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I honestly do this all the time, do you?

You’re browsing the internet, usually starting with Pinterest and then end up on a blog post you love. You decide to come back to the blog and read it. Two hours later and you’ve completely forgotten about this great new blog you discovered. Chances are unless you end up on another pinning rampage you might not come across the same blog again.

Guess what… the exact same thing happens to a lot of your readers.

If you don’t believe me, look at your Google Analytics stats and see how many of them are first-time visitors. Unfortunately, the vast majority of readers will likely never make it back to your blog.  That is, unless you can convince them to join your list.

Once you have their email on your list of subscribers, you can keep bringing them back to your blog over and over again and build a deeper, stronger relationship with your readers.

Building a list is easier than you think

1. Start by signing up for a dependable auto-responder Service like MailChimp.
2. Set up your first list
3. Write a short little email to welcome new readers
4. Grab the code for an opt-in form and stick it in your sidebar or even add it to the bottom of your blog posts (or do both)

From there you can expand and start to learn more about list building, I'm learning new things every day.  You can look into a dedicated opt-in page, pop-up subscription forms, sales pages and so on.  Once you get your opt-in page set up you can link it to your social media profiles and add a link when you guest post on other blogs.

There is a lot to learn when it comes to list building but getting started is the key to success.  Once you get your first subscribers, it is time to start emailing them regularly with blog updates.

Send a quick email every time you publish a new blog post, or if you do a lot of posting consider doing a weekly recap.  There are a wealth of automation tools available with email service providers and a lot are free to start if you have a small list, MailChimp is free for up to 2000 subscribers. The main idea is to keep bringing them back to your blog and turn them into loyal fans and regular readers. Building relationships and connecting with your audience is the best way to keep them coming back for more!

Have you started an email list yet?