If you want a reliable way to grow your business that’s not dependent on the whims of another company, you might be making a critical mistake without even realizing it.
People are getting canceled. Websites are being wiped from search results. Social media accounts are being closed or suspended.
Sometimes people lose their ability to make a living because they:
- Say the wrong thing
- Are connected to the wrong people
- Rely on a single traffic source and then, all of a sudden, it goes away
All of that is out of your control. It’s a huge risk to build your business on someone else’s platform.
That’s why it’s so important you build your own.
That’s why you need to build an email list.
What is an email list?
Rather than reaching out cold, everyone on your email list already knows you and gave you permission to email them.
Why is it important to build an email list?
You can use it to send updates, blog articles, special offers, and promotions. That way you can keep in touch with people, keep your business on their minds, and nurture them into becoming paying customers.
You can keep in touch with your audience whenever you want. No advertising budget required.
And, according to OptinMonster
- Email is 40x more effective at acquiring customers than Facebook and Twitter combined
- Email has a 4400% ROI—That means for every $1 spent on email marketing, $44 is made in return
- Shoppers spend 138% more when marketed through email, as compared to those who do not receive email offers
Email helps nurture relationships
It’s different than interacting in public on social media.
Email is more private and personal because your subscribers can talk directly to you. They can ask you whatever they want. Without worrying about what anyone else will think, or anyone else even seeing it.
It helps nurture and strengthen your relationship.
You own your email list
You don’t own your Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin profiles. You don’t own your Google SEO ranking. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Google do. And they can do whatever they want with them.
Plenty of people have spent years building audiences on social platforms only to have them go away overnight—along with their income—when the company decided to change.
When you put time, energy, and money into building an audience on another platform, you make their business more valuable, not yours.
When you build an email list, it’s yours. You own it. It’s a business asset. And it’s not subject to anyone else’s decisions.
Conclusion
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you can’t use social media. In fact, you probably should. But only as part of your overall strategy. It’s smart to use it to drive traffic to your own website and build your own audience.
It’s another long-term strategy. Something that won’t happen overnight. Lots of people put it off because it seems daunting.
Everyone starts from zero. You only have to start.
Hopefully, you see the value of building your email list. And the risk of spending time, energy, and money building value for someone else.