50 Free List Building Techniques

50 Free List Building Techniques

/ Business / By

All entrepreneurs need list building strategies. This is especially true when you’re first starting out. You may not hav the funds needed to invest in advertising or expensive marketing. This is why using free list building strategies is imperative to growing your business. 

But keep in mind – there’s a bit of a hustle at the beginning, and nobody can do this step for you. You have to choose the strategies on your own and you have to be creative. If you’re committed to changing lives and having a long-term profitable business, you must build an audience. 

Building your list takes time, so you have to be patient. There is no such thing as an overnight success.

Here are 50 free techniques you can use to build your list.

    1. Commit to attending at least 1 networking event per month with the goal of meeting at least 2 new people at each event. 
    2. Host a networking event for your community. 
    3. Nurture any current relationships you have and seek referrals. 
    4. Include clear and specific calls to action in all of your content marketing. 
    5. Share your content across other platforms outside of social media, such as Medium, Scoop it, Digg, etc.
    6. Start an account in HARO to help reporters with valuable expert insight. 
    7. Publish your articles and blogs on LinkedIn. 
    8. Join relevant groups on LinkedIn and post within them regularly. 
    9. Insert opt-ins within your content on your blog. 
    10. Add an opt-in to your homepage.
    11. Create a subscriber link on your homepage to your e-newsletters. 
    12. Add a subscriber link to your email signatures. 
    13. Make it easy for people to share your content either through social media channels or forwarding options in emails.
    14. Optimize thank you pages with referral requests or social sharing prompts. 
    15. Create a referral program that incentivizes current clients. 
    16. Highlight a piece of your blog content on a social media platform and start a conversation around it.
    17. Engage with other popular accounts on social media so that they can return the favor.
    18. Follow other brands and businesses and their audiences so that they can follow you back.
    19. When at events, bring an iPad and sign up people on the spot.
    20. Email each person you meet at an event and establish a connection. 
    21. Use free SEO tracking software to get a ranking analysis of your site and then follow their instructions to optimize it. 
    22. Keep SEO in mind when you create and optimize your content. 
    23. Consider a HelloBar on your site to tease a specific offer.
    24. Create an email campaign around a specific offer.
    25. Be helpful and kind on forums and other online communities.
    26. Thoughtfully comment on other people’s blogs and videos.. 
    27. Be generous and offer testimonials for other businesses, either online or offline.
    28. Keep an open mind for collaborations, partnerships or co-sponsored events with colleagues. 
    29. Think about potential collaborations with like-minded businesses. 
    30. Offer a workshop or training or class at a like-minded business facility. 
    31. Be a case study for vendors.
    32. Create a piece of content that can go viral for your market.
    33. Lead a regular meet-up or event in your town that supports fellow businesses or the community.
    34. Be featured in blogs or in other media or work with influencers.
    35. Get interviewed about your message, your story, your mission, your business, etc.
    36. Submit an article to a newspaper or magazine. 
    37. Pitch your story to a local TV or radio station. 
    38. Join a relevant association and become an active member.
    39. Volunteer for like-minded organizations or other places that you’re passionate about.
    40. Talk to friends, colleagues, clients, etc. about your goals and how they can help.
    41. Take a class.
    42. Do live speaking engagements.
    43. Be a guest in virtual events or webinars. 
    44. Host a live webinar or group call. 
    45. Be a guest teacher in someone else’s program or event.
    46. Guest post on engaged blogs that serve your ideal customer.
    47. Write articles for other people’s newsletters.
    48. Submit your business to online and offline directories. 
    49. Create accounts and profiles on a variety of online communities.
    50. Teach workshops or seminars to generate interest in what you do.

There are, of course, more ways to build your list than what’s listed above. Regardless of whatever you choose to do, always do it from the heart. 

Need more help? Check out my 1:1, group and self-study offerings: https://christinagiordano.com/offerings/