How Big Should Your Email List Be?

We all know that we need to build our email lists if we want to market ourselves online, right?

I remember when my list was small and thought that it would be so great to have a big list. Since then, I’ve realized that there are pros and cons to list size.

On the plus size, with a bigger list you have more people interested in your message, you have more potential impact and influence, and you’re more attractive to joint venture partners.

But there are cons as well. For one, you have to pay more for autoresponder systems as your list size grows. Bummer. You’ll also find that your open rates decrease over time, and it gets even harder to press that “send” button when you share a broadcast (OMG – I’m sending this to so many people – I better not mess up:)

The other thing to keep in mind is that your list size isn’t as important as:  #1) the quality of your list and #2) what you do with it.

So what makes for a “high quality” list?  Above all, it’s targeted. That means the people on your list are really interested in the solution you provide. That’s why it’s super important to have a great giveaway. You know, the free gift you offer people as an incentive for them to get on your email list.

Your giveaway should be valuable and address a top burning challenge for your ideal client.  If you don’t know who your ideal client is and what their biggest challenges are, then STOP.

Don’t do a bunch of marketing to drive people to your website and/or landing page until you have that clarity and a great giveaway. It’s just a total waste of time. Trust me, I speak from experience. Before I got things on track, I marketed myself without that clarity and after a year and a half, had only 71 people on my list – painful.

The other thing that makes for a high quality list is how responsive it is. And that has a lot to do with #2 – what you do with it. Once people are on your list, you have to continue to add value.

You want to create a series of emails that automatically get sent out over a period of weeks (or even months). Those are called follow-up emails. You also want to send broadcasts, that are one time emails you send to your list. These can include newsletters, announcements, articles, questions, etc..

You also want to make offers to the people on your list. That could be inviting them to a webinar, or a consultation, or buying a program. Just please don’t build your list and then do nothing with it. That’s not fair to you or the people who have raised their hands and said they want your help.

To that end, I encourage you to create 2-way communications between you and the people on your list.  That means they hear from you and you hear from them. How do you do that? Lots of ways.

Pose a question in your email and ask them to answer. I do this and I answer each email personally. You can also create 2-way communication through a survey, or inviting them to interact with you on social media or on a webinar.

The point is that you want to build a relationship with the people on your list. Because they aren’t just numbers. They’re people. They have challenges and desires that you can help them with. And isn’t that why you’re in business in the first place?

I’m going to personally lead a small group of committed entrepreneurs on the step-by-step path to list building success. Together we’ll nail your messaging, and build a targeted, responsive list of people who value you and want to work with you. Click here to get on the advance notice waiting list so you’ll get first dibs on learning when we re-open for registration.