Have you heard that having a BIG email list of potential clients is a great asset to your coaching business? Well, it’s true! With a healthy size email list, you can…
- send out offers for free coaching sessions and get dozens of potential clients wanting to have a session with you.
- have your own wildly successful product launches you see other big name coaches doing
- make offers and have people purchase things from you online and generate great revenue from every email
- stop having to work so hard doing other marketing activities like networking, speaking, etc.
Before I had a list
Even though I was able to make a modest living from coaching full time, I used to envy people that had large email lists. I would think about the size of my list and wish it was bigger.
I felt like it wasn’t fair how easy it was for people with large email lists to roll out a new product or program (especially, when I thought it wasn’t as good as my stuff). Just having a big email list would make everything they do a success. Meanwhile, I had to keep plugging away.
It was frustrating! And then…
From 600 to 6,000 in 18 months
I started looking for the “magic secret” for how to grow my email list overnight. And everyone that had a story of how they grew their list fast was willing to tell you… if you got on their email list. I wondered, “Is that the key to growing your email list, by telling others you’ll show them how to grow their list?” Now I was even more frustrated!
Finally, I decided to scrap any dreams of growing my list overnight. Instead, I set a goal to grow my list to 10,000 within 1 year. Aggressive? Yes. Though I felt like it was achievable, and I had more of a long-term focus. But…
I failed to get there in 1 year.
(However, now my list is around 140,000 and growing!) These days I’m not concerned about the deadlines for my goals. I know that any goal I set is inevitable, as long as I stick with it and resolve any inner blocks along the way. Still… I did grow my list pretty quickly.[
Here’s how I did it (and how you can too)
Christian’s List Building Secrets Revealed!
Here’s what I did to grow my email list…
- I set an intention to be the #1 leader in my field. I had to work through some “personal stuff” like self-judgment (“I’m being arrogant,” “who am I to be the leader,” etc.), but I really believe setting that intention statement was a powerful piece of the puzzle (you’ll see why in a minute).
- I actually started writing articles. I used to hate writing and wrote top 10 lists (10 ways to hire the perfect person, 10 ways to… etc.). I had to work through my blocks about writing (mostly, I would get overwhelmed by all of my ideas).
- I set out to write the most valuable email newsletter/ezine in the world on my specialty topic. I’m not sure if you think these emails I send are the most valuable or not, but I give it my all every time and jam it with the kinds of stuff that other people usually charge for.
- I made “getting subscribers” the #1 purpose of my website – even above getting clients. I created some great “free stuff” to give away on my site to help encourage people to subscribe.
- I started asking around to see if people would like to have me as a guest speaker for their group. And if so, I would create a webpage where people from their list could sign up for the teleclass through my website (and give them a subscription to my newsletter, plus all the “free stuff” as a bonus for registering to my list for the session).
- I spoke live in front of my target market, and I would raffle off something very valuable to the people at the event and let them know that they’d also get my articles and other “free stuff” as a way to encourage them to enter the contest (that usually gets about 95% of the people to subscribe).
- Note: you can do this during a teleclass too. If you’re a guest speaker and people didn’t register on your website as mentioned in point 5 above, simply tell people about what you’re going to give away, and then have them subscribe part way through your class and do your drawing at the end.
- I was interviewed by Forbes magazine for an article on 6 figure careers. I asked the writer 3 times if he would list my website address in the article… and he did. It was picked up by Yahoo, MSN, etc. This sure helped a lot. It added an extra 1,800 people to my list in about 3 weeks!
- Remember, when I said that I set the intention to be the leader in my field? About a month after setting that intention and then clearing away all of my “baggage” about it, the phone rang and it was Forbes. That was a very nice little bump.
- I networked. Not as much as I used to in the early days, but when I met people and got their card I would ask them if they were interested in reading articles about growing their business (which is what I write about) and then offered to send them some other “free stuff” and got their permission to add them to my list.
- I perfected (and still continue to perfect) my article writing style. Instead of simply writing “content”, I do my best to connect with my readers. I talk about what it’s like to go through what I think they may be going through and write about topics they tell me they want to hear.
- Sometimes, I’ll send out single question surveys to my list to find out what they are most hungry to learn. And if people randomly send me an email and ask me a question, I’ll use my answer as the beginning of an article. I also notice what my clients are going through and will write about that.
- I stayed consistent. I aimed to write a few articles (newsletters) every week, and for the most part, I have. And you and my other subscribers have been the biggest help by passing these articles on to other coaches that you know. That’s the #1 thing that has helped to grow this list.
Plus, the more guest speaking I do, the more requests I get to speak at other places. I also get asked to do interviews from time to time. Consistency really pays off.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
The naked truth about having an email list
So, that’s how I grew my list from 600 to 6,000 in 18 months. But is having a “big” list all that it’s cracked up to be?
- I had a different email list of only 1,200 people before I switched my coaching specialty area, and I was able to earn 6 figures with a list of that size. And one of my clients grew his business from Zero to 6 figures in 90 days with no list.
- Having a “big” list is relative. I meet people that have email lists that are 50K, 200K, and in the millions!
- You can still do things that fall flat on their faces even with a big list. It’s not the “end all be all” that guarantees your success no matter what. You still have to do everything else well: have a program that people want, describe it well in your marketing materials, price it well, launch it well, etc.
- The size of your list isn’t that important if you don’t have a great relationship with your list. I put my heart into my emails and send pretty frequently so that we stay in touch and get to know each other (as much as email can allow). If you don’t take care of your email list, they won’t take care of you. I have to turn down “promo requests” all of the time from people wanting me to market their stuff to you.
Set your own list building goal
All of that said… having a list definitely makes life easier. People have purchased over $2MM of products from my launches so far this year, and I couldn't have done it without having a great list. And…
When I say a “great list”, I don’t just mean a great size. I mean a great group of people that are with me on my mission to change the world. We’re in this together. So…
Set your own goal for the growth of your list. Even having a list of 500 is a great start. If you have a list of under 500 there are a lot of ways you can use your list to get clients and ways to get clients without any list at all.
Bottom Line: Be patient and diligent. Growing an email list takes time and energy, but it’s well worth it!
And a bigger list means you’re reaching more people and making a bigger difference in the world – and that’s what it’s all about.
