Holly is a Holistic Nutritionist with an extensive email list of 5000 people that she has acquired over the past few years. Her list consists of people she attended Nutritional Counselling training with, some family members, a few ex-boyfriends, and all of her Facebook friends.

Justine is also a Holistic Nutritionist and has a much smaller list of 1500 people. Her list grew from some of the same sources like Facebook friends, family, and a few former classmates, but the majority of Justine’s contacts came from her website, followers on her twitter account, and from a weekly running group she belongs to.

Who would you think is better positioned to have a successful Holistic Nutritional Counselling practice?

You would be correct if you chose Justine. If the goal was to simply have a huge list, all you would need to do is pick up your phone book. That will give you tens of thousands of people and you could literally grow your list exponentially overnight. But that would be a big waste of time and energy.

The difference – the majority of people on Justine’s list have CHOSEN to be there and receive emails, promotions, tips, newsletters, and anything else Justine wants to send them. This is one reason why getting clear on your niche and identifying your ideal client is so important. It all boils down to the likelihood that these people will buy from you. Holly’s list, although she personally knows almost everyone, are not qualified buyers. Justine’s list chose her and look to her for advice and knowledge about the services she provides. Justine’s people will want to do business with her because they know, like, and trust her.

List building is so crucial to building a successful business.

Here are 10 free and easy-to-implement strategies for growing your list in a meaningful way:

1. Use blogging and social media to drive traffic to your website
2. You absolutely must have an opt-in box on your home page and every other page of your website
3. Offer a free gift for opting in and providing their email
4. Include your opt-in offer and web link on your business cards
5. Write a weekly or monthly eZine to keep your list engaged
6. Hold free information sessions
7. Request customer emails at your POS (point of sale)
8. Collect business cards from people who would like to receive your emails
9. If you’re at an event, bring a sign-up sheet
10. Ask your Facebook or Twitter followers to sign up

Robbin’s Tip: The free gift you offer in your opt-in should be relevant to your products or services and should be perceived as having high value to someone giving you their email address.

April 2013 Issue