Some authors feel that growing an email list is too daunting.

An email list does not need to be something scary or intimidating. An email list can be one of the most enjoyable and exciting things an author can do. and the most effective way to do this is to offer something of value to your readers.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t consider this a chance to build a list. Instead, use this opportunity to be creative and build relationships with people in your community who subscribe to your emails.

This email list is not about selling your book. It is about selling yourself and achieving your goals related to your primary occupation.

If you follow the tips below, you can create a lead-generation system that will work for you while you sleep.

5 Proven Tactics for Building Your Opt-in Email List

The first step to building an email list is to decide what you will offer your subscribers in exchange for their email addresses. You will need to offer something in return for a reader’s contact information and attention. This can be something like access to exclusive content, a discount, or something else that will incentivize them to give you their information.

There are many ways to attract new subscribers, but here are 15 that have been proven to work.

      1. Offer Free Assessments

You can grow your email list by offering subscribers a free, automatic assessment. This assessment will require them to answer questions; in return, you will send them a diagnosis of their problem.

For example, you can add a button to your landing page with a call to action like this: Click here to take our free shipping and handling assessment and find out how to make your retail operation more efficient.

Is your marketing strategy successful in reaching your intended audience? Find out by taking our free assessment!

After they’ve answered the questions, you have two options:

• Collect their contact information and email them the results
• Make this the first step in a book offer. They get their results immediately, and then you offer a free download of your book so they can learn what to do with those results. They just need to provide their email address for the download link.

The assessment is complete. The second option of providing a more in-depth analysis is more effective as it gives the reader more value. From a reader’s perspective, they have just completed answering twenty questions for their free assessment and want to know how they did. By providing more detailed analysis, the reader will better understand their results.

The first option means that you will only give them the results if they agree to do what you want. This could be seen as frustrating because it takes away their autonomy.

If someone downloads your book, they automatically get value from it. This makes it more likely that they will follow through with it.

If you want email sign-ups that will result in new customers, you need to ensure that your subscribers don’t unsubscribe as soon as they get their results because they feel like they’ve received all the value you have to offer.

this is where you would ask, Why would I give my book away for free? Do not try to sell your book, use it to sell your knowledge, services, or products instead.

      2. Provide Quizzes

You can increase engagement with your subscribers by offering them a quiz. Let them know how well they did and then offer your book as a way for them to learn even more.

The more surprising the quiz, the more people will want to take it. People are likelier to take a quiz if it is exciting and full of new information.

If you want to surprise and engage your readers, present them with opportunities. Provide them with interesting information, like they could earn much more than they are now. Take our quiz to learn how to best utilize your leadership style to get a management position at work.

Curiosity is a great way to attract potential customers.

      3. Create Worksheets

If your book includes actionable advice, you could build a worksheet to help readers put that advice into action, which may entice people.

If your book is about goal-setting, you could offer a downloadable pdf that helps readers create specific, measurable goals.

The ideal worksheet will flow nicely with the content in your book. Additionally, it will lead your readers toward your desired product or service. The worksheet may help them set goals while teaching them that achieving them is not always easy. They will likely appreciate your help and direction, and may eventually seek you out for additional coaching.

As people go through your marketing funnel, you want them to learn more about your product or service and why they need it. If you can get a person’s email address, you can keep sending them information about your product or service. This way, when they are finally ready to become customers, they will already know what you offer.

      4. Offer Downloadable Templates

You can provide templates that help subscribers see the value of your insights instead of a worksheet. You could help marketing teams by offering a creative brief template or help startups by offering a business plan template.

Several templates are available on the Scribe blog, including ones for book outlines, proposals, and copyright pages. The templates help readers solve their problems and explain why our methods work.

If you provide your readers with a helpful tool, they will have firsthand experience that will convince them of your authority and credibility.

      5. Provide Timely Information

There’s nothing better than staying up to date on the latest industry news, best practices, and other timely issues. Offering timely information in the form of content weekly is a great way to keep your email subscribers engaged. This research is time-consuming, so it is best if it is something you are already doing.

9 optimized spots to place your opt-in form

Now that we understand the type of incentive that will help you grow your email list, let’s explore where you can place opt-in forms to get the most conversions.

     1. Contact form

Most people overlook the contact form, but it can be a great quick way to build your email list for many businesses.

A WordPress plugin called Kali Forms can be used to create something similar. The plugin integrates with popular email providers such as Sendfox, MailerLite, and ActiveCampaign. You can create a contact form with a checkbox that sends subscribers directly to your email provider.

Other forms that can be created are job applications and order forms. If a specific form is needed, individuals can be given the option to join an email list.

     2. Sidebar

an eye-catching way to market your business. You can attract scrollers as they read your content by placing your opt-in form on your sidebar or your blog’s sidebar.

This color scheme and placement of objects catch a reader’s attention and bring their focus to the shape of the objects.

    3. At the end of blog posts

If you want readers to subscribe to your business or brand, place an opt-in form at the end of your blog posts.

This makes the reader want to learn more about your business and also promotes your tool or service, reminding them why they were interested in it in the first place.

Pagewiz places an opt-in form at the end of each blog post to capture readers’ emails.

    4. Bottom bar

If you want to attract valuable subscribers and potential leads, placing your opt-in form below the fold will ensure that they are at least looking at your content and reading your posts.

If you want to increase the number of people who sign up for your email list, try placing an opt-in form in the bottom bar. The Health Magazine uses the bottom bar to promote its digital bundle of recipes, videos, challenges and more, which seems to work well for them.

     5. In your header

You can increase your website’s sign-ups by placing an opt-in form in your header or feature box on your blog page or homepage.

Creative Market offers free products and a discount in their header.

    6. Within your blog post

A content upgrade is a specific incentive based on the content a user reads.

A content upgrade is a piece of content related to the topic a user is reading about, adding value to what they are reading.

Crazy Egg uses content upgrades to grow its email list. Content upgrades are a way to improve the quality of your content by adding extra resources, such as bonus material, extended versions, or related content.

    7. Landing page (with video)

Landing pages are a weapon of choice for businesses.

Landing pages are better because they are free of distractions and only have one call to action.

If someone visits your blog and is bombarded with demands to sign up for your email list, they will likely be turned off and leave. However, if they can read your content and get a sense of what you offer, they may be more likely to subscribe. By keeping the barriers to entry low, you can increase the chances that people will sign up for your list.

The more landing pages you have, the more likely you are to capture leads.

Adding video to your landing pages may result in higher conversions.

The best videos to have on your landing pages are those that explain the product or service. These videos make the buyer’s journey shorter.

Zendesk uses video to explain its customer service software on its landing page.

     8. As a pop-up on your website

Even though users may not like pop-ups, they are still good at getting people to sign up for emails.

There are two popular types of pop-ups: scroll-triggered ones and those with exit-intent technology.

As soon as you land on the Tilly website, a pop-up form will appear asking for your email address.

You can also display a pop-up when a user is about to leave your website. You can try to persuade them to stay by offering something that may interest them.

Exit intent is a technology used by eCommerce stores to detect when a visitor is about to leave the site and show them a special offer or message to increase sales or leads.

FabFitFun is a company that sends out quarterly subscriptions of the latest fitness, wellness, beauty, and fashion products to its customers.

To increase their leads, they have implemented an eye-catching, full-page opt-in form that appears when a user attempts to leave their site.

If you want to use a pop-up form with exit-intent technology, OptinMonster is one of the most popular lead-generation tools.

     9. Scroll-trigger opt-in form on your blog

These forms slide in as a user scrolls through a blog post or content on your site. A scroll-triggered opt-in form on the Tailwind blog draws the eye to the form and increases sign-ups.

All the above methods are viable options for an author to build a budding email list. obviously, you can’t implement them all, as an author, your job is to find the methods that align with what you already have set up and what you are comfortable with. the process should be as painless as possible.

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Guest Post Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post do not represent the views of 90-Minute Books. The information has not been verified and should be considered an opinion. You are always advised to do independent research.