Tired of chasing ghosts? Sick of seeing your email list numbers barely budge? I know.

Building a list of people who actually care about what you have to say is tough. Most "gurus" will tell you some generic garbage about useless lead magnets and fancy opt-in forms.

We're going to skip past all that.

Here's some facts:

• You need to find your audience BEFORE you create anything
• You can't only just blast out requests to "join my newsletter!"
• Real growth comes from being strategic and playing the long game

Take this client I’m working with currently.

Recently, I was working on their subscriber growth plan.

They are in the expat niche, which is big on communities.

Then there’s a dear friend who’s starting a newsletter in the health & wellness space.

Now, what works for the client or the friend may not work for others. Because it’s not a one-size-fits-all case.

But there’s one thing common in every situation: reaching the target audience where they hang out online.

For the expat niche, it’s primarily communities and online groups.

For health & wellness, it’s primarily search as well as influencers, coaches, etc.

But for you, it could be something else.

The key is to use that space to your advantage. Go where your people are, not where you're told to go.

Let me show you how:

Stage 1 ​
– 0-100 Subscribers (The Grind)

Think of your subscriber growth as building a house. You gotta lay the foundation before you can add the fancy stuff. Each stage requires a slightly different approach.

For your first 100 subscribers, you hustle.

You've got to go manual - and I mean really manual. Like eyeballing every potential subscriber one by one to ensure they're a perfect fit.

Don't get discouraged if it's slow – solid growth takes time.

Here's how you do it:

1. Dig into the trenches where your target audience hangs. Could be commenting on influencers' social posts, in niche Facebook groups or subreddits - anywhere they geek out over your topic.
2. Spend time understanding them. Read their conversations, their questions, and their pain points. Get inside their minds.
3. One by one, identify the people who'd be an ideal fit for your email list based on their interests and engagement levels. These are your potential rockstar subscribers.
4. Slide into their DMs fearlessly but personally. Don't use any canned garbage - make each message about them, not you.

Why this hyper-manual approach?

Because you're building a rock-solid foundation of passionate subscribers. Not just freebie-seeking strangers who'll bail at the first email.

These are real people you've connected with individually. They'll stick around because you've shown them you deeply understand their world and can help them get what they want.

It's painstaking early on, no doubt. But would you rather have 100 rabidly loyal fans hanging on your every email? Or 100 cold subscribers who unsubscribe as quickly as they joined?

You know the answer.

💡 Pro tip: Tap your network. Don't be afraid to ask friends, family, and existing professional connections for support. Let them know what you're doing and why their readership matters.

Stage 2 ​
– 100-1000 Subscribers (Building Momentum)

Now it's time to put systems in place to rapidly scale to 1,000 while staying hyper-focused on your perfect people.

You've already got some traction, now it's time to amplify it:

1. Ask your current subscribers to spread the word.
2. If your niche is content-driven, start guest posting and appearing on podcasts in that world. Don't settle for whatever comes along - be hyper-selective about publications and shows that deliver your exact audience.
3. If your niche is community-centred, become an addicted regular in those online hangouts. Not just dropping links everywhere like a skeezy spammer, but genuinely participating. Share your insights and perspectives. Build authority and trust. Then organically steer people to your emails as the next level of value.
4. On social media, get creative with seeding out bite-sized insights, advice, and stories that instantly connect with your audience's reality. Make them crave more from you. Then hit them with a smart call-to-action to join your insanely valuable email club. (This one is pretty basic stuff)

Throughout this entire phase, keep things hyper-focused and non-diluted.

Personalise lead magnets and offers for each specific channel and community you're activating. Make it blindingly obvious how your emails are custom-tailored for their interests and pain points.

Never trick or mislead to get subscribers. Set crystal clear expectations that your emails will be showing up regularly in their inbox as soon as they are about to sign up for your lead magnet.

That honesty and transparency will continue weeding out the freebie-seekers. All that's left are more fantastic future fans.

(Lead magnets are a whole different topic and if I started covering it here, this would turn into a book. So I’ll cover it in another edition)

Stage 3 ​
– 1000+ Subscribers (Scaling Up)

Smashed through that 1,000 subscriber milestone?

Congrats, you've officially escaped the stragglers and entered the big leagues. But don't get complacent - this is where the real gains happen if you stay hyper-focused.

Your first priority?

Analyse what specific tactics and channels delivered your most rabidly engaged subscribers so far. That's where you'll want to double down hard with more firepower.

Secondly, test paid ads.

If you've got the budget, targeted ads can accelerate growth. BUT, track those results closely to avoid wasting money.

Lastly, never stop refining.

Keep an eye on your data. This tells you what your audience finds valuable, and what has stopped working.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Consistent effort + optimisation beats flashy tactics every time.

The goal isn't just to hit some oversized subscriber number. It's continuing to grow a horde of passionate advocates who eagerly open, click, and take revenue-driving actions on every message you send.

Before we wrap it up ​
– Some pro tips

You have to separate your email list from the average ones.

You wanna create something people actually look forward to opening.

For this, you have to keep these few things in mind:

• Specificity wins: Don't try to please everyone. The more you niche down your content and messaging, the more you'll attract your ideal subscribers. People crave feeling seen and understood.
• Deliver on your promise: Your free download or lead magnet is your audition. Give people a taste of your best stuff so they're eager for more in your regular emails.
• Follow the data: Use UTM parameters! (They're extra bits of code you add to your links.) This tells you exactly where your subscribers are coming from so you can pinpoint what's working. You can use this free tool to create UTM links.
• Community is key: Keep engaging in those online groups even after you've built a solid list. It shows you're invested, not just there to take.

Bonus Tip: Don't be afraid to experiment.

Again, what works for one niche might flop in another.

The key is to track your results and tweak your approach as you learn.

Need 1-on-1 help to grow your list and convert more of your email subscribers into 💸? ​Book a Free consultation and let's chat. We'll work together to create your personalised subscriber growth plan and implement conversion system in your email strategy to increase your email profits.

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