What is a “List” and do I really need one?

Do you feel fed up when you look at your website stats on Google Analytics and wonder where all those visitors went to, as they certainly haven’t become clients or even contacted you?

It can feel disheartening, and you may wonder if you are missing a vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle of nurturing people who could in future be part of your tribe. Instead, it seems you are just letting them “get away” before you even really had a chance to “meet”!

The 1000 dollar question is do you have an easy way for visitors to your website to keep in touch?

Maybe you think it’s a bit “salsey” and hate the terminology of many online marketing “experts” who tell you that without a list of 1000s you are NEVER going to make it in the world of business? Yep, I’ve been there before and railed against the “wisdom” of such people, as it just didn’t seem to fit with my own idea of running a heart-centred business.

But, as with much advice you can find online, there is often a grain (or more) of truth in what these experts say.

Why wouldn’t you make it easy for your Perfect People to stay in touch?

Just like you, one of my clients thought as long as she had a Contact page on her site she was all set. The assumption being that OBVIOUSLY if someone wants to get in touch they will fill out your contact form or email you, right? In our Website Strategy Session we clarified that this wasn’t enough and I’m going to use a story to explain why.

Imagine for a minute you have a bad back . It’s begun to niggle you – it’s not super painful, but annoying enough that you are ready to try and find a solution.

Unless you have a recommendation from a friend, you will probably do a Google search to find out if anyone locally can help with your pain.

What do you do when you visit a website for the first time as a result of that search?

You are in “research mode” right – testing out what options are available to you. You don’t KNOW the person behind the website, you are simply taking the first steps in finding out about them.

Are you ready to email them to set up your first massage, acupuncture treatment, or chiropractic appointment? Do you immediately feel willing to commit to putting your health in their hands?

The truth is you are probably NOT (unless you are in excruciating pain and just want to find someone to help as soon as possible – and then you will have probably asked someone you trust for a recommendation rather than relying on Google).

Have you ever “lost” a website and missed out on getting help?

OK, so you have looked at two or three websites of different practitioners – Google has turned up even more results for people who could help, but heck, you can’t remember the URL of the first site you visited. Ever been in that situation where you “lost” a website as you hadn’t bookmarked it for later? It’s annoying, and in this case worse, as you realize that person could potentially help sort out your back pain!

This wouldn’t be a problem if you’d been able to subscribe for updates on their website and you knew you were going to hear from them again…

This is where making it easy for visitors to keep in touch with you is not just useful but essential. Creating a “List” with email signup box on your site makes it super easy for people to connect with you, and for you to stay in touch with them. You never know, they could be your perfect people after all.

Setting up your List in 3 easy steps

So how does it work exactly? There are 3 simple steps to setting up your very own list:

1. Choose your email software. My recommendation is MailChimp as it is free if you have a list of under 2000 subscribers, and you can produce beautiful email newsletter templates to match your brand and website. (Aweber is another top provider that some of my colleagues prefer).
2. Create your List. Once you have have signed up for an account follow the steps to create your List and your Sign Up Forms – the process your subscribers will be taken through to confirm they really want to join. (It’s called double-optin as the subscriber will sign up and then have to confirm again they wished to join your list by replying to an automated email). Mailchimp allows you to design your forms easily to match your website branding.
3. Set up your Website Sign Up Box. MailChimp creates html code that you simply need to copy and paste into your site and, voila! there you have your sign up box enabling visitors to subscribe. (MailChimp will also give you a short link to add to your email signature that takes people through the same sign up process).

Don’t worry, once signed up, they don’t HAVE to stay on your list – they are free at any time to leave, you are not holding anyone hostage to hearing from you!

Over to you

Have you ever hesitated in signing up for an email list, if so, what stopped you? Please share your stories in the Comments below.

If you’ve realised you don’t have a strategy for your website visitors to keep in touch with you, I can help you gain clarity on your visitors’ journey and next action steps once they are on your site. Together we will create a plan for you to get started with an email list that works. Take the first step by booking a Website Strategy Session here.

Photo credit: Death to the Stock Photo