The Best (And Worst) Ways to Grow Your TPT Email List

It’s awkward to have 7 teachers on your email list.

Yet, it’s validating to have 500 teachers on your email list. You’ll have something to say when your email list is large enough. Because if a bunch of teachers are on your list, your store must be important.

Right now, you’re emailing your mom, 2 coworkers, and 3 teachers who’ve somehow found your lead magnet.

And… it feels awkward to email 5 people. Kind of like teaching that class that only 3 students sign up for. 

If you had 500 teachers on your list, what you have to say would matter. And 900? That would be mind blowing. Then you could make money and influence the future of education. And 7000? Your content could rule the world through email.

You start researching how to grow your TPT email list and come across TPTers who grew their lists from 10’s to 1000’s. You decide to fast track your email list growth. The other TPTer did it. Why shouldn’t you?

Because it will come at a cost.

Email Collaborations Are Like Steriods (and also come with side effects)

It’s super fun to be part of a collaboration. And it’s a win-win for everyone. (If you do it at the right time.)

Teachers get free stuff, you get more subscribers, and you go from 6 people not reading your emails to 759 people not reading your emails.

Wait. What?

That’s right.

If you are just starting out with email marketing you need to focus on finding your voice and your purpose. If you haven’t taken the time to to put —Y.o.u.—in your emails and tailor the content to your audience, they’re gonna take your freebie and forget to unsubscribe.

Which is worse than unsubscribing. Your emails need to have a message that stands out. Otherwise, they won’t read your emails.

That leaves you with the bill of paying for subscribers who don’t convert. Ouch.

And you’ll be paying for that bad decision every month until you clean your list.

So what should you do to grow your email list? Grow slowly at first.

But, what if you…

Pay Zuckerberg to Find Your People

Facebook ads will bring you people. But you need to have several things in place first. 

Like an audience that Facebook can try to mimic. So you’ll have needed to be on Facebook interacting with people who are in your target audience for a while before doing this. 

You’ll also need money to spend on ads (and pray to break even).

It can be amazing to run ads. And people join when you have your messaging right. 

But after Facebook finds you more teachers for your email list, the same problem still exists. You have to have something to say to them that makes your emails worth opening. And even more worth clicking. Otherwise they sit on your list and enjoy all the free tips and never buy. 

And that’s an expensive lesson.

We’re all going to have to run ads to grow eventually. 

We need to grow. We should grow. But we need to grow at the same rate we’re learning email marketing.

How do you grow your list at the same rate you’re learning?

 Grow Your Email List Strategically

Put your freebie lead magnet opt-in (whatever you call it!) in your Instagram bio.

Add it as a page in your products.

Put it on a Pinterest pin. 

Or a Facebook post. Or guest on podcasts and link it there. Or use blog posts as opt-ins.

And while all of that is working to slowly grow your list, you should be honing your email skills. 

Learning to be persuasive. 

Learning to email consistently. 

Learning what copywriting really means. Spoiler alert—it doesn’t mean that you write copy.

If you want to see how to do that. You should stalk join my list here. ←—-----Shameless plug errr…modeling an example for you.

The Best Way to Grow Depends on One Thing

Where you’re at in your business.

If you are just getting started with email you don’t need several thousand or even several hundred people on your email list. Because you haven’t firmly established your voice yet. You’re figuring out what to email each week. You’re deciding what to take a stand against. You’re trying to find the balance between sounding like an authority…but also a teacher down the hall.

If you’re not a beginner, then grow. Grow. GROW.

Use collaborations. Use ads. Do freebie swaps.

There isn’t a best way and worst way to grow your email list unless your timing is off. Grow your email list organically and slowly at the same rate that you’re learning. (Which still could be pretty fast if you are studying and implementing email at the same time.)

Don’t jump into growing your email list until after you’re consistent.

Until after you have established your brand voice.

Until you know exactly why you are emailing.

Then, collaborate with whoever you like. Skyrocket your list with Facebook Ads. Get your message heard.

But you must first have a message.