Own Your List | Do A New Thing

This post is part of my Write 31 Days Challenge series, based on results of the Online Christian Creative Survey. Click here to see all posts in the series

You may not need to focus on building an email list. I give you permission to focus on something else! Hold on to your keyboard. I’m about to say something that goes against conventional online growth advice.

You may not need to build an email list.

What? I know I have just spoken heresy in some circles. The proverbial “Everyone” says

Build your list – it’s the only platform you control

Build your list – it’s the best way to have a relationship with your readers

Build your list – your committed readers want to hear from you

But despite hearing that advice over and over, 20% of online Christian Creatives do not keep an email list at all, and only 11% have more than 1000 email subscribers.

Developing and maintaining an email list takes time, mental energy and, eventually, money. Advanced spam filters keep more and more email out of targeted inboxes. So if you:

Never need the social proof demanded by a traditional publisher
Don’t plan to ever monetize your blog
Just want to practice the discipline of writing and don’t have growth goals
Have built a large following with a strong relationship on social media

You may not need to focus on building an email list. I give you permission to focus on something else!

You may not need to focus on building an email list. I give you permission to focus on something else! #HowCanIServeYou

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But for everyone else, the conventional wisdom is true. An engaged email list is the best way to build a relationship with your readers, and they will form the core of your support to meet your other goals.

PRO TIP

It takes intentional effort to grow your list. My favorite courses to help with building your email list are Email List Setup 101 and Build Your List 101, but from Crystal Paine’s Your Blogging University.

It’s interesting that just having an online presence longer doesn’t really change the statistics. But of those who have more traffic (greater than 5000 monthly page views) 55% have more than 1000 subscribers and 4% have more than 5000 subscribers. Like we said in the last post, traffic makes things happen.

How Can I Serve You

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