3 Ways to Turn Your Website Into a List-Building Machine

November 22, 2021

Does anyone else remember that time that Facebook and Instagram went down for, like, an entire day?! And while some of us took that as a sign from the Universe for a little social media detox… many of us were freaking out about how that could impact our businesses long-term. 

Now, I know you’ve heard it a million times, so I don’t need to remind you about how important it is to build your own email list. But I will say this: when social media doesn’t want to play nicely, I’m grateful my email lists still provides a direct line of communication between me and my audience!

Rather than tell you yet again how important it is to have an email list… let’s talk about something different today!

Like, how do you get people to join your email list in the first place? Well, friend, I’m a huge fan of using one space you already have at your disposal… your website!

Today, I’m excited to share three ways to turn your website into a list-building machine so you can connect with your ideal clients in a more personal, dependable way. Keep on reading for all the juicy details!

3 TIPS TO BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST USING YOUR WEBSITE

Often, I’ve seen creatives fail to get started with email marketing because they simply don’t know how. And they don’t want to invest a ton of time and energy only to see minimal results! So today, I’m sharing three strategies you can take to use your website to build your email list without all the trial and error. This approach won’t take a ton of time on your part, but it WILL build trust with your ideal clients!

1. CREATE OPT-INS THAT SPEAK DIRECTLY TO YOUR IDEAL CLIENT

Friend, I’ve seen too many creatives struggle to create quality opt-ins that actually resonate with the people they are trying to reach. They may be creating freebies that they think their ideal clients want to see… but in reality, they’re missing the mark.

And why is that? I’d bet that they haven’t asked their ideal clients what kind of content and freebies would serve them well.

One of my favorite ways to quickly validate an idea for an opt-in is to hop on Instagram stories and poll your audience. Show them one or two ideas you are thinking about creating and ask them,Hey, would you be interested in this? Would this serve you well?”

This is such a great opportunity to get honest feedback from your audience. And it’s also a great way to generate some initial interest and excitement about a freebie you might be offering in the near-future! Plus, it gives your audience an opportunity to feel involved with your work, as they get to see some of the fun behind-the-scenes along the way.

Once you validate an idea that speaks to your ideal client’s needs, the next step is to test a few different variations of the opt-in.

For example, on my website, I’ve tested several different freebies over the years that all speak to the same audience. I want to see which option converts best and serves my audience well, and which one people engage with the most. This testing has given me insight on what’s working, what’s not, and what I can elevate things to serve my audience better.

To summarize: create content that speaks straight to the kinds of clients you want to be booking. Test a few different options to see what really converts on the backend. And have fun with it!

2. MAKE YOUR CONTENT WORK FOR YOU

Friend, we want to create opportunities for people to join your list organically. We don’t want to bombard your website visitors with pop-ups and flashing neon lights that scream join my email list!

Instead, we want to organically show up where people spend the most time on our websites. My advice? Make the content you’ve already created do the work for you!

My best tip for making this happen is to add opportunities for people to join your email list on your top performing blog posts. Take a look at your Google Analytics and see which blog posts drive the most traffic to your website. From there, find a way to make a downloadable freebie from that content. And voila—you now are able to use that already-popular content to build your email list!

Note: these freebies don’t have to be 20-page guides or super in-depth checklists. They can be as simple as “5 Posing Tips For Authentic Wedding Day Poses”, and you can create it all in Canva! Don’t feel that it has to be perfect in order to get started.

3. CREATE AN INTERACTIVE QUIZ

Friend, let me introduce you to one of my very favorite tricks to build your email list: interactive quizzes.

This tool is all the rage throughout the creative industry right now. And with good reason!

Think back to those quick little Cosmo magazine quizzes we all used to love. But instead, this quiz will be on your website, branded to your business, and tailored to your ideal clients!

These quizzes are meant to take just a minute or two, so it’s a quick and easy way to educate your audience about who you are, what you do, and how your work can serve them—all while engaging them through an extremely fun, accessible, and easily digestible quiz! By the end, they will be excited to give you their email address in order to see their awesome results.

Want to see an example of this in action? Click right here to check out my latest quiz!

Interactive quizzes are a great way to learn more about your website visitors. How many years have they been in business? What pain points are they currently experiencing? What do they need, and how you can help? This is amazing insight to have about your audience. Plus, it helps you build your email list!

If you are interested in getting started in adding one of these powerful fun quizzes to your website, then I want to encourage you to take a look at Interact! Interact is the software I personally use to embed quizzes on my website. I’ve been using it for years, and I honestly still can’t believe how easy the entire process is from start to finish!

Wondering how to add your custom Interact quiz to your Showit website? Hop over here for my tutorial!

BONUS: SPEAK TO DIFFERENT AUDIENCES

If you’re a multi-passionate entrepreneur who has multiple audiences, don’t forget to include each audience in the opt-ins you create!

For example, let’s say you’re a photographer who offers wedding photography as well as education for fellow photographers. I’d encourage you to follow these steps:

  • Create two different opt-ins using the three tips from above.
  • Head to Google Analytics and see which pages of your site are the most popular for each segment of your audience.
  • Place the freebie you create for your wedding clients on the page they visit the most.
  • Place the freebie you create for fellow photographers on the page where they spend the most time.

And just like that, you’ve created opportunities to serve both audiences in an easy, fun, and interactive way—all while continuing to build your email list!

Looking for a powerful website designed to help you build your email list?

If you’re looking for a custom website designed intentionally to build and strengthen your relationship with your audience, all while reflecting the heart of your life’s work, then I’d love to chat with you, lovely! I specialize in crafting elevated visual brands and designing powerful websites that enable you to connect authentically with your ideal clients. I’m currently booking 1:1 projects, and I would be so honored to work with you. Get in touch to schedule your free consultation call today!

BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

  1. Melaina says:

    These tips are so helpful, Bonnie! I had heard about opt-ins and seen quizzes, but I had never thought about putting them anywhere other than home pages or lead pages. That’s genius to put them on the top performing pages of your website!

  2. Kristen says:

    Hi Bonnie,

    Adding an interactive quiz is a great, fun idea. I should do it too. Love your content.

    • Bonnie Bakhtiari says:

      Thanks so much, Kristen! Hope you have great results implementing an interactive quiz of your own. 🙂

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My name is Bonnie – I’m a brand designer, strategist, and writer which all adds up to one eclectic conglomeration of qualities that enables me to serve you well! Past clients have dubbed me "the Joanna Gaines of brand design," and I've had more than a few call me a dream maker, a game changer, and a design wizard (my Harry Potter-loving heart didn't hate that one, let me tell you!). At the end of the day, I'm a big-hearted creative who will get teary-eyed as you share the heart behind your business; who will lose sleep over the perfect font pairings and color selections to bring your brand to life visually; and who will work tirelessly to empower, encourage, and equip you to share your work with the world intentionally. 

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