As an online course creator, growing your email list is essential for a successful course launch. And while running ads can be an effective way to attract new subscribers, it's important to have the right systems in place before you start spending money on advertising.
In this blog post, we'll explore the 6 steps to take before running ads to grow your email list:
1 - Get Clear on your Target Audience that You Want to Run Your Email List Ads to
The first system you need to have in place is a clear understanding of your target audience.
Having a clear understanding of your target audience is crucial for any marketing campaign, and it's especially important when running ads to grow your email list for a course launch. Knowing your target audience means you understand their needs, desires, and pain points, and you can tailor your messaging to speak directly to them.
To identify your target audience, you'll need to conduct research and gather data on your potential customers. Start by creating customer personas, which are detailed profiles of your ideal customers. You can use data from your existing customer base, surveys, and market research to create these personas.
Once you have your personas in place, you can use them to guide your ad targeting. For example, if you're targeting busy moms who want to start a side hustle, you can create ads that speak directly to their desire for flexibility and work-life balance. You can also use your personas to create more targeted ads on social media platforms like Facebook, which allow you to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Knowing your target audience is also important for creating effective lead magnets and email nurture sequences. By understanding their pain points and motivations, you can create lead magnets that provide value and address their specific needs. And when crafting your email nurture sequence, you can provide educational content that resonates with your audience and builds trust.
2 - Create an Irresistible Lead Magnet Before Running Ads to Grow Your Email List
An irresistible lead magnet is an essential component of any successful email list growth strategy. It is a valuable resource that you offer to your target audience in exchange for their email address. It is essential that your lead magnet is relevant to your course topic and appeals to your target audience's pain points and interests.
When creating your lead magnet, you should focus on providing quick wins for your subscribers. This means that your lead magnet should provide actionable tips, tools, or resources that your audience can use to achieve a small win or solve a specific problem. By providing quick wins, you build trust and credibility with your subscribers, which can lead to higher conversion rates and a more engaged email list.
Your lead magnet can take many forms, such as a free guide, checklist, webinar, e-book, or any other resource that your audience would find valuable. It is essential to make your lead magnet visually appealing and easy to consume. You can use images, graphics, and videos to make it more engaging and memorable.
It's important to note that your lead magnet should give your subscribers a taste of what they can expect from your course. Your lead magnet should not give away everything in your course but should provide enough value to make your audience eager to learn more. This way, your lead magnet can help to pre-sell your course and generate interest in your product.
3 - Create a Landing Page
A landing page is a crucial element in the process of converting website visitors into email subscribers. It is a standalone page that is designed to encourage a visitor to take a specific action, such as providing their email address in exchange for your lead magnet.
The main goal of a landing page is to convert visitors into subscribers by presenting them with a compelling offer and a clear call-to-action. The offer should be directly related to your lead magnet and should provide value to your visitors. The headline should be attention-grabbing and should clearly communicate the benefit of your offer. The copy should be persuasive and should address your visitor's pain points and offer a solution to their problem.
In addition, your landing page should be optimized for conversions. This means that it should be designed with a clear and focused layout, minimal distractions, and a clear path to your lead magnet. Avoid including navigation links, social media icons, or other elements that could take the visitor's attention away from the goal of the page.
A strong call-to-action (CTA) is also essential for converting visitors into subscribers. The CTA should be clear, prominent, and communicate the value of your offer. It should also be repeated multiple times on the page, so that visitors are reminded of the action you want them to take.
Finally, it's important to test your landing page to ensure that it's optimized for conversions. This can involve testing different headlines, copy, and calls-to-action to see which elements are most effective in encouraging visitors to subscribe. By continuously refining and improving your landing page, you can increase your conversion rate and grow your email list with greater success.
4 - Find an Email Service Provider
An email service provider (ESP) is a crucial tool for managing your email list and communicating with your subscribers. There are many ESPs available, each with different features and pricing options. When selecting an ESP, it's important to choose one that aligns with your business needs and budget.
Some of the key features to look for in an ESP include the ability to create and manage email lists, create and send email campaigns, segment your subscribers based on specific criteria, track email open and click-through rates, and automate email sequences.
As someone who has used multiple email service providers and funnel builders in the past, Kartra has become my personal favorite for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Kartra offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate, even for beginners. You don't need any technical skills to create beautiful landing pages and sales funnels that convert visitors into customers. Kartra provides you with all the necessary tools, including drag-and-drop page builders, customizable templates, and seamless integrations with other popular tools like Zapier, PayPal, and Stripe.
Secondly, Kartra offers advanced automation capabilities that allow you to create complex campaigns that nurture your leads and convert them into customers. You can set up automated email sequences, create personalized messaging, and track your results with detailed analytics. You can also use Kartra's powerful tagging system to segment your audience based on their behavior, interests, and demographics.
Finally, you can actually host your course through Kartra. I’ve really found Kartra to be a game changer in my business! Rather than having a million different subscriptions to the assets I need in my business, everything is all in one place talking back and forth to one another and giving me the data I need to move my business forward in hugely impactful ways.
If you're looking for an all-in-one marketing platform that can help you grow your email list, host your course, and create high-converting sales funnels, I highly recommend Kartra. And bonus, you can join Kartra today with this 14-day free trial.
5 - Create an Email Nurture Sequence
An email nurture sequence is an essential part of your email marketing strategy. It allows you to continue building a relationship with your new subscribers and guide them towards purchasing your course. When someone signs up for your lead magnet, they're showing an interest in your course topic, but they may not be ready to make a purchase yet. That's where your nurture sequence comes in.
Your nurture sequence should be a series of automated emails that are triggered when someone signs up for your lead magnet. The number of emails in your sequence can vary depending on your course and audience, but generally, it should be at least 5-7 emails long. Your sequence should provide value to your subscribers and help establish you as an authority in your course topic. This could be through educational content such as blog posts, videos, or podcasts, or by sharing personal stories and insights.
It's important to note that while your nurture sequence should be providing value to your subscribers, it should also have a clear goal of promoting your course. Your emails should include calls-to-action that encourage your subscribers to learn more about your course, such as links to your sales page or information about upcoming webinars or workshops.
One of the benefits of using an email nurture sequence is that it's automated, meaning once you set it up, you don't have to manually send each email. This saves you time and allows you to focus on other aspects of your course creation and marketing.
6 - Follow a Tracking System
A tracking system is essential for measuring the success of your ad campaigns. You need to know how many people are clicking on your ads, how many are converting to subscribers, and how much you're spending on advertising.
This is another reason I love using Kartra. It offers seamless integration with Facebook ads, allowing you to easily track your ad performance and ROI within the platform.
Kartra's advanced analytics and reporting tools provide you with real-time data on your ad campaigns, including impressions, clicks, and conversions. You can also track the cost per click (CPC) and cost per acquisition (CPA) of each ad, allowing you to optimize your ad spend and maximize your ROI.
Kartra also allows you to track the success of your email campaigns, giving you a complete picture of your marketing funnel. You can see how many subscribers are opening and clicking your emails, and track the conversion rate of each email in your nurture sequence. This allows you to identify which emails are performing well and which ones need improvement, so you can continually refine your email marketing strategy.
Overall, Kartra's comprehensive tracking and reporting features make it easy to measure the success of your marketing campaigns, both on and off the platform. If you're looking for an all-in-one marketing solution that can help you streamline your marketing efforts and optimize your ROI, Kartra is an excellent choice.
Running ads to grow your email list can be a powerful strategy for online course creators. But before you start spending money on advertising, it's important to have the right systems in place. By understanding your target audience, creating an irresistible lead magnet and landing page, using an email service provider, creating an email nurture sequence, and setting up a tracking system, you can increase the effectiveness of your ad campaigns and grow your email list with confidence.
If you're ready to scale your services and create passive income, make sure to grab 'The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Profitable Online Course' to get start using your expertise to make more impact, income and freedom! In this guide, you'll find step-by-step instructions on how to get started with an online course that aligns with your values and helps you scale your business while also helping you to gain back your time and freedom. With this resource, you'll be well on your way to creating passive income streams and achieving your entrepreneurial goals. So don't wait - click here to grab your free guide today!
More of a listener than a reader? Listen to this topic along with other weekly business drops on my podcast 'The Profitable Practitioner'