Blogging Mistake #2 That You Want To Avoid

When most people start a blog they have 2 goals in mind helping people with their knowledge and making money. To do these two goals you need a mailing list. This is where most people make their biggest mistake. If you don’t have any readers then how can you succeed at these goals?

This is where you need a list. Your list is going to be your biggest asset that you will ever have. No matter what happens to your blog your list will always be there for you. You will always be able to make money from your list. How can you do this?

Sell digital products

Sell affiliate products

To create a new blog that they will want to read.

Offer your services as a consultant.

Sell them some online courses.

These are a few ideas but you understand what I am saying. You have this list to make money with. But if you don’t build a list you won’t make any money from them. No one will be able to read your blog because they won’t know it exists. When should you build your list?

You will need to begin at the beginning of your blogging career. This is the best time to do it. When you start from the very beginning you can build your readership at the same time. You will also be able to earn money sooner.

When people wait to build their list they aren’t making any money. Or if they are they are only getting one time customers. When you build a list you are building a way to make your customers and readers into repeaters. Not as one-timers who visit and never return.

What do you need to build a list

When you’re ready to build your list there are a few things you are going to need. Some will tell you that you need to have a website to build a list. you can it can help you but it isn’t completely necessary. If you are blogging on medium or on vocal a web page isn’t needed now. Later you can add one if you want to go bigger.

So let’s start with the things you will need.

Email service

You are going to need a service that will help you to collect your list and store it. It doesn’t matter what provider you decide to go with that is your choice. You will have to do your homework and research them to decide on which one you want to go with. The service provider will give you the tools for the next 3 things you are going to need.

A couple of these services that you could use are:

Patreon

This is where you can create a paid subscription newsletter. It will help to provide value to your mailing list. They have it set up where you could offer a few different payment tiers. Each tier will cost more money to your subscriber but they will get more benefits in the long run. I am using this service for my Entrepreneurial Writers career. As a way to help others be an Entrepreneurial writer also.

Substack

This service is almost like patreon. It is a paid subscription service or you can offer it for free. Here at substack, they suggest making it free until you get a few posts made before you start charging for it. I am planning on using substack for a travel blog that I am working on creating.

Mailchimp

Mail chimp is an email service provider that you can sign up for. They have many different plans. Starting with a free one. The price goes up depending on the number of subscribers you have on your list. Mailchimp also has landing pages and opt-in pages and thank you pages you can create on their website.

Landing Page

If you don’t have a full website a landing page will do fine. A landing page is a sales page. You are selling yourself to your potential subscribers. You have to give them a reason to enter their contact information. This is where you will offer them a prize or something for free if they join your mailing list.

Opt-in form

This is the form that your subscribers will need to sign up on. They will enter their name and email address. You don’t want to ask for more than that on your form. The more you ask them to enter the less likely it will be that they will sign up. This form is embedded onto your landing page or your blog posts.

Thank you page

Once your new subscriber signs up on your opt-in form he/she will be taken to your thank you page. This is where they will be told when they will receive their free gift. At the same time, you are thanking them for becoming a member of your list.

content upgrades and or a free offer.

People don’t always give up their email address unless they are going to get something in return. This is where a free offer or content upgrades come in. You need to offer someone something that will help them and give them something that they may need or want. It doesn’t have to be an expensive item but it must provide value to them.

Conclusion:

In this article, I talked about the importance of creating an email list. Starting from the beginning of your blogging and writing career. I am one of the crazy people who didn’t do this. I regret it a lot. So now I am working on fixing that issue. Don’t be like me and have to play catchup or have lost out on a major opportunity to earn more money from the beginning.

Go forth and build that list.

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