How I grew my email list from 0 to 500

I grew my newsletter to 500 in about three months. For whatever its worth, here is a rundown of how I did it.

My basis for every method of growing my email list was sharing my children’s story reader magnet.

Friends and family

When I started my newsletter, I of course shared it with family and friends. That took me up to maybe 50 subscribers.

Author friends

Then an author that I had done a paid coaching session with shared about my reader magnet in her newsletter (without me asking her to) which was really exciting and took me over the 100 mark. Another author friend shared it on Facebook.

Poster in libraries, etc…

I created a poster to advertise my reader magnet that could be printed out or used digitally. I posted some at local libraries, coffee shops, and stores. I don't know how many, if any, subscribers I got from that. While I had a QR code on the poster, it seems like having a click-able link with a digital poster is the most effective. There's the least amount of friction and effort that way.

Individual requests to share poster

I made a list of family, friends and acquaintances who were on my newsletter (about 30 people) and asked one person each day, Monday through Friday, if they would share my poster and link on their social media, WhatsApp status, or with friends another way. My guess is that I got an average of 6 or 7 subscribers per person that shared it, which added a total of maybe 200 more subscribers.

Advertising

I also advertised on some small digital publications/ platforms. The cost per ad was $10 to $15 and I got an average of 25 subscribers per ad, so my cost per subscriber was about $0.50. I got close to 200 subscribers from those ads.

All of the above put together is how I reached 500 subscribers.

I'm currently participating in a reader magnet swap/ group promotion on StoryOrigin. It remains to be seen how many subscribers I get, but I've heard that people see very good results from that. I also hope to do a viral promotion with KingSumo sometime soon.

I don’t have very much experience, but I maybe something I did will give someone else a new idea. There are many things I haven’t tried, so I'd be glad to hear how you have grown your email list!