The Surprising Secret to a Growing Email List
Growing your newsletter can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack, right? But fear not, because I've got a strategy that’s so simple, you might just roll your eyes and think it can’t be real. Spoiler alert: it is. We can use Google Analytics (or Fathom stats) to figure out which pages on your website are actually getting some love.
Trust me, you might be shocked to discover that old blog post from 2019 is still raking in the clicks while your latest masterpiece is gathering virtual dust. Once you've identified those star pages, it’s time to get crafty and whip up a quick cheat sheet or lead magnet. Who doesn’t love a freebie? You can easily create a PDF that people can’t resist signing up for, even if it’s just a glorified summary of your blog.
And yes, I did have a moment where I wondered if people even realize they can bookmark a page, but hey, if they want a PDF, who am I to judge? Now that you’ve snagged their emails, you can start sending them all the fabulous stuff you’ve got up your sleeve, from show updates to special offers, all while feeling like a total marketing genius. It’s like getting a backstage pass to your own show!
Takeaways:
- Having a newsletter is super powerful, but growing it can feel like a full-time job.
- Using Google Analytics can help you pinpoint your website's top pages for better engagement.
- Creating lead magnets from top-performing content is a total game-changer for email sign-ups.
- It's wild how a simple PDF request can boost your newsletter subscribers overnight.
- Social media is like a tiny trickle compared to the flood of potential from a newsletter.
- Invest some time to set up your stats and watch your audience grow—no magic wand required.
References
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
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I've talked in the past about how powerful having a newsletter is, but there are some times you're like, how do I grow this thing?
Speaker AI've got two people on it.
Speaker AWell, today I've got a strategy.
Speaker BWelcome to your podcast consultant.
Speaker BSmall lessons with big value.
Speaker BWith more than a decade of experience and millions of downloads, this hall of fame podcaster is a featured speaker, author, and mentor to thousands.
Speaker BNow he wants to work with you.
Speaker BHe's your podcast consultant, Dave Jackson.
Speaker AWhen I first heard this strategy, I was like, that sounds way too easy.
Speaker AIt does take a little bit of time, depending on where you're starting.
Speaker ABut I tried it, it works.
Speaker AAnd it's not going to give you a million newsletter subscribers.
Speaker ABut I'm going to here to tell you, at least for me, I started having more people join than typical.
Speaker AAnd it involves.
Speaker AWe'll talk about two strategies.
Speaker AOne is using Google Analytics.
Speaker AThe good news about Google Analytics is it's free.
Speaker AYou simply copy and paste some code to your website and it tells you everything about your website visitors.
Speaker AThe bad news about Google Analytics is it tells you everything about your website visitors.
Speaker AAnd some of that stuff you don't need.
Speaker ASo if you have the budget, I like fathom stats, same thing, copy bit of code.
Speaker AAnd it just the stats are so much easier to figure out what's going on.
Speaker ABut no matter what it is, figure out what are the top 10 pages on your website.
Speaker ASo if you've never done this, you're like, I don't have anything on my website.
Speaker AWell, add something and then give it a month or two and see which of those pages which could be a page, it could be an episode, whatever it is, look at which one is scoring the most and you'll be surprised.
Speaker AI have stuff that's from years ago that's still gathering traffic.
Speaker AAnd once you find those, go to that page and see if there's some sort of quick cheat sheet you can make.
Speaker AA lot of times we call these lead magnets, but whatever it is, come up with a quick cheat sheet.
Speaker AYou can make it in Google Docs, you can make it in Microsoft Word, and then save it as a PDF, throw it in a Dropbox, whatever, Google Drive, and work with your email program, whether that's ConvertKit, I think that's my favorite right now.
Speaker AMailerlite's pretty good as well.
Speaker AEither one of those, you can set it up so that when people give you your email address, then you give them this PDF.
Speaker AAnd why newsletters are so important is they perform so much better than social media.
Speaker ASocial media is a trickle.
Speaker ANewsletters are a bigger trickle.
Speaker ABut I was like, well, it can't be that simple.
Speaker AAnd so I found the top 10 pages on my websites, made these quick little cheat sheets and yeah, and the one that got me is I have one that simply said, would you like a PDF of this blog post?
Speaker ABecause I really couldn't think of a cheat sheet and I had people sign up just to get the PDF because the whole time I'm like, you do know there's a bookmark feature in the browser, right?
Speaker AYou could come back to this anytime, doesn't matter.
Speaker AAnd once you get their email, then you can start, you know, sending them other messages and especially if you want them to follow the show or buy something that you're selling, you now are one click away.
Speaker ASo it's a very simple strategy.
Speaker ATakes a little bit, you know, takes a little time to make these lead magnets.
Speaker AIf you want to cheat, you can use chat GPT.
Speaker ANot really my favorite at all.
Speaker AI always like to create something and let AI kind of buffer it up a bit, polish it up instead of just letting it create it because a, you put your integrity on the line in case it says something stupid and it just takes your personality out of it.
Speaker ASo it's an easy one to do.
Speaker AIf you're trying to grow your email list, take a weekend, put those stats again.
Speaker AThat's the problem is you go, oh, I don't have any stats on my website.
Speaker AWell, put them on and then come back in a month and see what are the top pages and episodes on your website and make some cheat sheets.
Speaker ANow, if you need help growing your show, not just your newsletter, well then come visit me over@schoolofpodcasting.com use the coupon code LISTNR that's L I S T E N E R.
Speaker AWhen you sign up for either a monthly or yearly subscription and a course that comes with not a 7, not a 14, but a 30 day money back guarantee so you can join without worry.
Speaker AI'm Dave Jackson, I help podcasters.
Speaker AThanks so much for tuning in.
Speaker AI can't wait to see what we do together.
