Podcast Summary

Strategy Hour | Online Marketing for Business Growth

Host: Abagail Pumphrey, CEO of Boss Project

Episode 981: Steal This Strategy: 4,587 New Subscribers in Under 120 Days

Date: August 19, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Abagail Pumphrey shares a behind-the-scenes look at how she skyrocketed her email list by over 4,500 subscribers in under 120 days—more than double her growth from the previous year. With honesty and tactical detail, Abagail breaks down the seven specific strategies that drove this growth, emphasizing the importance of active marketing, practical systems, and learning to serve your audience at every stage. This episode is a masterclass for online business owners, digital product creators, and service providers looking to build a profitable email list without burnout or complicated tech.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Email List Building Isn’t the “First Thing” (03:55–08:14)

Abagail urges listeners not to obsess over list-building at the start of their business, but to set up the basics early so they are ready to focus more when the time is right.
“It’s not necessarily the thing that is going to immediately get you clients. Will it get you clients? Will it get you sales? Yeah, like so many. But it takes time to nurture a list...” (06:45)
Word-of-mouth and pre-existing warm audiences are faster for initial traction, but an email list is critical for long-term stability.

2. Myth-Busting the “Sexy Opt-In” Approach (08:26–10:01)

The idea that just having an attractive opt-in on your homepage will grow your list passively is a misconception.
- Of her 4,500 new subs, only a “few hundred” came from such static forms.
Highly targeted lead magnets need active promotion to reach the right people.

3. 2024 as a “Year of Visibility” (10:05–11:40)

The dramatic list growth was fueled by a strategic focus on visibility—getting in front of new audiences intentionally, instead of just serving current ones.
“If you’re not focused on visibility, you will get stagnant.” (11:01)

4. The 7 Proven Strategies That Drove 4,587 New Subscribers (11:45–32:10)

Abagail breaks down the specific tactics and how they worked:

a. Live Training/Workshop (11:50–13:28)

Created a live training then put it on Evergreen; a few hundred signups resulted.
Not her top recommendation for beginners due to high time investment.
- “I don’t necessarily think a training is the first strategy I would try though, because it does take so much of your time to develop and maintain.” (11:55)

b. Timely Trend-Based Opt-In (13:31–15:33)

Leveraged current events (e.g., New Year’s goal-setting) to create a fun, time-sensitive lead magnet.
Resulted in a quick spike, but not sustainable for ongoing growth.
“Trends will typically get a spike… and then it’ll peter off very quickly.” (14:30)

c. Direct-to-Sale Low Ticket Products (15:35–19:30)

Sent cold traffic to digital products priced low enough to be “no-brainers.”
Gained sales and email signups (“paid to build your list”). Over 1,000 transactions since January.
- “This is actually my preferred way to start.” (17:17)
List-building and immediate income combined.

d. Lead Magnet “Refresh” (19:31–21:36)

Republishing and updating high-value freebies or content (like a pack of free social media templates) to reflect current market trends.
Used less for mass appeals, more as a taste/sample of a fuller offer.
- “It is an example of how my service works, which to me is worth it all on its own.” (20:39)

e. Problem-Solving PDFs (23:09–29:07)

Created a PDF with “100 digital product ideas”—directly solving the biggest issue her audience faced when starting.
- “I give it all away. And, you know, could some of those people pay me instead of just absorbing my free content? For sure. But when they’re ready to make a purchase, I’m one of the first people they think about because they know that I will consistently deliver the kind of information they need to hear.” (24:16)
One social media post led to hundreds of signups in hours. Small Facebook ad spend ($150–$200) brought in 700+ more.

f. Generic Signups (Newsletter & Reactivation) (29:07–30:12)

Pure “join my list” or reactivation forms brought in very few subscribers (about 65 combined), used mostly for customer service and launches.

g. Activations (Live Challenges/Collaborations) (30:15–34:25)

Live, action-based events or challenges often in partnership with other brands.
- “An activation is any opportunity to bring people on your list via… a live call to action, so to speak.”
- “Activations tend to be my biggest spikes; they’re like the launches of the lead magnet world.” (31:16)
Partnerships with other brands can rapidly multiply reach—but aren’t all about list growth.

5. The Power of Community and Strategic Partnerships (34:28–37:06)

Shared real examples: some partnerships focused on impressions or paid gigs, others on genuine list expansion.
The most powerful activations create mutual benefit for both partners.
- “The more you focus on giving, the more it will give back to you every single time.” (36:42)

6. A Favorite Tool: Flodesk (37:20–39:42)

Simple, beautiful email delivery was a game changer. Flat-rate pricing is a major advantage for growing businesses.
- “Most of the complicated tech that exists in the email marketing world is not really necessary until you are north of 2 to 3 million dollars.” (38:22)

7. Central Takeaway: Active Promotion is Essential (34:28 & 39:43–41:00)

You can’t passively grow your list and expect exponential results.
- “If you want to 10x that or 100x that, actively marketing it will go so much further, so much faster.” (34:45)
Copy her seven strategies, but focus on what fits your business and audience.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“It’s not necessarily the thing that is going to immediately get you clients. Will it get you clients? Will it get you sales? Yeah, like so many. But it takes time to nurture a list…” (06:45)
“Trends will typically get a spike… and then it’ll peter off very quickly. It’s the same as going viral on a social media post.” (14:30)
“I prefer to start by selling that low hanging fruit because you accomplish a lot all at the same time… in terms of bang for buck it is one of the biggest opportunities.” (17:17)
“Activations tend to be my biggest spikes; they’re like the launches of the lead magnet world.” (31:16)
“Growing your list requires active marketing... Can you passively put up a form and have it exist on your website and get leads? Yes. But if you want to ten x that or hundred x that, actively marketing it will go so much further, so much faster.” (34:43)
“The more you focus on giving, the more it will give back to you every single time.” (36:42)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Start Time | |------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Email lists: Why they matter, but not first | 03:55 | | Debunking the ‘sexy opt-in’ myth | 08:26 | | Visibility and getting out of your comfort zone| 10:05 | | 7 strategies overview begins | 11:45 | | 1. Training/workshop | 11:50 | | 2. Trend-based opt-ins | 13:31 | | 3. Paid low-ticket products | 15:35 | | 4. Refresh old content/lead magnets | 19:31 | | 5. Problem-solving PDFs as lead magnets | 23:09 | | 6. Generic signups and reactivation | 29:07 | | 7. Activations—live, interactive, partnerships | 30:15 | | Importance of partnerships & community | 34:28 | | Tool spotlight: Flodesk for email marketing | 37:20 | | Main takeaway: active promotion is essential | 39:43 |

Key Takeaways for Listeners

Don’t get distracted by list-building at the expense of actual sales—do both intentionally, but know where to focus for each business stage.
Passive forms and opt-ins won’t get you exponential growth: pair lead magnets, timely trends, low-ticket offers, refreshed content, solid partnerships, and active challenges.
Always look to solve your audience’s real, current problems, and don’t be afraid to “give it all away” in your lead magnets.
Collaborations and activations can provide massive spikes in growth, but must be executed with mutual benefit in mind.
Choose tools that help you scale simply; complexity only becomes necessary at much higher revenue levels.

For Further Resources

Free tools, templates, and further notes are available at: bossproject.com/podcast
Learn the full “no-brainer product” system: bossproject.com/jumpstart
Flodesk recommended email provider: bossproject.com/flodesk
Connect with Abagail: @abigaillllsays on IG and Boss Project on Instagram

Transcript

A (0:00)

I don't necessarily think a training is the first strategy I would try though, because it does take so much of your time to develop and maintain. And I do think there are simpler ways to attract quality leads that will still get you to the same end result. Welcome to the Strategy Hour podcast brought to you by Boss Project. I'm your host Abigail Pumphrey and I'm dedicated to supporting online businesses. I don't believe in one right way to build a business. I'm here to help you build business your way, one that supports not only the life you have, but the life you want. I'm on a personal mission to help you become financially free. I'm taking all the lessons learned as I turned a layoff into a seven figure online business. I'm here to help you prioritize your life every step of the way. Whether you're creating your first digital product, growing an email list, or scaling an already profitable business. Settle in. It's time to talk strategy. Abercrombie Kids is bringing the ultimate first day energy back to school. It all starts with on trend outfits for that front door photo shoot, plus the coolest tees, shorts and jeans to take them through the rest of the year. Get them ready for their close up and keep them comfy too. Make this grade their best one yet. Shop all things back to school, in store, online and in the app. Do you really understand your business numbers? FreshBooks takes the stress out of bookkeeping. It's your financial BFF. With FreshBooks you can automate invoices and expenses, process payments seamlessly, and get real time insights into your business finances. Build invoices in seconds and get paid twice as fast. Create reports that allow you to instantly see the health of Your business and FreshBooks grows with you with features like team management, payroll and accountant access when you need them. Switch to FreshBooks for a better accounting experience. FreshBooks is the user friendly accounting platform for your business. Switching to FreshBooks has never been easier. Even if you're coming from another accounting tool. FreshBooks makes migrating your data simple and their support team is ready if you need help. Feel more confident about your numbers. Get FreshBooks now 60% off for six months@freshbooks.com that's freshbooks.com get started today and thank yourself tomorrow. I need to make a confession. I've added more than double the amount of new subscribers to my list in just three and a half months than I did all of last year. If you're new to the show, I definitely want you to make sure you subscribe we have twice weekly podcast episodes that drop drop every Tuesday and Thursday that are full of juicy strategy to help grow your business online and helps you as a whole person who has all sorts of things going on. So I cannot wait for you to be a regular listener. And if you haven't yet, I encourage you to go follow me over on Instagram. It's where the party is. You know I get to talk to you all the time on the podcast which is great, but I want to get to know you personally and I can only do that if we can have a two way conversation. So I would love if you would go to last project on Instagram and then head to my personal profile at Abigail says. Give me a follow there and send me a DM and say hello. I would love to hear more about you and your business and your goals for this year. If you're a regular listener, I would love if you would leave a rating and review. Your reviews mean so much to us and allow us to add more valuable sponsors and partners to the show who allow us to bring it to you for free. So doing that makes a huge difference. Also Share this episode I'm going to drop some knowledge that I do not hear other marketers say and it may ruffle some feathers, but I would love to start a conversation about it over on social. So share this episode, share that you're listening, share your biggest takeaways and be sure to tag me so I can hear all about it. By the time you are listening to this episode, this number is going to be seriously dated. But at the time of recording this, as of this morning, which I've since added hundreds of new email subscribers since I even looked this data up before I recorded this episode, I was at 4,587 new email subscribers since January 1st to the morning of April 17th, 2024 and I want to talk about the strategy. How did I get those people on my list? What's working? What do you need to be paying ATT attention to and what does it mean to you and your business? I know you've heard a gajillion times that an email list is important to your business and that it will allow you to reach your audience more consistently and it's something that you actually own. You don't own your social media followers, you don't own that audience on any of those other platforms and thus you want to get as many of those people's contact information so you can reach them more regularly on the schedule that you want. Especially when you don't have any control over how the algorithm works, which I feel like we all collectively understand. And yet I feel like there's a mixed perception of how important it is or isn't. If I were starting my business over from today, it is not the first thing I would worry about. But it is something I would set up very early on. And then when I was ready to pay attention to it and do something about it more strategically, I would do something with it then. But I would probably just initially set it up, little set it and forget it moment. And then when I was ready to really invest in these strategies, then I would pick it up. But it's not necessarily the thing that is going to immediately get you clients. Will it get you clients? Will it get you sales? Yeah, like so many. But it takes time to nurture a list and if you're adding cold subscribers, like people that you've never met before and you just attracted them with a brand new thing to your list, it's going to take some time to warm them up. And that's fine when you want to go get those initial clients. Usually word of mouth or sharing with an existing audience is going to get you so much further faster. But this is a long term strategy that adds to the stability of your business. Now the reason I've hesitated to talk about it is I often think that it can be a distraction. Now don't get me wrong, utilizing a list and using it effectively will get you sales 100%. But if you're so focused on marketing to bring people onto the list, but you're not actually selling to them or selling to the active audience that you have the attention of, you may not be in business long enough to even nurture those people. And so I know it's a little controversial to say, like don't start here, but it's not where I would start. It is something I would learn and grow and continue to invest in over time. But it's not going to get you that initial traction. I think there's a misconception that you can build a sexy opt in, put it on your website and then your email list will just grow. I looked at my numbers and of the 4,500 plus people, only a few hundred of those were from static forms. Not that the rest weren't from forms, they were, but from forms that I'm not like explicitly sending traffic to. Forms that are just sitting on a homepage or on like a call out button on a website. Those only made up a few hundred of the thousands that came in. And the reason that is is because you are trying to target someone, but you're putting it on a place that has more mass appeal. So the traffic you're sending is more broad and the lead magnet is more specific. And so for sure, your targeted people that are joining your list are going to be war. But there is a much faster way to get to your end game. So there may have been a few more, but I'm pretty confident that the majority of the 4,500 leads came in from seven different kinds of activities that I was doing in my business to attract those leads. Now, before I get into what the seven types were, I want to talk about why I'm having such a significant increase this year over last. I made a very conscious effort at the beginning of the year to decide that 2024 was going to be a year of visibility, a year of growth, a year of getting in front of more people and making a bigger impact. And in years past, it was about serving the audience that was already there. And I'm not saying you can't do both at the same time, but it's a little bit hard to do. And if you're not focused on visibility, you will get stagnant. But I think so many business owners get busy and they get in this place where they are serving and continuing to nurture the people that are already there, but they're not necessarily focused on long term growth. And if that's something that you want, if you want to see your business grow, this is a strategy that is going to help you get to that next stage. It is something that is going to be vital to the long term stability of your business. But how did I do it? Okay, so let's dig into it. The first thing that I did was I created a training in the fall of last year and it went incredibly well. I had hundreds of signups within the span of one or two weeks. And because it went so well, I put that training on Evergreen. Now, I wasn't necessarily marketing it, it did exist and it was very accessible if you knew where to look for it. But it wasn't something I was promoting actively on social media channels. And because of that, the overall traction was ultimately just a few hundred of that 4,500 plus. But a training is an opportunity. You can offer a free and valuable workshop training. It doesn't have to be long. Most of mine are way too long. Honestly, most of my trainings I could talk less, but I tend to want to share a lot of information, a lot of meat. And so I put a lot in there. I don't necessarily think a training is the first strategy I would try though, because it does take so much of your time to develop and maintain. And I do think there are simpler ways to attract quality leads that will still get you to the same end result. The next strategy that I utilized was a trend. Now you can do this at any time. You just have to pay attention to what's going on in your industry, the world, a timely event. Like imagine you are a lifestyle blogger and the Bachelor finale is coming up. You could absolutely do something that aligned with this event, that's happening in real life, that your audience all enjoys and you create something to make it fun. It could be a bingo drinking game. I know that's a wild example. But like, you get my point. It is specific to a time. My trendy thing was at the beginning of the year, I focused on the fact that in January, every January, people want to make and set goals. And so I made a tool that would allow people to make and set goals and I made it fun and I made it different. And trends will typically get a spike. Like you will get a lot of right away, but then it'll peter off very quickly. It's the same as going viral on a social media post. Like it's going to go up and then it's going to go down and that's fine. And I definitely think they're fun to include every now and again. But consistently doing it is a ton of pressure. Like you only relying on trends and trying to come up with something new every two weeks or a month or even every three months is a lot. When you could include this every now and again because you're feeling inspired and then have something that's more concrete that you rely on in between. Now what may surprise you is while it wasn't the majority of my leads, a significant, a significant portion of my leads came from sales. I love directing cold traffic to low price digital products. It's a great way to magnetize ideal people to you. And then you get paid to build your list. And since January, I've had well over a thousand transactions. Now, not all of those people were new to my list, but that's a thousand times plus that someone's email address came into my network. When you start building a list, this is actually my preferred way to start. I prefer to start by selling that low hanging fruit because you accomplish a lot all at the same time. You're able to build that list, you're able to get sales. You you're able to practice sending traffic to a location where you're trying to convert someone. Like you get so much out of that experience that I think in terms of bang for buck like it is one of the biggest opportunities. So if you want to know more about how I specifically do that, I'm giving you all the deeds. @bossproject.com jumpstart I walk you through how to create a no brainer digital product and get it ready for pre sale so that you can launch it and get it out into the world and ultimately convert people to join your list and get paid. Bossproject.com jumpstart so far we've had a training, a trend sales and the next one is what I'm going to call a refresh. You can take any lead magnet you've ever used before. You can even take old content that has been valuable in the past or done well on social. It could be a blog post, it could be social media content and you could refresh that content into a valuable freebie. Now for this one, it was specific to creativetempleshop.com, which is a website that I own and run and I sell a bunch of design templates for small business owners and the co op is the place to be. P.S. where you get access to all of them. You can find out more@creative templateshop.com membership but specifically on that site. For a long time I've had a pack of free social media templates and if I spent more time marketing this I know it would get more traction. But there is something happening in the market that I think is worth paying attention to. Yes, it was a great lead magnet that has gotten me a ton of leads over time and yes it was worth refreshing and some of the like super messy organic looking stuff that looks like it's made in the app is performing so much better that I didn't want to spend a ton of time trying to push people to templates that they work. But right now they're not hitting as hard. And so it's my job as someone who cares about their audience to make sure that the thing I'm delivering actually makes a true impact. And because I didn't feel like it was going to be as impactful to their businesses. Yes, I have it available, it still exists, but it's not something I'm like peddling. You know, it's something that's there. It's something that showcases how my templates work. So for me it's more of a tool to Give people a preview of what it would be like to be a member inside the co op and have access to all these templates. They can see an example of what a download sheet looks like. They can interact with adding that to their Adobe Express or canva account. They can customize it and see how easy it is to customize the templates we work with. It is an example of how my service works, which to me is worth it all on its own. But in terms of marketing it, that's not where I put my time and effort. That did bring in several hundred, I think, 300 plus leads since the beginning of the year. Now, what may surprise you is that more than half of the leads I've gotten in the last three and a half months have happened in the last three weeks. I'm a big believer in working backwards. So designing a signature offer and then a digital product and then a lead magnet for that digital product and then an activation. I'll explain the difference. It works so incredibly well because you have so much more information and I see so many people try to do it in reverse and they get frustrated. That's not hitting as hard because they're lacking a lot of insight into what their audience needs from them. So because I had put my primary focus on sales and using that to bring in new, fresh leads, but also nurture and activate the people that were existing on my list, I was really able to dive in with that group of people. I had designed a course. It was a mini course, so to speak. Not quite a digital product, but a mini course. And I put it on presale. I launched it, got people in the door, built the course, and then I went into observation mode. How are people reacting to the content? Where were they getting stuck? What were their questions? What were the things that came up for them? Where were their hesitations? What were their mindset issues? All of these things. And then before I did anything else, I worked on improving the actual product. I didn't immediately go out and be like, oh, their biggest problem is this. I'm going to make a free thing. No, I focused on delivering to my clients and gave them more to help them get closer to their goals. But the thing that surprised me is what they needed the most help with is actually the very first step inside my program. So, inside digital product Jumpstart. Want to learn exactly, step by step how to get paid to generate leads in your business? I'm ready to give you the exact steps that help me generate tens of thousands of qualified leads and millions in low ticket digital product sales. I won't just show you what I did, but teach you how you can do it too. I'm talking not just how to create low ticket digital products, but also showing you how to use them strategically to generate leads for your other existing or future offers. I'm sharing it all@bossproject.com jumpstart including exactly how I made $8033 and generated 277 leads my very first month selling digital products. Find out more at bossproject.com jumpstart the.