Lisa M Cope

When it comes to building an email list you really need to start thinking outside the box. What methods can you use to build your list that make you stand out from the crowd?

While most people are offering reports and eBooks as a gift for subscribing to a list why not offer them something different? Let’s look at some methods which aren’t used as frequently.

These ways include making use of webinars, videos and using Google+ Hangouts on Air. All of these methods provide exposure to you and provide you with a unique way of getting people onto your list.

With webinars you can provide people with a registration form. Then you simply provide great information on a certain topic for no charge. People will be thrilled with what they have learnt and will be happy to recommend you to their friends.

With videos you can leave a link at the end of your video for people to join your list. Offer them more information in the form of a free report of PDF. When you use this method make sure you add your squeeze page info into the description area.

Google+ Hangouts on Air are perfect for small webinars or you can use them to make a recorded webinar. Simply run the hangout without any attendees and then keep the link private. Share with people who register for it only.

Hangouts are the perfect opportunity for live interviews and using as a question and answer session. You could invite current list members to participate and let them ask questions about something they are struggling with. Then you can use this completed hangout session as your gift to new subscribers. This video would technically become your FAQ section on your website or blog.

If you are nervous about making a video a great way to start is by using power point slides instead of you being on camera. Just remember to create a slide with a call to action such as:

• Click the link below for more information
• Sign up to my free newsletter

You need to tell people what action you want them to take once the video or webinar has finished. Make sure your link is large and easy to read and always post it in the description box as well.

Try this method out for yourself today and see if you can’t increase the size of your email list quickly.

With so many marketers trying to build a list website visitors are now inundated with opt-in forms and squeeze pages galore. While this method still works extremely well you may need to get a little creative so that people will part with their email address.

One way to attract attention is by offering a survey or a poll on your page. This could also be done on Facebook as well. All you do is ask a couple of questions and make the last one a request for an email address for a gift.

The gift is then perceived as a ‘thank you’ gift and the person readily parts with their email, no questions asked.

Use the same thing with the poll. Who doesn’t love to offer their opinion on something? At the end use the thank you gift to get their email address.

When using this method always make sure that your free gift is related to your business. Otherwise once you start sending out emails on a totally different topic your subscribers are going to quickly leave your list.

There are various tools available for creating and running surveys and polls. Just do a search online for the most popular ones. Some of these tools will have both free and paid options. For list building purposes a free tool will be just fine.

Your main purpose for running your survey is to get people onto your list. So you don’t need to ask too many questions, enough so that when you suggest giving them a gift they think it is a good idea.

At the same time you could use the survey as a research tool as well. You could find out just what problems your readers are having and what their likes and dislikes are. This provides you with valuable information that you can use in your business, such as new products or training ideas.

Another add on to this is to run a contest and offer a great prize. Once people have filled out their ballot you then get them to share it with their friends. This provides you with the ability to target even more people.

Contests can be run on various social sites making it easy for people to share. Just make sure you read any rules regarding running a contest first. You don’t want to overstep boundaries and risk losing your account.

If used correctly using Giveaway events can be a great way to build your list. There are two different ways to do this. First you can join a Giveaway event that is being hosted by someone else. Two you can create your own event.

The advantage of the first one is that you don’t have to set up the event and find people to contribute. Plus all you have to worry about is running your own promotions. This can get you great exposure but you may also be competing with a 100 other marketers vying for subscribers.

When searching for ongoing events look for ones that relate to your business and your niche. Some are very general while others may be more specific. For example if you are in the health industry then you want to look for these types of Giveaway as opposed to ones target for online marketers.

Running your own Giveaway may take up more of your time but the rewards may be higher. If you get together will other people in your niche and limit the number of people offering products you could see a better opt-in rate.

If you offer business coaching then you want to get together with 8 or 10 other coaches and give away a product or video during the event. Each person is responsible for creating their own gift and their download page. All you need to put together is the main page which contains a list of all the offers.
Everyone agrees to promote the Giveaway to their lists, on their website and on their social sites and inside any forums they belong to. The benefits of doing this are that you are reaching more targeted subscribers.

You will get people on your list who are immediately interested in what you have to offer. They will be open to receive more emails from you and they are more likely to stay on your list for a longer period of time.

With more general giveaways you will attract a large number of freebie seekers who are interested in nothing but getting something for free. They will join your list and unsubscribe almost immediately. Don’t worry if this happens as these are not the kind of subscribers you want.

Why not get together with some other marketers and try a Giveaway Event? Iit may very well bring you more subscribers than you anticipated.