Welcome to Day 8 of the How To Get Your First Subscribers Challenge!
When you think about building an email list, it can get overwhelming thinking about all the technology you need to work together to make it all work. Keep in mind that some of the systems are redundant, and you may not need all of these, but you will need the following:
#1 Build a website
What platform will you use to build the site? You can choose self-hosted WordPress, or you can build your website another way. Know how all the technologies work together. For most needs, self-hosted WordPress will work great.
Here’s the thing. It can be very difficult to build a site from scratch so you will need to purchase a premium theme. I always recommend Divi as my first choice.
Check out my Map Out Your Client-Getting Website for an easy roadmap on everything you need for your website.
#2 Choose a Website Host
Pick a website host that will work with you based on your needs. Remember that bigger is not always better. But you want the host to have a good reputation and provide excellent customer care.
If you’re a newbie, and are confused on what web hosting you should choose check out my blog post What Web Hosting Are You Using An Why You Should Change. I go into a lot of detail on my top 2 picks and go through the specifics of what should be available in any hosting you purchase regardless of if you pick my same hosting. (My top pick for newbies is Siteground.) Bottomline, website hosting is kind of a gamble and when your business is on the line really think about the type of hosting you are putting your content on.
#3 Create a social media presence
Create social media accounts on platforms your audience likes to use. Update it often with relevant information and content for your audience. Choose at least the top three that your audience likes to use. Consider using automation via software like Hootsuite.com too.
#4 Create a targeted and compelling freebie
You may need or want more than one freebie that you create based on where your targeted audience member is in their buying cycle.
Check out Module 8 of Map Out Your Client-Getting Website for more ideas on what opt-ins are best for your audience.
#5 Create a landing page or sales page
Treat your freebie as you would any product you’re going to sell to your audience. Create a sales page for it so that your audience knows the benefits of getting it. While you can build a landing page using a standard WordPress new page, using software like net is also very helpful and makes it quick.
Check out Write Your Money Making Sales Page for more tip and strategies for creating your sales page.
#6 Have an email autoresponder service
You must have an autoresponder such as Aweber.com, Drip.com, or Get Response (or others) to deliver the messages to your subscribers. Don’t be tempted to use your own website and private email because these services are more secure and work better.
#7 Create a place to store downloads
You may want to use your own server, or you might want to invest in a better system that is more secure like Amazon S3 to store your freebies and products safely.
#8 A way to deliver the freebie
You don’t want to attach your freebie to the email. Instead, you’ll want to create a download page or use an automatic system to help deliver it, track it, and segment your audience with it.
Be creative with your download page or thank you pages. You may want to consider making relevant offers if it suits your audience.
#9 An email marketing sequence of messages
You’ll want to create an email sequence to welcome your subscribers based on the freebie they download or the product they buy and add information to guide them in their choices in the future. Use the Email Marketing Planner to create your sequences.
To choose which technology you’re going to use, it’s essential to understand what your business stands for, what your budget is, and what you plan to do in the future too. Choosing systems that can grow with you is important.
Please leave any comments or questions below.
Thank you for joining me! Remember to Subscribe for freebies and more! To go to your next lesson simply click the “Next Post” button below.
