Ahh list building, list building, list building.

If you’ve got an online business or even just an aspect of your business that exists online, you are likely spending time trying to build up your mailing list.

If you’re struggling to build your email list, this episode is for you.

Today – we’re going to go in deeper on your perception of how big your list really is and how you can help it grow simply by changing how you view “your list”.

Your list is actually bigger than you think.

Tell me if any of these sound like something you’ve thought or said:

“Well, I only have, you know, 20 people on my list.”

“I only have 500 people on my list—I was told I needed 1,000 before I launch anything.”

“I don’t really feel like I can launch with such a small list.”

“I didn’t have a real launch, because I don’t have anybody on my list.”

Well, if any of these hit on your struggle, I do feel your pain.

There have been enough business owners and online educators who show the power of having an email list.

But if you’ve listened to any past episodes of the show, you may know that there are plenty of examples of people who launched without sending even one email.

An email list is not the only indicator or touchpoint that you could possibly have with people in your audience. With all of the various social platforms and social networks and social media, there are so many ways of reaching out and making a connection with people who are already in your audience.

The #1 Reason Why Your List Is Bigger Than You Think … You’re not counting probably the biggest growing part of your audience—social media.

Your list just means our audience, where people are paying attention, able to connect with you.

When you start thinking things like: “well, I only have 200 people,” or “well, I only have 1000 people on my list,” or “well, I don’t really have enough people yet”…do this.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Can you communicate and interact with people? This is true of email, this is true of blogging, this is also true of video, of Facebook, of Instagram, of Pinterest, of every single social media network you might think about. In fact, one could possibly argue that you have a better chance of interacting with people on those platforms than you would if you have zero people on your list, on your mailing list.

2.  Can you add value and share information? Can you promote and sell your stuff? Are these platforms where you could share what you’re up to, give people a resource, answer a question? And again, with social media, and with all of the things that you might not consider your list, of course you can do that—your blog, in Facebook groups, in forums. If you’re not sure if where you’re at right now is a place that has your audience and is a place where you can actually build it out to be part of your business, ask yourself, can you add value here? And if you can, it counts as part of your list so start adding value today.

3. Can you be personal? Actually, you can be on all of the platforms, whether they’re social media networks or not. Be personal. Being personal simply means you reply, reach out, and respond to people you meet on your platforms. Be yourself.

4. Can it be somewhat standalone? Let’s say you wanted to focus your energy on Instagram. Could you just be on Instagram and run your business? Probably not, but it is a great part of your strategy—it could even be your main referring site leading back to your webpages, promotions, shop, and email list.

The Next Step

Once you’ve identified and said yes to the above questions on a few different platforms, it’s time to put some links, mentions, and ways to lead them to your email list.

Make sure you’ve got all those little pieces in place to lead them back to your website—your main hub.

> in the profile
> messages that lead to your lead magnet
> images that link to your latest product
> pictures of your product when you do a special promotion
> invite to your community (with a link)
> straight up sales & promotion messages telling people what you’re launching

These might seem obvious, but with everything else you might be doing in your business, it’s easy to let them slip. Make sure you’ve got 3-5 times during any given week that you are actively asking how to get those people onto your email list.

Here are few resources I love and think might be useful for you if you’re still trying to connect your social media to your list building efforts:

Melyssa Griffin > 3 Essential Pinterest Strategies To Quickly Grow Your Traffic On Autopilot

Made Freshly > How to use Instagram Marketing For An Email List That Makes Sales

Heart, Soul, Hustle > How to Add 3000 People To Your List In 5 Months

HelpScout > The Listbuilding Strategies That Grew 70,000 subscribers

The Real Reason You Want People To Join Your List

Surprise – we’re back to you getting people on your actual email list.

But here’s the real reason why you want to do that.

We’ve established that it’s not your only touchpoint…so why then do we always want to get people back to your site or to your email list?

…You control the experience via email (for the most part). You decide when the communication goes out and how many characters, if there are images, where you want to divert their attention.

Yes, people often open emails out of order, days late, months late, but in general, there’s a better chance people will experience you in the order you want them to.

Think about it. The interaction and their experience of you on social media is going to be kind of all over the place—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it just gives them a different picture.

Again – just because you aren’t in charge of the experience doesn’t make it bad because you want people self-selecting to hang out with you. You don’t want to force them.

You can give people value in different ways, and that’s what they get when they’re going to your Instagram stories, when they’re going to your Snapchat, when they’re going to your Periscopes, when they’re going to your Facebook Lives, when they’re jumping over to your Twitter, they get a different experience of you, and actually a deeper understanding of who you are.

Encourage people to visit your website, to your home, to your email, to get to know you better. Give them a reason to join your email list.

Don’t despair if people aren’t answering or opening your emails or even jumping over to your website yet.

They’re just somewhere else.

Your people might be over on Periscope, or on Pinterest or some where completely different.

That’s your job, is to find them.

Not convince them to open, but to find them and remind them their welcome at your home.

Reach them wherever they are.

Figure out and get to know them in the spaces where they’re naturally interacting, looking for information, being part of communities.

The next time you think “my list is not big enough to launch,” ask yourself these questions.

In fact, I’m going to repeat them one more time:

• Can you communicate and interact with people on the platform, whatever it is?
• Can you add value, share information, promote and sell your stuff?
• Can you be personal?
• And can it be somewhat standalone before you send them off to whatever it is you’re offering?

More Resources!

1) Free Launch Workbook/Planner: Grab this completely free launch planning workbook. Download, print, and start planning your launch today — don’t forget to add in the test and secure your website tasks!

2) Free Systems Cheatsheet: A Free Checklist & Cheatsheet to make sure your systems are in order before you launch — plus the one I mentioned on the podcast today!

Enjoyed This Episode? Want To Hear More?

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Of course, I’d love to know what you thought about today’s episode. Leave a comment below or shoot me an email!