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3 Occasions Email List Building is a Poor Use of Your Time

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Many online entrepreneurs have an obsession with email list building.

Thousands of websites (this one included) strive to inspire you to submit your email address to a mailing list – often with an email opt-in incentive – also called a lead magnet (see what is a lead magnet).

Depending on your surfing habits, your Facebook feed may already be inundated with sponsored ads to sell you a course to teach you the secrets of email list building.

FYI: Did you know when you keep Facebook open in a browser tab, Facebook tracks the pages you visit on other tabs (to then share this information with its advertisers)?

While this site does not pay for Facebook sponsored ads at this time, it did throw a lead magnet project into the mix of email list building schemes.

LeadMagnetProject

Email List Building isn’t Necessarily Bad

Email list building is a legitimate online business strategy – and with good search engine optimized content on your site, email list building can be on autopilot to a degree.

As the old adage goes, it’s a numbers game.

The more people you add to your email list, the greater chance you have to sell your products or services to people on your email list.

But what if email list building is the wrong current strategy for your online business?

Here are three notable occasions email list building may not be your best marketing strategy.

3 Occasions Email List Building is a Poor Use of Your Time

1. Client Work to Do

The most valuable form of marketing you will ever have is word of mouth.

You have probably heard this adage too: People prefer to do business with people they know, like, and trust.

If someone doesn’t already know about your business, they will lean on the advice of a friend they do know, like, and trust.

That friend may be your client.

Before you invest more time in email list building schemes, don’t overlook the marketing power of an existing client.

But that marketing influence is lost if you do not follow through on agreed-upon commitments to that client.

2. Your Service is High-End Work

If your market niche is more service-oriented (e.g. consulting, project management, technical design) for only a few clients at a time, you don’t need to focus on building a big email mailing list.

You need to focus on attracting your target client through lead generation forms on your website.

Two lead generation forms used and recommended by this site are Typeform (see 8 Typeform Examples and a Typeform Discount) and WP Forms (see WP Forms and a WPForms Discount).

These two lead generation web tools allow you to create customized experiences for your site visitors.

After all, if you can make online forms or surveys kind of cool, you stand a good chance of getting a response from your target client.

3. You Have Products or Services to Create

It’s a catch-22 with email list building if the purpose of your email list building is to sell a product or service that you don’t yet have available to sell.

You need an email list to help communicate your product or service, but you need to actually create a product or service. Your offering doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to be at least as good as the expectations you are setting.

In the end, email list building takes time.

Blogging is a sound strategy to generate organic traffic to your site, but the results happen through repetition not one-time inspiration.

If you find yourself focusing more of your available time on your email list building and not on your unfinished product, email list building is a poor use of your time.

 

Resources for Email List Building (if email list building is a good use of your time)

  1. Lead Magnet Guide (5 essential characteristics of a lead magnet)
  2. Lead Magnet Survey (share your own opinion about email sign up incentives and discover what other entrepreneurs recommend)
  3. Lead Magnet Project (an interactive online project for professionals building email lists)
  4. Lead Magnet Examples (Graceful Resources email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  5. Recommended Website and Email Software Resources (you’ll also discover why these resources are recommended)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent

How to Create a Winning Title for Your Free Email Offer

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There is an old adage in writing that goes:

When the tension is lost, the audience’s attention is lost.

Authors are advised to withhold information in their works so the audience will keep reading until the very end.

Anytime you’ve kept reading another chapter, it is because the author maintained tension in the story.

Headlines on your business or community website should be designed with this adage in mind (for additional guidance, see the Online Lead Generation Guide and the free eBook below).

free email offer

The same advice also applies to public speakers to keep live audiences engaged in presentations – whether they are trying to persuade or enable the audience.

That’s why good speeches often begin with titles such as “3 Reasons to…” or “4 Steps to…”

Nobody likes tension in their lives and humans strive every day to release tension by discovering answers and solving problems.

Your free email offer (i.e. lead magnet) and blog post headlines should also be titled with this advice in mind.

Otherwise, the audience’s attention is lost the moment they see a free email offer that creates no tension.

Additional Resource to Help You Create a Winning Title for Your Free Email Offer

This additional resource is available to you free of charge with permission from Copyblogger (Rainmaker Digital, LLC).

Title: How to Write Magnetic Headlines

eBook Length: 56 Pages

View / Download:  How to Write Magnetic Headlines

eBook Summary © 2016 Rainmaker Digital, LLC:

Your headline is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective reader.

Without a compelling promise that turns a browser of your content into a reader of your content, the rest of your words may as well not even exist. So, from a copywriting and content marketing standpoint, writing great headlines is a critical skill. Here are some interesting statistics:

On average, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. This is the secret to the power of your headline, and why it so highly determines the effectiveness of the entire piece. Remember, every element of compelling copy has just one purpose — to get the next sentence read.

And then the sentence after that, and so on, all the way down to your call to action. So it’s fairly obvious that if people stop at the headline, you’re already dead in the water.

The better your headline, the better your odds of beating the averages and getting what you’ve written read by a larger percentage of people.

This ebook will provide you with concrete guidance that’ll have you writing better headlines in no time.

Other Resources for Your Free Email Offer

  1. Lead Magnet Guide (5 essential characteristics of a lead magnet)
  2. Lead Magnet Survey (share your own opinion about email sign up incentives and discover what other entrepreneurs recommend)
  3. Lead Magnet Project (an interactive online project for professionals building relevant email lists)
  4. Lead Magnet Examples (Graceful Resources email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  5. Recommended Website and Email Software Resources (you’ll also discover why these resources are recommended)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent

5 Reasons You’re in Control of the Lead Magnet Project

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The Lead Magnet Project is an online interactive project to guide you step-by-step through the successful project execution of your own online lead generation strategy – leading to the attraction of relevant email subscribers to your business email list.

If you think you are the only person who struggles to build an email list, you are not alone.  As a Lead Magnet Project participant, you will discover how to:

  • Determine Your Best Email List Building Strategy
  • Create a Winning Professional Lead Magnet
  • Write Effective Copy for Your Opt-in Form, Web Page, or Advertisement
  • Integrate, Test, and Deliver the Lead Magnet with Your Email Marketing Service
  • Strategically Connect Your Lead Magnet to Your (Current or Planned) Product / Service Through Your Own Professionally-Crafted Email Marketing
  • Grow Your Email List and Business with a Relevant Target Audience

Free Lead Magnet Guide

The Lead Magnet Project is now available for your participation (click here for more information) and you are in control for five reasons noted below.

LeadMagnetProjectQuestionnaire

Five Reasons You’re in Control of the Lead Magnet Project

Reason #1 You are in control: You are welcome to say no.

The Lead Magnet Project isn’t for everyone. You may already have the strategic and technical processes in place to build a relevant email list for your current or planned business.

Advanced lead generation processes using tools like ConvertKit, Leadpages, OptinMonster, and Typeform will be taught to participants, but again you have permission to say No.

Reason #2 You are in control: You can request a refund within seven days.

The Lead Magnet Project is new and you will be one of the first project participants. A big advantage for you is that you will receive more personalized attention and feedback than at any point of the project.

A risk for you as an early adopter (or, for that matter, as a participant at any stage) is that you may discover the Lead Magnet Project is not for you.  If so, no worries. You have one week to simply request a refund.

Once you start the Lead Magnet Project, you will have an immediate opportunity to complete a strategic lead generation questionnaire.  You will receive a copy of your responses for your own strategic planning – even if you request a refund.

Reason #3 You are in control: You can invest in the Lead Magnet Project for just one month or stay connected. It’s up to you.

There is no annual contract to sign or big online course fee to pay upfront with the Lead Magnet Project. Your access is available monthly so you control your duration and budget.

You may receive all the strategic and technical guidance you need after one month – in which case your total business investment may be under $100. If you are receiving additional professional value (and you will), you can stay connected to the project for as many months as you would like.

Reason #4 You are in control: You can engage with the project team and other participants, or stay quiet behind the scenes.

The Lead Magnet Project is organized through Teamworks Project software so that all written or video instructions for each strategic and technical project task are outlined in a logical sequence. You can post your questions or feedback directly within any task and reference other organized discussion threads available to all project participants.

As you do so, you will build professional relationships with other entrepreneurs sharing the same lead generation journey with you. But you are in control so your level of engagement is entirely voluntary.

Reason #5 You are in control: You can lock in a discounted rate for as long as you are in the project.

The project consultative fee for custom client lead generation projects starts at $500/month (and there’s a wait list). You are obviously not going to be charged that amount. The cost for the Lead Magnet Project is instead 75% less per month or $125/month.

Professionals on the free Graceful Resources weekly email list (click here to sign up – and to receive the free Lead Magnet Guide) will also have a brief opportunity to lock in an additional monthly project discount of 25% leading to a very reasonable cost to participate of $93.75/month.

You’re in Control of the Lead Magnet Project

The Lead Magnet Project is an affordable and interactive professional-managed online project – that will guide you step-by-step through the strategic and technical steps you need to execute for your new lead generation strategy.

As a project participant, you will attract relevant email subscribers to your business email list. You will also gain freedom back in your life.

The Lead Magnet Project is available now and you are in control.

Click Here to Register

10 Opt-In Email Marketing Offers

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Opt-in email marketing refers to the process of inspiring someone to join (or opt-in) to your email mailing list.

A simple opt-in email form to “receive your newsletter” is likely not going to inspire people to share their email addresses with you.

You need an opt-in email marketing offer (also called a lead magnet).

A good lead magnet will:

  1. Attract the right leads to your mailing list and business.
  2. Grow your online business automatically.
  3. Give you time back for your family and friends (because the process is on auto-pilot).

Opt-In Email Marketing - Family

An opt-in email marketing offer can be of many different types.

No matter the lead magnet type, the incentive has to be offered at no extra cost to your email subscriber (other than the personal cost to exchange an email address for the benefits of the lead magnet and subscription).

10 Opt-In Email Marketing Offers

Here are ten common lead magnet types to inspire you to create that perfect opt-in email marketing offer to your business leads:

  1. Discounts (Coupons)
  2. eBooks
  3. Resource Guides (e.g. Checklists, Quick Reference Sheets, Reports)
  4. Audio Files
  5. Online Assessments / Quizzes
  6. Video Training
  7. Software Trials
  8. Swipe Files (Communication Templates such as Email Messages)
  9. Free (but Short) Consultations
  10. Email Autoresponder Series (Automated Series of Emails About a Specific Topic)

FREE Lead Magnet Guide

Which Lead Magnet Type is the Best?

Take the 3-minute Lead Magnet Survey to share your own experience and to discover what other entrepreneurs recommend.

Your family is waiting for you to put your business growth on auto-pilot.

Opt-In Email Marketing

Other Resources for Your Online Success

  1. Lead Magnet Project (an interactive online project for professionals)
  2. Lead Magnet Examples (Graceful Resources email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  3. Recommended Website and Email Software Resources (you’ll also discover why these resources are recommended)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent

What to Ask For in Your Email Opt-in Form

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An email opt-in form on your website, landing page, or advertisement is the front gate for people to join your business email list and then receive the corresponding email welcome message you sent out automatically to new subscribers.

At a minimum, your email opt-in form has to ask for an email address.

Everything else you ask for on your email opt-in form is up for a (heated) debate – as this Leadpages interview on what to include on an opt-in form demonstrates.

It is often said that the more information you ask for on an email opt-in form, the more reasons you give people to not join your email mailing list.

Even in this era of social media transparency, people are still protective of their personal contact information starting with their email address. A professionally designed lead magnet helps overcome the resistance to share an email address, but even a great lead magnet can’t overcome opt-in forms that ask for way too much.

Email Opt-in Form FAIL

The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently sponsored an advertisement on Facebook that had all the marks of a great lead magnet. The ad (pictured below) promoted a “surprising study” on direct mail vs digital mail:

Email-Optin-Form

But when you clicked on the USPS advertisement to simply access the study, you were redirected to this extensive opt-in form:

Email-Optin-Form-USPS

That’s right…

There are fifteen (15!) fields on this opt-in form to simply read the study.

As you probably guessed, what this Facebook sponsored ad from the USPS did receive was ridicule and laughter in the advertisement comments.

What to Ask For in Your Email Opt-In Form

Your email opt-in form is an entry point for a relationship with a future customer.

That being said, your opt-in form should not be designed to record a relationship that doesn’t exist yet.

Keep it simple.

Here is what to ask for your opt-in form:

  1. Email Address
  2. First Name (but make this field optional)

The benefit of a person’s first name is that it allows you to personalize your email message for the subscriber, but do not make first name a required field to opt-in to your email list.

Remember the rule of thumb: Every additional opt-in form field creates extra resistance.

Here is an example of an opt-in form from this site that asks for both first name and email address, but labels the first name field as optional:

What-to-ask-for-Email-Optin-Form-GracefulResources

If you would like to access this actual opt-in form, simply click here to trigger the opt-in form pop-up.

If interested, this opt-in form was created with OptinMonster – one of the tools taught to participants in the Lead Magnet Project.

Other Resources for Your Online Success

  1. Lead Magnet Examples (Graceful Resources email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  2. Lead Magnet Survey (share your own opinion about opt-in incentives and discover what other entrepreneurs recommend)
  3. Recommended Website and Email Software Resources (you’ll also discover why these resources are recommended)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent