Steal This Strategy — 4,587 New Subscribers in Under 120 Days

Update: 2025-08-19

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Episode 981: Show Notes

I have added more than double the number of new subscribers to my list in the past three and a half months than I did all of last year! Nurturing an email list takes time, and while it will absolutely get you business, cold subscribers will take time to warm up and actually start purchasing from you. But this is a long-term strategy that adds to the stability of your business.

Even though attracting subscribers is the topic of discussion for today, I’m going to tell you something controversial: it’s not where I would start when opening a small business! Instead, it’s something I would continue to invest in over time, but it won’t get you that initial attraction. So how did I do it?

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Incorporating Evergreen Training and Trends

The first thing I did was create a training that went incredibly well, and because it went so well, I put it on Evergreen. Offering free training is so valuable, but it isn’t necessarily the first strategy I would try because it takes so much of your time to develop and maintain, and there are simpler ways to attract new leads and achieve the same result.

The next strategy I used was a trend, which is something you can do at any time if you pay attention to what’s going on in the world. Trends will get a spike and then fizzle out very quickly in terms of attention. It’s a great thing to do every now and again when you feel inspired.

Leveraging Low-Priced Digital Products and a Refresh

A significant portion of my new leads came from sales! Surprising, right? Directing cold traffic to low-priced digital products is a great way to magnetize people to you while getting paid to build your list. This is actually my preferred way to start a list. If you want to know more about how I specifically did that, I’m giving you all the details at bossproject.com/jumpstart, so be sure to check that out!

The next thing I did was what I like to call a refresh. It entails taking any lead magnet you’ve ever used before and refreshing that content into a valuable freebie! This strategy brought in several hundred new leads since the beginning of the year and took very little effort!

The Power of Research and Generic Sign Ups

What may surprise you is that more than half of the leads I’ve gotten in the last 120 days have happened in the last three weeks! I’m a big fan of working backwards because it helps me glean so much insight into what my audience needs by going into observation mode.

I spent so much time learning about my audience and their needs, the very first time I posted the product I created from my research, I had hundreds of sign-ups within a matter of hours! It worked so well organically that I spent a little bit on paid ads as well and got an additional 700+ leads.

I have two generic sign-ups as tools for customers at risk. Most of the time, I try to bring people in by adding value (through methods like the ones I’ve already mentioned), but I do also have gateways that just get people on my list. Nearly 100 of the new leads I got over the past three and a half months came from one of these two generic sign-up options.

Boosting Leads with an Activation

The last strategy I used was an activation. This is something you can do on your own, but I think it’s even more successful when you collaborate with people. An activation is any opportunity to bring people onto your list via a live call-to-action. An activation is action-packed! Activations tend to be my biggest spikes in leads, and when used appropriately, lead to an actual sales sequence.

There is no one right or wrong way to build an email list, but working backwards is definitely the best way, in my opinion. What I really want you to take away from this is that growing a list requires active marketing! Actively marketing yourself will grow your leads so much faster, and the more you focus on giving, the faster you will start getting value in return. If you have any thoughts or questions about growing your email list, please send me a DM on Instagram; I’d love to hear from you!