. I think in the last episode I talked about like if you're a yoga instructor, right? So if, again if, let's keep that going. If you're a yoga instructor and you're trying to make it online and you get all these other, you know, yogis in on a bundle or you find one, that's going to be a great thing because I don't know, know of a lot of yoga bundles, right? I don't often see Facebook ads for, you know, get this bundle of yogi goodness, right? So again, Facebook ads, if you're gonna do Facebook ads, link in the show notes, check out Zach, Enlist people on your email list already. So how can you get, how can you incentivize those people to recommend your email list? And then the third thing is, is to be a part of a bundle Those are really the fastest ways to grow your email list. But again, word to the wise, sometimes we want slow growth over fast growth. So if you're going to try these strategies, really think about them strategically and how you can get the right people, not just grow fast, but get the right people on your list at the same time. That's the challenge. And that's something we're going to be talking heavily about at List Building Live, my Micro audio summit coming March 11th through the 13th. Dang, that was a smooth segue, wasn't it? I'm so proud of myself. I'd love for you to join. That link is also in the Show Notes. It's just going to be quick episodes, just like the email Sound Booth podcast quick episodes about how my peers, colleagues and members of EMM are really growing their email list. What has worked in the last six to 12 months? I'd love for you to sign up link in the Show Notes as always, I'm Liz Wilcox and you are awesome. And last thing, I'm so excited for you to grow your email list this year and beyond. Get signed up for List Building Live. It's going to be amazing. Talk soon.