How to Get Your First 1,000 Email Subscribers in 10 Easy Steps
People tend to flow in and out of social media, often abandoning platforms altogether. Your email list is the foundation of your online business.
How are those email marketing efforts for your yoga business going? Are you focusing more on social media (um… vanity metrics, anyone?) and creating content rather than taking a long hard look at your email list?
Email marketing is the marketing channel most people say they want businesses to use to communicate with them. In fact, it’s 40 times more effective at getting new customers than Twitter or Facebook. So, how do you get started with email marketing and get your first 1k subscribers? Find out below!
10 Effective Strategies For Getting Your First 1,000 Subscribers
1. Choose a robust email marketing provider
Maybe you already have a preferred email provider that you love and works for you. That’s great! But, if you’re not sure which one to go for, you can read up on our comparison of some of the most popular email marketing tools for wellness professionals.
Mailchimp and Convert Kit are two very popular options. They are both easy to set up and use so that you can get your email lists up and running in no time! With an email provider, you can segment subscribers or create lists depending on the actions visitors take on your site.
With these email tools, you can either send an email when new clients create an account and/or send an email when they purchase a product. It’s also so easy to use them to market new programs to your clients, send alerts or automated check-ins, and onboard newbies.
2. Create an opt-in form for your website
Lead magnets, such as opt-in forms, are a highly effective online marketing practice to entice new subscribers to join your email list. It could be for free content such as a template, quiz, free yoga class, audio meditation, or PDF checklist. The options are endless!
Start by deciding where on your site you want the sign-up form and opt-in description to appear. This could be part of your footer, near your logo in the header, or as a sidebar or pop-up. Be sure to include fields for the person’s first name and email address.
You promised them something of value in the opt-in form, now it’s time to deliver. This could be an ebook, checklist or worksheet, freebies, free trial, a coupon or gift certificate, or exclusive invites to an event.
If your goal is to convert subscribers to paid memberships, consider giving away a free preview of your classes and programs via a webinar. For online yoga teachers, a webinar is a natural place to begin your relationship with your new students and is the closest you’ll get to a face-to-face interaction. It works like a charm!
Keep a close eye on the incentives for your yoga business and if your value-add isn’t working, don’t hang on to it. Try something else instead.
3. Commit to sending a weekly newsletter
Email marketing programs are so clever nowadays—all that’s left for you to do is to think about your content and design.
First, examine your goals. Is it to welcome them to your website? Generate leads? Send traffic to your website or social media? This will set the tone of your subject line and newsletter content.
Some email marketing providers, like ConvertKit or Mailchimp, allow you to replicate the format and sending preferences. This can be a huge time saver! All you need to do is update the newsletter with the content for that week.
Another great feature is these email marketing tools ensure everything is formatted correctly across all devices (i.e., it’s responsive).
Remember to add links to your social channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., and encourage subscribers to follow you. This helps you to boost traffic and engagement across your channels.
People love visuals, so spend time sourcing or creating your own photographs that will light up your newsletter and attract attention to your wellness business. Also pay attention to fonts and spacing. Lots of white space makes every carefully chosen word and image stand out.
4. Build a strong relationship through a welcome email
Welcome emails get an astounding 86% higher open rates than other emails. So, make sure that you connect with your yoga audience right off the bat with a welcome message that hooks them as clients for life.
The first thing to consider is personalization. In fact, it’s everything in email communications, so be sure to address your subscriber by their first name. Welcome them to your ‘life’ and sincerely thank them for taking the time to subscribe.
In your welcome message, briefly explain what they can expect from your newsletter, how often they’ll receive it, and what could be in it for them.
Don’t be afraid to get even more personal with your new subscriber by telling them an anecdote about lessons learned as a course creator or online yoga teacher. Make sure to save some space where you can share your vision and explain how your offer will change their world.
5. Start driving traffic to your opt-in
A sure-fire way to make your newsletter a traffic driver is to send targeted (personalized) content that’s relevant to each person. It’s also not a bad idea to try out a proven growth hack, such as offering something for free in return for a referral or signup from a friend.
Make use of other yoga websites in your industry to bring people over to yours. Guest blogging on a large wellness marketing site with a similar audience to yours is a good place to start. Ensure to point to your special offers or free trials or whatever incentive you’ve got running, and, of course, your newsletter itself.
You could also leave reviews on wellness sites with products or services similar to yours, but only if you believe in the product and are sincere.
Now that you’ve got your email marketing up and running, it’s time to build your list and grow your subscriber base. Here are 7 ways to boost sign-ups for your newsletter or yoga membership site.
6. Include a personalized CTA on all blog posts and landing pages
Personalized calls to action convert 202% better than any other type of CTA! So how do you make it count?
Write actionable copy that offers something of real value to your fans. Don’t just use the words ‘submit’ at the end of the form. Be creative with phrases like ‘See how we can help you’, or ‘Get it now’. The point is to generate more interest and pique their curiosity.
You want them to understand that they’ll gain something valuable by joining your email list and that they’re missing out if they don’t.
Don’t be afraid to be quirky and creative in your CTA copy—especially the ‘no thanks’ button. A friendly tone will make them remember you, and even create hesitation about whether they really want to click away.
If users don’t act on your CTA, your next actionable button could say “I need more info first”. Or, instead of simply writing ‘No thanks’, try some humor, like “Maybe definitely later” or “No, I don’t want free yoga content”.
7. Design a pop-up or slide-in for your website
Pop-ups and slide-ins are a great tactic to use for retargeting purposes. Pop-ups today are less intrusive than before and love them or loathe them, they are proven online marketing tools. They convert leads at a high rate and quickly catch the user’s attention, keeping them engaged.
You just need to use them in a way that isn’t intrusive. For example, you can set timed pop-ups that appear after a visitor spends a certain amount of time on a page or when they try to exit a page. Make sure that the pop-up is relevant to the page and has an irresistible offer that your site visitors can’t refuse!
8. Build a landing page for your opt-in
A landing page is like a first impression so you have to make it count. In terms of user experience and engagement - especially for teachers with a virtual studio or those who teach yoga online - it can immediately draw potential clients in, or, if created without care, push them away.
Not sure where to start? At the very least, include a short bio explaining who you are and what you do, a sample video of your classes, an incentivized opt-in, ways to contact you, links to other sections on your website, and a simple email subscription form.
9. Emphasize value in your CTAs
Did you know replacing a run-of-the-mill CTA with a well-researched value proposition can result in a 201% conversion increase? It comes down to both the words you use and what you offer.
Ensure instructions of what to do are clear. Be completely transparent about what you offer and remove any doubt about risks in what they’re signing up for. Words like “free” and “risk-free”, for instance, foster trust.
Free trials and webinars as digital marketing tools are great value generators because people get to try before they commit. In your CTA, emphasize how your yoga business can make them feel better and live better. Then, let them try out one of your yoga classes for themself.
The value proposition here is you are going to make them better versions of themselves.
10. Regularly promote your newsletter and opt-in on social media
If you have some cash lying around, paid traffic is the way to go. We’ve found Facebook and Instagram ads, Pinterest’s promoted pins, and YouTube ads can all be cost-effective advertising platforms.
Keep in mind where your audience is and focus on quality over quantity. You may find that one or two ads on a single platform perform better at driving people to your opt-in form than when you spread it across all platforms.
You can use the built-in tools available for free on social media platforms to capture email addresses for your email list. Choose your platform and audience carefully and adjust your messaging accordingly to increase signups.
Organic social media posts could also be huge traffic generators for yoga and wellness businesses. If you already have a social media following, promote your email list at least a few times per month. If your audience enjoys your content, they will want to sign up for an opportunity to go deeper with you.
After following you for a while and getting to know you and your values, some subscribers will be ready for your membership, online course, or coaching program, so don’t forget to leverage your social media!
Final Thoughts
Your social media presence is a great way to get new people onto your email list (and then into paid offerings)—but don't lose sight of the bigger picture. People tend to flow in and out of social media, often abandoning platforms altogether. Your email list is the foundation of your online business. The efforts you make to grow and nurture your list will reward you for years to come.
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