London, UK
Do you believe that the money is in the email list?
Perhaps you want to rethink that approach after reading this post.
By all means, grow a list. Communicate with readers seamlessly.
But how you grow a list – according to traditional means – mucks the whole thing up for most bloggers.
People who love your blog content will follow your blog through:
- bookmark
- carrier pigeon
I replied to a comment with the above idea via this guest post:
Blogging: One Size Does Not Fit All
I love posts published by Lisa Sicard and Anthony Gaenzle. I enjoy their helpful content.
Do I need to see an email in my inbox to remind me that:
- I love their blog posts?
- I enjoy their helpful content?
Nope.
When someone is in my heart I never forget them.
I remember to check their blog every few days to read their latest blog posts. Or perhaps I double check my Feedly to peruse their latest posts if one or two happen to sneak by.
No blogger needs an email list to drive traffic and profits.
Email is one of many channels through which to set up communication streams between bloggers and readers.
People who love blogs:
- bookmark blogs
- check blogs frequently
- remember blogs
- remember to check blogs frequently
Email is one of many online mediums for communication.
But the human memory supersedes any worldly form of communication because love never forgets. Love is a bond formed in harmony. Harmonizing with blog content draws you to the blog content no matter what. This is why bloggers thrive without email lists; their readers return not based on opening an email inbox to remember to visit but by never forgetting how the blogger makes them feel.
Should You Build an Email List?
Yes.
Absolutely.
Email is a practical means of communicating with readers because most humans possess an addiction to email.
Build your list. Open as many channels of communication as possible to bond with readers.
Go for it.
But do not err in believing that the only way to get traffic and income is through a large, targeted email list. Clinging to this limiting belief constricts you. Tripping over yourself to build a list robs you of opportunities to be seen far and wide. In a way, list building is idol worship in most blogger’s minds. Bloggers try too hard to grow that one means of communication and try too little to be seen and helpful in many spots online.
What happens if your list grows slowly? You are basically seen nowhere online.
What happens if your list grows quickly? You are communicating with readers through only a single channel.
Do you understand how this form of scarcity promoting handcuffs your blogging campaign?
Congratulations on your 10,000 subscriber email list. But only a small amount opens email and visits your blog while bloggers who think big reach a far bigger number of actively engaged readers through a dizzying array of targeted channels online.
Build your email list and a heavy bevy of other marketing channels online.
Blog abundantly.
My Email List
My email list is tiny but loyal.
My online footprint is growing.
At its peak, 72,000 backlinks pointed to Blogging From Paradise because I blogged abundantly to reach targeted readers through as many online channels as possible.
This is one of the secrets to making an impact all over the place.
This is one of the tricks to convincing people that you’ve 10 Doppelgangers doing work for you.
Readers sometimes profess; they have no idea how I do it.
I love what I do and intend to think far and wide with my marketing campaign but always targeting each channel.
Thinking far and wide means being seen and heard in as many targeted spots as possible. Email list building is only one spot for communicating with readers. A multitude of other channels exist for bonding with readers.
Practical Example of Thinking Beyond an Email List
After publishing a blog post I:
- email my list
- share the post on Twitter with a #blogging hashtag
- share the post on my Facebook profile, Blogging From Paradise Page and Ryan Biddulph Page with a #blogging hashtag
- share the post on LinkedIn with the #blogging hashtag
- share the #blogging hashtag tagged blog post on MeWe, YouTube (as a post), Flipboard, Pocket and Scoop.it
- Pin the post to the Blogging From Paradise board
- copy and paste the first few paragraphs, link to the post with the anchor “Continue Reading”, embed an image and post as a simulcast article on Medium, LinkedIn (as an article), Quora, Reddit, Tumblr, WordPress Dot Com and Blogger
- record a short video about the blog post and guide viewers to visit Blogging From Paradise Dot Com through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook Groups related to blogging tips and LinkedIn Groups related to blogging tips
Thinking beyond an email list allows me to appear in many spots as once.
Leveraging is critical for bloggers because exponentially increasing success flows through not one marketing channel but many.
Do not restrict yourself to building a list as the sole means of communicating posts to readers.
Blog traffic and blogging profits build slowly and steadily through as many targeted streams as possible.
Why Does this Strategy Work?
Readers prefer different communication channels.
Email may be the most popular marketing channel for readers but billions of human beings use social media. Being seen frequently on Facebook and Twitter gives you exposure in front of potentially over half of the world’s population.
Bookmarking sites draw loyal fans. Article bases like Medium attract another type of reader.
Be seen in these spots to draw a large, loyal audience whose diverse tastes meet at your blog.
Driving targeted traffic and increasing blogging income hinges on achieving a level of scale.
Market your blog through a hefty range of channels to leverage effectively and to achieve scale.
Conclusion
Build your email list.
But add as many marketing channels as possible to your blogging campaign to maximize traffic and income.
Being seen far and wide amplifies your blogging success.
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