London, UK
Most bloggers believe that the money is in the list.
Believing this platitude goads bloggers to chase more subscribers.
But what if this is the wrong approach?
What if most of the “more” subscribers do not:
- open your emails?
- click links planted within your emails?
What if a radical list building strategy quite unlike traditional methods boosts blog traffic and blogging income?
As you guys know; I am hardly a traditionalist. I am fully nomadic. My physical possessions include a backpack, carryon, laptop, phone and clothes for one week.
My less than traditional mindset bleeds into my blogging campaign.
Less is more for me not as a witty slogan to bandy about but out of necessity.
I learned this as a digital nomad and blogger.
Radical List Building
A small group of highly engaged human beings who:
- open all emails
- click on links in all emails
subscribe to Blogging From Paradise.
I email engaged subscribers. Engaged subscribers do stuff like boost my blogging traffic and blogging income because every single one takes positive action to amplify my blogging presence. No dead weight. No wasted energy. No vanity metrics.
Each subscriber loves receiving my emails even if I send them two new blog posts daily. A small chunk of the subscribers publishes genuine comments on blog posts. A few subscribers promote my blog on social media, invite me to guest post for them, buy my blogging courses and blogging eBooks and keep things expanding on Blogging From Paradise.
Why is this strategy radical?
I want my list to shrink to a few rabidly loyal fans who will tap dance on the snouts of crocodiles – with toes drenched in chicken juice – to get the latest Blogging From Paradise blog posts delivered to them by email.
How many bloggers teach that approach to list building?
I WANT to see less and less subscribers because whittling down my base reveals this: tightening your email subscriber base circle to the smallest possible segment of crazy loyal fans allows this group of folks to basically be an extension of you. This extension of you is a highly efficient, effective way to give you maximum time to publish detailed content and build strong blogging friendships, both being foundational aspects of growing a thriving blogging business.
For example, when I send an email to a few incredibly engaged subscribers they drive traffic and blogging income for me if I am sleeping, traveling or exercising……and I wasted no time working for more subscribers who’d not engage, not boost traffic and not boost income. I liken it to running a highly efficient blogging company except that I pay these employees in valuable content, not money.
The main reason why this radical list building approach stuns most bloggers is because you and I seem highly conditioned with the concepts of:
- more
- wasted actions
- wasted energy
- wasted time
in the traditional way that bloggers teach how to build a list.
The dis-ease of “more” saps intelligence, dissolves effectiveness, wastes time, destroys scale, obliterates leveraging and kills efficiency.
One Loyal Human Beats the Efforts of 500 People Who Give a Crap Less
Most bloggers bend over backwards while hula hooping on razor blades to get MORE subscribers.
100’s of hours go into crafting email embeds, where to embed the sign up forms, calls to action and all manner of list building schemes to get more subscribers.
Yet this approach is not really sane because email click rates are abysmal.
Bloggers typically waste weeks or months to get more subscribers. Most of these subscribers never open emails.
Imagine this wheel-spinning strategy unfolding for millions of bloggers around the world over a span of years.
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it does the tree make a sound?
If more email subscribers that you worked so hard to gain never open your emails are they in reality email subscribers?
Human being subscribers who do not click links in your emails and visit your blog are identical to human beings who never signed up for your list in the first place.
Both never visit your blog.
One may appear to stroke your ego.
Neither do anything to increase your blogging success.
Your Subscriber Number Is a Vanity Metric
The number of subs on your list is a vanity metric.
Frame this number as being utterly worthless; at least if you want to succeed without wasting energy and spinning your wheels.
As a practical example, according to this study the average email open rate is about 21.5% and the average click-through rate is 2% – 5%Â for most industries.
Most bloggers – even seasoned pros – waste untold energy, time and attention trying to get more of roughly 80% of bloggers who will never open their emails and 95% worth of “subscribers” who will never click the links in their emails.
Have you ever thought of list building in this fashion?
Is the money really in the list if up to 98% of humans on-in the list do not actually visit your blog?
Hey; knock yourself out. Build your list. Slave to boost your subscriber count.
But please understand this: if you desire fun, freedom and peace in life it probably makes no sense to depend on a strategy with a 98% failure rate.
Building your blog and relationships makes far more sense to live a fun, freeing, abundant life.
Graphic Scenario
Imagine if a professional blogger has 30 highly engaged, active subscribers who:
- open all emails
- click all links
- read all posts
This pro owns a small blogging company called “a purely engaged email list” which behaves like 30 Doppelgangers amplifying reach like an online wildfire.
Imagine the average blogger hellbent on getting more subscribers who devotes days, weeks and months of blogging work time on the specific task of list building. After busting their ass they have 1000 subscribers based on crazy hours of list building work.
On the low end, 25 people will read their post. Spending many hours to get 5 more people to read posts than the blogger above with a hyper targeted email list of 20 rabidly loyal human beings – who in God’s name knows if these 25 people are rabidly loyal subscribers who will sprint through a brick wall to get your content? (How can you know? You’re giving so much time and energy to getting MORE subscribers, not fostering bonds with your email list!) – is supremely wasteful, burdensome, tiring and eventually leads to burnout, failure and even quitting in some cases.
Meanwhile, the blogger who uses those crazy hours to:
- write SEO-optimized, long form posts
- engage in genuine blogger outreach
grows their targeted traffic and blogging business in exponential fashion.
Even if blogger builds a 10,000 sub, 20,000 sub or bigger email list the uphill battle includes 95% to 98% of subscribers who will likely never click the links planted inside of their emails.
Does it sound intelligent to work so hard and long for a 2% return?
Do leveraging business owners think this way?
Or do leveraging business owners give almost all work energy to building:
- real estate that they own?
- powerful relationships with successful entrepreneurs?
Focus Heavily on Helping People and Making Friends NOT Manipulating Things
Build your email list but give it little attention and energy.
Stop spinning your blogging wheels.
Give most attention and energy to:
- writing and publishing long form content that solves reader problems
- engaging in genuine blogger outreach
Build valuable real estate that you own.
Make friends who amplify the valuable real estate that you own.
Conclusion
Think like an owner.
Act like a founder.
Profit like a successful blogger.
Build a small, highly-targeted list of email subscribers to grow your blogging business effectively.
Give the lion’s share of your work toward publishing detailed blog content and establishing strong blogging friendships.
Save time, energy and hard work by letting go the list-building dis-ease of “more”.
Experience greater success in less time.
