You’re going to need 3 tools to help you build your email list;

1. Sumo – helps you collect emails when people visit your blog/website.
2. ConvertKit – helps you stay in contact with the people that sign up for your list.
3. Canva – helps you design a freebie to give your visitors in exchange for their emails.

The pop up that you saw when you entered my site is powered by Sumo. However if you think a pop-up is too in-your-face, they have lots of different forms you can choose from like ones that slide in from the bottom or cover your entire screen and disappear once you scroll down.

The bar on the top of your screen where you can sign up to grab my 12 Most Profitable Niches List is also made with Sumo.

You can run different forms for different purposes and get really fancy with it as you get more experienced.

• Collect emails.
• Collect push notification subscribers (Chrome & Firefox only).
• Add a call to action to point users to a specific URL with a button.
• Get social shares on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.
• Collect info with custom HTML code.

Make sure to connect your Sumo account with your email service provider, which for most bloggers is ConvertKit. This way when people sign up for your list, you’ll automatically be able to send them your opt-in freebie.

When you sign up to get my 12 Most Profitable Niches List you’ll get the 14 pages I designed in Canva. You can create your freebie in Word or PowerPoint and save it as a PDF which is what I did with my 22 page mini ebook on How To Become An Instagram Influencer.

Having a freebie is KEY to quickly growing your email list.

Therefore you must prioritize creating this over anything else. It must be something worthy of exchanging their email for! It should always be educational, easily digestible and highly valuable.

Here are some freebie ideas to get you started.

1. Video series/webinar
2. Mini ebook
3. Quiz
4. Templates
5. Tutorial
6. Checklist
7. Audio file/audio transcript
8. Resource guide
9. Email course
10. Online workshop

Now let’s talk about the 5 ways to get people to sign up for your email list now that you have the tools to do so and the freebie to offer.

#1 ConvertKit

Yes, ConvertKit is an email service provider, but they provide more than just that service. You can also create email capture forms with it like Sumo.

While there aren’t as many form options as Sumo, you can create landing pages (like the one below) that allow you to obtain emails from social media and other places off of your blog and website.

All you have to do is paste the link on your social media outlets and if people like the freebie you have to offer, they will subscribe!

Additional reading: How To Turn Your Social Media Followers Into Subscribers.

Every blogger and business owner knows that your email list is the most important part of business, because it is what brings you business.

I just sent out three emails for an Ultimate Blogger Bundle Deal that I am affiliated with and made $267.11. Because I sold more than five of their packages, I got my own bundle for free!

Sign up to become an Ultimate Bundles affiliate too!

Even if you don’t have anything to sell, you can sell other people’s products.

Even if you don’t have anything to send to people, it’s good to start collecting emails right now for when you do have something to send.

Or what I did, and still do, is send out my blog posts via email so people get notifications to read them if they would like. This boosts my traffic x3!

#2 Pinterest

Pinterest is a great traffic referrer and email collector… if you know how to utilize it!

1. Create a landing page in ConvertKit.
2. Create a graphic in Canva.
3. Post the graphic and landing page link on Pinterest using Tailwind.

Let’s take my 8 Product & Service Ideas freebie as an example. You will create a landing page which links to your freebie in ConvertKit. Then create graphics in Canva like the ones below to promote your freebie by describing the content of your freebie with a relevant photo and text.

I like to create a few variation graphics because different people are drawn to different designs. Then you’ll schedule your graphic with your landing page link on Tailwind to reach thousands of new people to add to your email list.

#3 Instagram

Gone are the days of only being allowed one link on Instagram, thanks to Linktr.ee! Utilize your ability to link to multiple web pages and make sure to include an opt-in to your list!

Link tree tracks how many clicks each link gets. All you need to do is paste your new link, which in my case is linktr.ee/ladybossblogger, as your website in your Instagram bio.

#4 Facebook Page

A great way to advertise your freebie is through your Facebook Cover Photo. I designed mine in Canva.

Utilize the sign up button as a direct link to your email list and your image as your incentive advertisement.

#5 Twitter

Same thing with Twitter. Everything is clickable on Twitter which makes it really nice. Include a link to your subscribe box in your bio and make sure to fill out your website link with your actual website because not everyone will want to subscribe right off the bat, they will want to check you out first!

I’ve structured my subscribe landing page to send out commonly asked questions on how to get interviewed and how to guest post. Because of this, I’ve cut down on the repetitive emails that I used to have to send and have saved myself a lot of time!

If you have any questions about email or social media, feel free to reach out to me at ladybossblogger@gmail.com, and I would be glad to answer any questions you may have!

If you loved this post, please PIN the pic below!

Much Love,

<3 Elaine Rau

*Disclosure: There are some affiliate links in this post, but these are all products I highly recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.