How to Grow Your Ezine List

One of my first suggestions to new clients is to develop a newsletter, or ezine.
Ezines help you stay in touch with past clients and prospects, while providing them with valuable information, tips, strategies, and plans to accomplish their goals.

One of the biggest challenges service professionals face is building a large list. You use your list to provide valuable content to your reader, establish your credibility, and increase your visibility. I had originally thought to call this article “How to Build Your List to 10,000+” but truthfully, quality counts more than quantity when it comes to providing services.

Your list could be comprised of sub-lists of your newsletter subscribers, past and current clients, customers who have bought products from you, or a list of names you’ve compiled through networking. There are dozens of ways to promote your services online, some quite creative. Below I’ve listed the three ways to grow your list that are both effective and easy to implement–immediately. Experiment with each of these.

1) Signature File
2) Make it Easy
3) Dedicated Website

Signature Files
These are the messages that you can automatically insert at the end of every e-mail you send. You can change them frequently, and it’s free advertising for you. You want to include the following:

Your name and company name
Your Contact Info
A plug for your newsletter
A link right to the newsletter page on your website
Change your sig file every couple of months or so, anytime you want to emphasize a different service or product

Make it Easy
You want to make it as easy and compelling for your reader to immediately sign up for your ezine. Put a sign-up box on every page of your site, and highlight it on the home page. Use an attention-getting headline
that immediately invites the visitor to read on.

Have a Dedicated Web Page, and offer an incentive
Have a page that describes your ezine in all its glory. A separate page indicates that you’re serious about your articles. Offer a workbook or report, or even develop an audio that can help your prospects immediately.
With so many ezines being offered, you want to stand out by offering something of high value as an incentive to your prospective subscribers.

By consistently sending useful information to your list, you establish your credibility, and stay on their radar, so the next time they need your services, they’ll immediately think of you.

Avery Stephens