8 Ways to Build Your Podcast Email List That Actually Work

Podpal Team

Given all the noise in the world today, it’s safe to say that attention is in short supply. That means marketers who want their business to grow need to be strategic about how they go about growing their audience. Email marketing is an extremely effective way to reach your audience directly. But there's an art and a science to writing email content that your podcast listeners will find valuable. While many podcasters dread sending emails because they fear being marked as spam, it doesn’t have to be that way if you follow these 8 tips on how to build your podcast email list!

1) Send emails your audience wants to receive

When you send an email to your subscribers, you’re interrupting their day, so it’s really important to give your audience something worthy of the time they're sacrificing to read your message. The best way to do that is to create a series of emails that add value to your subscribers’ lives. If you can do that, they’ll look forward to your emails, and they won’t feel like spam. People are more likely to open emails that are interesting, relevant, and provide value to them. A good way to figure out which emails to send is to ask yourself, “If I were reading my own emails, what would I want to see? What are the topics that would benefit me the most?” Once you know what topics to cover, you can find ways to tie those topics into your business.

2) Don’t rely on just one channel

Email marketing is a multi-channel approach to marketing your business, so don’t rely on just one channel when it comes to growing your email list. You can, and should, be using multiple channels to grow your email list. Diversifying your channels will help you to avoid being marked as spam by your subscribers’ email providers. It also gives you more options to reach your target audience. For example, if you have a webinar coming up, invite your audience to sign up by email. If you have a blog where you publish new content, invite your audience to sign up to get the latest articles delivered straight to their inboxes. Of course, you should mention your email list and special offers on your podcast with a nice call-to-action (CTA). One of the most effective ways to grow your email list is to include an invitation to join your email list in your sales funnel. For example, if you run an eCommerce store, you can give your customers the option to sign up for your email list at the end of the checkout process.

3) Be transparent about why you’re asking for an email

If you want to grow your email list organically, one of the best things you can do to avoid being marked as spam is to be transparent about why you’re asking your audience to sign up for your email list. When you’re asking people to sign up for your email list, you want to make it as easy for them as possible. One of the best ways you can do that is by letting them know upfront why you want them to sign up. Don’t just throw a pop-up on your website and hope that your visitors will know why they should sign up. Instead, make a button or a sign-up form that welcomes your visitors and invites them to join your email list. Even better in that form is neatly styled and appealing. You can even include a comedic gif to make it fun and light-hearted.

4) Don’t use burdensome sign-up forms

When you’re asking your audience to sign up for your email list, you don’t want to make it a burdensome process. Instead, make it as easy as possible for your visitors to sign up for your email list. One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make when creating their email sign-up forms is creating fields that are too long. This can cause your visitors to get frustrated and click out of your sign-up form before they even finish it. While you should make sure there aren’t any mandatory fields, you should also make sure there aren’t any fields that are too long. The general rule of thumb is to keep your fields short and to the point. Another thing you want to avoid when creating your sign-up form is asking your visitors for too many personal details. Your sign-up form should only ask for the minimum amount of information that you need to deliver your subscribers’ emails to their inboxes.

5) Offer a free incentive for signing up

Another great way to encourage people to sign up for your email list is to offer a free incentive for signing up. This can be anything from a coupon to a downloadable PDF of helpful content. The key is to make it something that your audience would truly value. When choosing what type of incentive to offer, make sure you have a way to easily track who signs up for it. You can do that by putting the incentive behind a link like “emailmeyourname.” You can also offer a free incentive in return for joining your email list. This can be something like a bi-weekly Q&A session with the owners of your business or a monthly “What we’ve learned this month” type of series.

6) Show your subscribers you care

One of the best ways to show your subscribers that you care is to follow up with them on their first email. Even if it’s just a one-sentence email thanking them for signing up, it goes a long way. Another thing you can do to let your subscribers know that you care is to let them know that you value their privacy. Be upfront about how you collect, store, and use your subscribers’ information. Lastly, one of the best ways to show your subscribers that you care is to be consistent with your email content. If you send one email a month for three years, your audience will know that you care about them and are committed to providing them with value long-term.

7) Ask your current subscribers to share

The best way to grow your email list is by asking people who are already on it to invite their friends to join. One of the best ways to do that is to ask your current subscribers to forward your emails to their friends. While you might feel a bit uncomfortable asking your current subscribers to send an email that contains a link to your website, there are a few ways to make the request more palatable. First, you can ask your subscribers to forward your email to their friends without a link. They can simply forward the email and mention that their friend would appreciate receiving it. Then, when you do send an email with a link to your website or with a call-to-action, your current subscribers will know that you’re not spamming their friends.

8) Try paid advertising as a last resort

Lastly, if you’ve tried everything else and you still can’t seem to grow your email list, try paid advertising. While paid advertising can be an excellent way to grow your email list, it can also be expensive. Make sure you do your research, make sure you know what you’re getting into, and know when it’s time to throw in the towel. When you’ve tried everything else and still can’t seem to grow your email list, it may be time to try paid advertising. The best way to do that is to start with your desired target audience. Try to find out what websites they frequent and try to find places where you can advertise on those websites. You can use Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads to find relevant websites where you can advertise your business.

Conclusion

Email is one of the best ways to market your business and for those who implement the above strategies, the rewards will be great. However, the key to success is making sure your emails are engaging, that they add value to your readers’ lives, and that you’re consistent with them so your audience knows they can expect them on a regular basis.

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