How to build a hyper targeted email list with your blog

One of the biggest reasons to blog is to build your email list.

That’s because you want to keep in touch with your readers and prospects on a regular basis.

And because you want to deepen your relationship with them.

In this article I’ll show you how to build an email list that will deliver:

• On-demand traffic to your blog
• Repeat customers for your products, services and affiliate offers

So let’s dig in and see how this can happen for you.

You know I don’t like giving you a bunch of abstract theory, or techie babble.

I just want to show you how easy this can be to set up, and how it can really change your entire blogging business.

The best WordPress plugin to build your blog

First of all, you will want to use some kind of software to build and display opt-in forms on your blog.

Opt-ins are the forms that people need to fill out to subscribe to your email list.

Typically, they offer something for free (a “lead magnet”) when someone subscribes.

The one I recommend is Thrive Leads.

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate and user of Thrive Leads.
If you make a purchase from my above affiliate link,
I may earn a commission.
This has no effect whatsoever on your one-time cost.

I recommend Thrive Leads to my readers, students and clients because it is so simple and versatile.

It really gives your blog or website a professional look and feel.

You build instant credibility with your blog visitors when your site has compelling visual appeal.

And Thrive Leads helps you accomplish this at the same time that it helps you build your email list.

How to use your blog to build an email list

Now, one of the things you’ll want is different types of opt-ins.

And you’ll want them to display in different locations, at various times.

Time-based forms

So, for instance, some might be time-based pop-ups.

Time-based means that you get to set a specific amount of time that visitors need to be on your blog before they see your opt-in form pop up.

So, maybe someone is on your site, reading your blog post.

30 seconds after they start their session, they see your opt-in form pop up.

Now this is important because people will usually leave your site after a short time.

So you can time this to appear after 10 seconds in order to capture their interest before they leave.

You can see how long people usually spend on your blog to determine when you might want them to first see the pop-up.

If your average viewer is spending 2 minutes on your blog, you could time your pop-up for 60 seconds.

The idea is to try to show people your free offer before they leave your blog.

If people get your offer, there is a much better chance that they’ll join your email list.

This is far more effective than, say, a widget form on your sidebar that they may never even see.

Scroll-depth pop-ups

As an alternative, you could set up your blog so that opt-in forms don’t appear until your reader scrolls to a certain depth in your article.

Maybe you want them to see a pop-up when they scroll through 50% of your blog post.

Or perhaps you want to catch their interest earlier, at 25% or 10% depth, or whatever you want.

You could even coordinate the settings so that the form pops up at just about the time your reader is at a point in your article that they might be especially interested in your lead magnet.

So play with it a bit and find what works best on your blog post.

Exit pops

Many bloggers don’t like the idea of interrupting the user experience of their readers.

They don’t want them to be bothered with pop-ups and offers and opt-in opportunities until they’re done reading the blog post.

Or until they’re ready to leave your blog.

So, in this case, you could have your pop-up form appear only when your reader scrolls over the exit button.

Then, just before they leave, they will see your offer.

It could say something like “Wait… before you leave, why not grab my free ebook.”

Or it can even be tied more specifically to the content of your blog post.

Something like this… “Now that you know how to create a YouTube video, you’re going to want to read my free guide on how to get more YouTube viewers.”

Exit pops have been shown to be extremely effective at converting readers into email subscribers.

So if you really want to build your email list from your blog visitors… give it a try 🙂

How to rapidly increase your list building efforts

Okay, so now we’re moving into an advanced strategy that you can use to really shake things up.

Once you find something you think is really cool, you can work to make it make it even better.

That’s right.

You don’t have to settle for good enough.

This is how the real pros operate.

They always strive to take things up a notch.

Good is good.

But you have to agree that better is even better.

Right?

So here’s how you can make your list building campaigns even better than good.

A/B splits

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “A/B splits.”

Now I won’t give you the analytical jargon behind this concept.

That’s because I don’t understand it, and I don’t have the patience to try to figure it out.

All I know is that it works.

And it’s so simple with the Thrive Leads plugin.

You simply create an opt-in form (easy to do from the templates).

Then clone it and create another one that’s a bit different.

Like maybe one is green, the other is red.

One is set to pop-up at 30 seconds, the other at 15 seconds.

Get it?

Just test one again the other until your results get better and better.

This is how pro bloggers build such big lists so successfully.

Aren’t you ready to try it out for yourself?

Making your email list hyper targeted and extremely profitable

Now here’s the biggest thing I can share about building a great email list.

Make sure you get the right people to subscribe.

The “right people” are the ones who are really interested in what you do.

Because otherwise, they won’t be clicking on the links in your emails.

You know, like links to your current blog post.

Or to your sales pages or affiliate links.

So you won’t be building a profitable list.

Really, unless your subscribers are “hyper targeted” … in other words, really into what you do as a blogger or internet marketer…

they probably won’t even open your emails.

Relevancy

So the most important thing to do is make sure everything you do is relevant to your core message.

What is it that you really promote on your blog?

Is it your business or profession?

Maybe a niche topic like photography, or arts and crafts?

Whatever your big thing to promote is, you need to tell people about it in many different ways.

That’s what your blog posts do.

But when you write those blog posts, you also need to capture your readers for your email list.

After all, MOST people who read your blog for the first time will NEVER come back.

So you’ve got one chance to get them to join your email list.

And once they do, you can keep in touch with them regularly.

Let them know when you write new blog posts.

Remind them about your products and services.

Connect with them when there’s a big affiliate launch in your niche.

So make sure that your content is relevant to the core message of your business and niche.

And make sure your opt-in offers are highly relevant to the subject matter of your content.

That way, you will build an email list filled with hyper targeted subscribers.

Do this right and your email list can turn out to be extremely profitable.

Growing your blogging business

When you use the strategies I’ve shown you to build your email list, you will benefit in 2 main ways.

On-demand traffic to your blog

When you have a list of people who are interested in what you do, then they will be interested in your blog posts.

But if they don’t know about them, then what good is it to create great content for them?

If they’re on your email list, though, you can let them know each time you publish a new post.

And you can even use your email messages to pique their interest in reading it.

In other words, don’t just tell them you wrote a new blog post.

Promote it.

Tell them how they’ll benefit from reading it, what they’ll learn from it, etc.

That way, every time you publish a blog post, you will have the capacity to drive on-demand traffic to it.

Just send them an email, and watch your blog traffic surge.

And not only traffic, but repeat traffic.

Not to mention traffic from a loyal audience that is likely to share it among their friends and associates, and on social media.

Repeat customers

But you won’t just be driving traffic to your blog.

You’ll also be able to tap into a database of repeat customers for your products, services and affiliate offers.

That database is your email list.

And the better you bond with them, via email, the more likely they are to be repeat customers and clients.

How to build a hyper targeted email list with your blog

By now, I’m sure you’re all excited about building your list with your blog.

So, where do you begin?

Well, let me remind you of something I suggested right from the beginning of this article.

The best WordPress plugin to build your blog into a list-building machine is Thrive Themes.

Why?

It’s simple to use.

You don’t need to know coding or anything technical.

And it’s not only affordable, but comes with a one-time only cost instead of monthly subscription like most of the others I’ve investigated.

Finally, it does eveything… everything that I’ve mentioned in this article.

And even a lot more.

So I recommend…

1. use your blog to build your email list
2. get the right technology to help you do it
3. check out Thrive Leads now =>

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate and user of Thrive Leads.
If you make a purchase from my above affiliate link,
I may earn a commission.
This has no effect whatsoever on your one-time cost.

Do you use your blog to build an email list?

How is that working for you?

Do you think you now have a better idea of “How to build a hyper targeted email list with your blog?”

Leave me a comment below and join the discussion!

-Donna

PS: And hey, make sure to share this article on your social sites 🙂

• Bio
• Blogging Magic

Donna Merrill

Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.