5 Tips on How to Build a Marketing List Using Your Blog

Well-written, helpful blog posts are one of the best ways to grow your business. But you can take that process further by using your blog to cultivate leads and build a marketing list. A marketing list is more than just a list of email addresses and phone numbers; it’s an organized group of people who have all expressed interest in your business and its products. If you think this sounds like a lot of work, you’re right — it is! Creating and maintaining a marketing list takes time, effort, and resources. But once you see how much ROI it gives you, it’ll be worth it. Check out these five tips on how to build a marketing list using your blog:

Show people what you’re about

The easiest way to get people to sign up for your list is to convince them that they need whatever you offer. The best way to do this is by showing them what your business is all about. That’s why most of your blog posts should focus on content that shows the value of your product or service.

For example, you might write posts about yoga poses and their benefits, breathing exercises, and other helpful information if you sell yoga mats. It’s also a good idea to include information about your company, mission statement, and values. This information will help people better understand who you are and why they should trust you. Knowing this information also makes it easier for you to connect with your readers.

Guide your content with a lead magnet

A lead magnet is a piece of valuable content that you give away for free to entice people to sign up for your mailing list. It can be a short report, an e-book, a checklist, or anything helpful and relevant to your industry.

Most lead magnets are in the form of a downloadable PDF. That’s because PDFs are universally accepted and can be saved to a computer, printed out, and saved to a device like a phone. Other file types, like Microsoft Word documents, are less likely to be saved, printed, or forwarded to others.

There are two things to remember when creating a lead magnet: content and file type. First, make sure your lead magnet offers real value to your readers. Otherwise, they won’t appreciate receiving it, much less download it. Second, you’ll need to decide whether to host your lead magnet on your website or create a download button that allows readers to save it to their devices. If you choose the second option, provide a redirect button to the download.

Ask for contact information

Many businesses only focus on growing their email list and neglect other types of contact information. But you can also collect other ways for people to reach out to you — like their name, phone number, and physical address. Again, your blog is the perfect place to ask for this information. After all, you’re asking people to submit this data so that you can stay in touch with them.

Clearly state why you’re asking for this information and what you plan on doing with it. You can also offer readers a bonus gift for signing up, like a coupon for your products or a freebie from your services.

Remember that most countries have laws about how and when you can contact people who haven’t expressly asked to be on your marketing list. Many countries also have laws about who you can request to join your list, and others don’t allow you to collect any contact information. You’ll need to check your country’s laws if you plan on collecting contact information from your readers.

Grow your list with a giveaway

Hosting a giveaway is a simple but effective way to grow your mailing list. You can do this on your blog or a social media platform, like Facebook or Instagram. For best results, make sure your giveaway is relevant to your industry. You can also make it more relevant by tying it into your blog posts.

For example, if you run a yoga business, you could organize a giveaway for people who sign up for your mailing list —where the prize is yoga mats. If your business is service-oriented, offer a free consultation.

You can also organize a giveaway hosted by a fellow business owner — like a coupon code for your products or a discount on services from one of your partners.

As with signing up subscribers for your mailing list, you’ll need to check your country’s laws to see what sort of information you can collect from people who sign up for your giveaway. You’ll also need to clarify what you plan to do with this information and how you’ll protect it.

Summing up

When it comes to marketing, building a list is essentially creating a following, and it can be done in various ways, depending on where your audience hangs out. For example, if they’re on social media, consider doing a daily giveaway to build your following and get them over to your email list.

Email is still the king in marketing, so if you can get people on your email list and engage with your content, you will see the most significant ROI and highest return on your time.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways that you can use your blog to build a marketing list. The most important thing to remember is that you want to give something of value to your readers. Whether that’s helpful information, a practical guide, or a service that solves a problem, you must provide something of value.