Can we throw a party?
Last month, we passed 1,000 subscribers on the blog’s email list.
One Thousand Subscribers.
I can still hardly believe it when I press send on the email newsletter and realize that it’s just landed in the inboxes of more than 1,000 amazing readers.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to each and every one of you who has subscribed. Since starting this crazy blogging adventure last year, I’ve been overwhelmed by all of your kind comments and messages.
Growing an audience for your writing isn’t easy. At the beginning of last year, I didn’t really know how to find my audience online. My email list grew slowly, and sometimes it felt like hardly anyone was reading my work.
But in late March 2016, I won a contest for a year of blog coaching with bestselling author Jeff Goins. Thank you, Jeff! This included access to a course by email marketer Bryan Harris which I began working through in June when I had about 100 subscribers.
With Jeff’s and Bryan’s coaching and a lot of hard work, I soon discovered the most effective ways to reach a wider audience with my writing.
In today’s post, I’m looking at why every writer needs an email list, and I’m sharing the top five strategies that brought me the biggest number of subscribers.
Note: This is an in-depth guide at over 2,200 words. If you’d like to save it to read later, you can get the PDF version by signing up to my email newsletter for access to the members-only content library.
Why You Need an Email List
Here are four reasons why every writer needs an email list:
1. An email list is 100% owned by you. Your following on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram could disappear overnight if your account gets suspended or the social media site shuts down. Not so with email.
2. Email is one of the best ways to keep in touch with your readers and let them know when you publish a new post. Social media feeds are cluttered with hundreds of updates, and your readers might miss yours. Since email feels more like a private conversation, it’s a great way to build relationships with your readers.
3. If you ever want to promote a book or sell another product or service (like copywriting or editing services), emails have far higher conversion rates than promotional posts on social media or announcements published on your website.
4. Many book publishers will want to know how big your email list is before they give you a book deal. Often, they’ll give you a bigger advance the bigger your email list is. If you’re self-publishing, an email list is essential for marketing your book and organizing a book launch team.
Entrepreneurs like Jeff Goins and Bryan Harris point to 1,000 email subscribers as the base number to start making substantial revenue when selling a book or other product to your email list.
Read New York Times bestselling author Kevin Kelly’s essay on why every creative needs 1,000 true fans.
You Can Grow Your Email List Even If You’re Busy
Now, I know a lot of us writers are short on time. Often we’re juggling our writing with our day jobs or spending time with our families. We don’t have a lot of extra time to spare on growing an audience.
Don’t worry. Depending on how fast you want to grow your email list, the five strategies I’m sharing with you today don’t require a huge amount of time. This past year, I sometimes only posted on my blog once or twice a month, and yet I was still able to grow my list to over 1K subscribers. (If I had posted more frequently, I probably would have grown my email list even faster.)
Without further ado, let’s jump into the five list-building strategies.
(To implement the strategies in this post, you will need an email marketing service. MailChimp is free up to 2,000 subscribers. I use MailerLite (affiliate link) which is free up to 1,000 subscribers. ConvertKit (affiliate link) is an even more powerful service that starts at $29/month. It will be easier to implement the strategies below if you use MailerLite or ConvertKit. Note: these are affiliate links. Check out my guide here for tips on how to get your website set up if you don’t already have one.)
Jathan says
Thanks for documenting and sharing your process Nicole. I’m in the process of “finding my voice”, that part that you struggled with early on. How long did it take before you found your sweet spot on your writing focus “curating the greats”? Also, are you comfortable with limiting your writing to this narrow scope? Do you sometimes want to break out and write about other things?
P.S. I met you and your mother at Tribe Conference (in line waiting to talk to Jeff). I didn’t know this was your blog until I saw the pic. Congrats and I hope to see you at Tribe 2017. I’ve already got my ticket.
Nicole Bianchi says
Hi Jathan,
Yes, I remember meeting you at Tribe Conference. Glad you enjoyed this post!
That is an interesting question about how long it took me to decide on this focus for my blog. When I decided I wanted to begin a personal blog, it took me several months to narrow down the topic. However, I actually had another blog before this one where I shared writing tips and study tips for high school and college students. So the journey to arriving at this particular topic had some interesting twists and turns.
If there’s ever a topic that I want to write about that I think wouldn’t quite fit here, then I’d probably post it to my Medium blog. I’d hate to limit my writing. 🙂
Lynn Woods says
These are great tips. I created my mission statement. It was in my head, but never wrote it down. Major aha moment!
Nicole Bianchi says
Thank you, Lynn! Love that you wrote down your mission statement. It makes it much more tangible when it’s on paper. 🙂
Resh Susan says
Great tips Nicole. I have been on two minds about Medium. I have heard good and bad. I am so glad it worked out so well for you. I would like to try it out some day. Maybe after I can find a bit more time at hand. Thanks for the insightful post. And congrats that you have exploded your mailing list.
Nicole Bianchi says
Thank you so much, Resh! It took me a little bit of time to figure out Medium, but I’m glad I finally started posting there. It really helps to get your blog posts seen by more people & it’s great for meeting other writers.
Ike Paz says
These are solid tips for any budding online entrepreneur.
Build your list and do it the way Nicole laid it out for you!
Great tips here.
Nicole Bianchi says
Thanks for your kind comment, Ike! 🙂
Tamara @ Parenting 2 Home Kids says
Thanks for the inspiration! When I read about other bloggers’ success, it helps me to keep going. I think she is making it work so can I. I am working on growing my e-mail list now, but it is slow going. I have tried a couple of different opt-ins and have had some interest with the second one. I am working on a new parenting challenge opt-in that I am hoping hits the mark.
Nicole Bianchi says
Hi, Tamara! Yes, reading about other bloggers’ successes keeps me motivated too. Hope these tips help you! All the best with your new opt-in. 🙂
Kelvin says
Great tips! I’m going to try Medium next.
Nicole Bianchi says
Thanks, Kelvin! All the best with Medium.
Sameer says
Insightful content. Thanks for sharing
Nicole Bianchi says
Thank you for commenting, Sameer! Glad to hear that. 🙂
Amy says
Great story and very inspiriting! Thanks for sharing!
Nicole Bianchi says
Thanks so much, Amy! 🙂
Tanya says
Would you consider a similar contest as the one you won? I need a coach!
Nicole Bianchi says
Having a coach does make a big difference. 🙂 I’m planning to offer coaching services soon.
Lynne Evans says
Thanks for posting this. I’m sure it will be very useful!
Nicole Bianchi says
Thanks for your comment, Lynne! 🙂 Hope you find it helpful!
Frank McKinley says
This is fantastic, Nicole!
Anyone can use this to easily build her email list. What a great resource to share. Thanks!
I’m not quite at 1,000 subscribers yet. With this, I know I’ll get there.
Nicole Bianchi says
Thank you, Frank! All the best as you grow your email list. Glad to hear that you found these tips helpful. 🙂
Louise Foerster says
Nicole: I found your marvelous blog earlier this year and have been so challenged, informed, motivated, so enjoyed the process! I, for one, think part of your marvelous success is due to your steady, hard work, earnest good-hearted sharing, and all around smart being in the world. Thank you for all that you do to make a daunting lifestyle manageable, meaningful, and a joy.
Nicole Bianchi says
Wow, thank you so much for your kind, encouraging words, Louise! 🙂 I have so loved getting to know you better. And I am so happy to hear that you are enjoying the blog. Thank you for being part of my writing community!
Jennifer Roland says
Great advice, Nicole. I love the idea of content upgrades!
Nicole Bianchi says
Thanks, Jennifer! 🙂
Anne Peterson says
Great article Nicole. So much good information. I also subscribed. I have done some of the things you suggested. I’ve also guest posted on Jeff Goins blog a couple of times. I was a TribeWriter pioneer.
Still, I have not grown my email list to 1000 yet, although I think the combined number is that. So, that’s what I’m working on.
Nicole Bianchi says
Hi, Anne! Thank you so much for your comment & for subscribing. 🙂 How cool that you were a TribeWriter pioneer. All the best as you grow your email list. I hope these tips help!
Kate Findley says
Super inspiring! When I started posting blogs, it was very frustrating because I would put hours of work into them and maybe two people would read them. But I came to realize that I just wasn’t marketing them right and also that growing an audience takes time. Now that I’m about to start an email newsletter, I will definitely take your advice into consideration. Also, I love your Facebook group and have gotten so much out of it!
Nicole Bianchi says
Thank you so much for your comment, Kate! 🙂 Oh, yes, that is the worst — spending hours on a post and then hardly anyone reads it. Hope these tips help you as you grow your email list! I am so happy to hear that you are enjoying the Facebook group. Thank you for being a part of this community!
Cynthia Pereira says
Such a great informative article Nicole! I’ve just restarted my blog, and a lot of your points are so relevant, like having a mission statement for your blog, and giving people a reason to sign up to an email list. Thanks for such helpful content.
Nicole Bianchi says
Hi Cynthia,
Thank you so much for reading and for your comment! 🙂 I am so happy to hear that this post was helpful to you. Hope your blogging is going well! I need to drop by your blog and catch up with your IG.