I have a list of ideas for blog posts that come from questions we get both via email and in our Piggy Makes Bank Facebook group.

One topic that keeps popping up is –

How do you get more subscribers on your list?

When you're just starting out it's hard to grow that list and it can get discouraging when you're sitting at 50 or 100 subscribers.

Today I want to share 5 things with you that we are doing that have people begging to sign up for our lists.

The great news is that this works for any niche. We're using these strategies and techniques both here and in our various niche sites. And yes, we actually get emails from people that want to make sure they did everything right to sign up 😀

#1  Create Awesome Content

Let's start with the most powerful one. You want to create some awesome content. The post you're reading right now is a great example of that. The goal is to impress your readers at first glance. You want to make that first impression so … well impressive that they can't wait to learn more and look for ways to stay in touch.

DON'T

• Don't rehash the same thing over and over again without adding new value.
• Don't just grab the same plr article everyone else is posting and throw it on your site.
• Don't just jot something down and hit publish.

DO THIS INSTEAD

• Come up with interesting topics your readers are interested in.
• Before you publish, go back and polish your blog post or article (see #3)
• Look through your emails, blog comments, conversations you have with your readers on social media sites etc. and give them what they want.
• Take the time to write at least one extensive post per week that impresses and helps your readers.

If you don't have an audience that tells you what they need to learn next, think about your own experiences. What have you figured out along the way that people in similar situations will find helpful?

Next make sure they see that post once it's done and published. Just having it on your blog isn't enough.

Email your list about it, share it on social media. Don't be afraid to mention and share something multiple times. Spread the word and let people know what you're all about.

#2 Speak To Your Target Market

Do you know exactly who your target market is? Are you speaking directly to them? Take a couple of minutes today to define or redefine exactly who you are targeting. Be as specific as possible.

Once you have it narrowed down, go look at your site. Look at your optin form and optin page. Are you speaking directly to your target market or are you being vague?

Let's say you have a blog about working from home and you're working on a post about meal planning.

Yes, you could go with some general meal planning tips and share how planning for at least one crockpot meal is a great idea for busy days. Yes, it would appeal to a wide range of readers. But what you want to be known for is to be the go-to source for busy work at home moms. Those are the types of people you want on your list. Speak directly to them. Tell them how they can prep and start a crockpot meal in the morning and then have it cooking while they work away on finishing a big client project in their office. See how that works? You're talking directly to your target audience and connect with them.

#3 Make It Pretty

So far we have great content that really speaks to our audience. Now comes the next step. We have to get them to read it in the first place and realize that it's (a) awesome content and (b) applies directly to them. How are we going to do that?

By making things really pretty. What I mean is that you need to make your blog posts, emails and short reports visually appealing. I gotta be honest with you. I'm not very good at it. I just don't have the patience. Thankfully Tracy is really good at taking what I've written and making it pretty.  Here are some of the things she does when I'm done with a blog post.

An Attention Grabbing Headline 

You wan to grab your readers attention at the first glance. This is your one chance to get them to read all the awesome content you have prepared for them.

We keep a swipe file of good headline and/ subject line ideas. The same rules apply for your email subject line, the headline on a sales page and your blog post title and subheadings.

And don't forget about the headline or call to action on your optin box and of course your optin pages.

Formatting 

Speaking of subheadings. They are a great way to break everything into manageable chunks and organize your content. Subheadings also allow your readers to quickly scan a blog post, email or newsletter and decide if they want to sit down and read the whole thing.

Bullet points along with bold and italics also help break up big chunks of text and allow you to point out all the important pieces. Overall the formatting helps make your posts and emails more readable and visually appealing.

We find the formatting is also very important on your optin pages. Make them easy to read and point out  the reasons why someone should sign up with large bullet points and subheadings. Make it easy for them to see why they should join your mailing list.

Images 

Last but not least you want to add some images. Like the headline, they are often the first thing your readers look at and make a decision about reading the whole thing.

Images also help you spread your content via social media. We like to use images with a modified version of our main headline. This helps peek interest on sites like Facebook and Pinterest and result in higher click-through-rates to your posts.

Images are also important on your optin pages and optin boxes. If you're offering an ebook or short report in exchange for their email address, have a pretty cover graphic created.

#4 Test, Test and Test Again

Next it's time to get comfortable with testing your optin rates. If you're using Aweber, they make it very simple to create two different versions of your optin forms or even optin pages to test.

At the very least you want to test your headlines and your optin freebie. After that, if you feel ambitious, just keep testing anything and everything you can think of. Try a different font for your headline, try a different optin box placement. Change the color of your submit button etc.

Make testing and tweaking an ongoing process. As you improve your optin forms and pages, your optin percentage will go up. Combine that  with an increase in traffic (which we'll talk about next), and you're all set to consistently grow your lists.

#5 Broaden Your Reach

To really grow your lists, you need to get out in front of as many new people (that are in your target market ) as possible.

Sit down once a week or so and think of something you can do to broaden your reach. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Be a guest on a podcast or webinar.
• Write a guest blog post for a fellow blogger in your market.
• Participate in forums and Facebook groups.
• Submit to niche magazines (both physical magazines and digital ones).
• Write and publish a small kindle book in your niche.
• Swap solo emails with a fellow list builder.
• Encourage your existing subscribers to recommend you to others.

This is by no means an exclusive list, just a few ideas to get you started. Continue to get in front of new segments of your target market and invite them to read your blog and join your mailing list.

Introducing The List Building Round Table

We've shared quite a few good list building tips and ideas with you, but there's so much more to learn.

How would you like to learn from 5 List building experts that sit and chat for almost 7 hours about anything from building your list, to how often to mail and of course how to best monetize your lists.

Kelly McCausey got together with Nicole Dean, David Perdew, Lain Ehmann and our very own Susanne Myers and over the course of a few weeks they talked extensively about what they do on an ongoing basis to grow and profit through list building.

You can listen to the audio recordings or read the transcripts of this List Building Round Table at:

https://piggymakesbank.com/roundtable