How to Grow Your E-Newsletter Mailing List – Part Two of Four

We last left off discussing how to use e-newsletters to build your business. This time around, we ask the question, how do you get people to join your mailing list?

Many people feel a little sheepish asking folks to join their e-newsletter list, or equate this with shady, hard-nosed, “Used Car Saleman” tactics. Don’t. You’re not that person. You’re more like the friendly ice cream guy who’ve giving folks something they love and want.

Photos by :: a r d e n t :: and dogfrog

You’re genuinely interested in people you meet and what they do. Trust that others feel the same about you.  Your e-newsletter is (or should be) providing a service to the folks who receive it. It should be giving them info about new classes, invite them to fun things going on in their community, or provide insight into your work and business.

There are lots of effective ways to get the word out and get folks excited to be a part of your mailing list. Here are a few:

• Pick the low-hanging fruit: Include your friends and family and your current and previous students on your list.
  • Your friends and family are your biggest cheer-leaders, but they may not actually know what you do for a living. Give them the opportunity to learn more by adding them to your e-newsletter list.
  • At your classes, workshops or events, pass around a “sign up sheet” asking folks to join (ask for first name, last name and e-mail address).
• Give something, get something: If you’re attending or hosting an event or conference, offer a free or discounted class as a “raffle item”. People apply for the raffle by putting business cards or their names + e-mails in a basket that you provide. Voila!
• Meet and greet: In your daily life, you probably meet a few new folks a week — a new parent in your child’s carpool, a friend of a friend at dinner, even the receptionist at your dentist office. Almost always these folks are genuinely interested in what you do. As a way to share with them, ask if you can add their e-mail address to your e-newsletter; I bet they won’t turn you down. (Remember, you’ll never know if you don’t ask!).
• Turn “no” into a “yes”: Add people to your list who’ve said they “just want more information” or “maybe later.” We’ve spoken to so many teachers who have 5+ people who inquire for every actually student who signs up with them. If folks aren’t ready to actually take a class yet, why not ask if you can add them to your e-mail list so they can get updates about other classes in the future?
• Use social networking tools: Set up a Twitter account and invite your new Twitter friends to join your e-newsletter list.
  • Donna Gutner wrote a great “How To” article on using Tweetlater.com to grow her e-mail list. (Check out her other great marketing ideas too.)
• Work your web site magic: If you have a web site, make sure there’s a prominent spot for folks to “Sign Up” to join your e-newsletter list. Even if this just means they send you an e-mail with their e-mail address in it, it’s guaranteed to get you some more sign ups.
  • Ian Lurie also suggests offering RSS feeds for folks who want “Really Simple Syndication”.

Then again, you could just get yourself a really nice pair of glasses and see where that gets you.

Is this what a e-newsletter writing genius looks like? Photo by : bonkedproducer

Stay tuned for Part Three: How to write a GREAT e-newsletter!

Also, we can’t sign off before noting that many of the ideas above were based on thoughts by Diane de Las Casas (an award-winning storyteller who has more than 11,000 subscribers to her e-newsletter). If you’re hungry for more ways to grow your e-newsletter lists, here’s another interesting article (and here).