[upme_private]This members-only article will teach you a low-tech way to easily build a high-tech mailing list. One of the things that every Dance First member learns is the importance of having an active and engaging mailing list. If you’re offering virtual programs or long-distance coaching, then online methods that add people from around the world are fine, but if you are a local teacher who wants warm bodies to fill your floors, then this method can become your secret sauce for building a hot local list.
Why do you need to build a list?
Email is still the king when it comes to engagement with your community. When you regularly communicate with your tribe via email you reach them in a method where they are most likely to pay attention or take action. Cultivating a mailing list allows you to tailor your offerings based on ongoing feedback, and expand your reach and pool of fans. When you appear in front of a new group and fail to get the contacts of everyone who is interested in your work, you miss a valuable opportunity. By working with the social dynamics of a typical gathering, you can have most of the people delighted and eager to join your tribe.
What is Low-tech List Building?
This is the old-fashioned way of getting people to actually write down their name and email address for you. Most of us have watched sadly as an unattended clipboard near the door picks up only a few names over the course of the evening. (If your event has a sign-in procedure, this may not apply.) This tip is most effective in a situation where you might be a guest facilitator, or possibly speaking to a seated audience.
How to Low-tech List Build
- On the way to the event, stop by an office supply store and buy a packet of 3 x 5 index cards and a bundle of the stubby little golf pencils.
- Either you or your helper will make sure that everyone receives a pencil and a card as part of their welcoming and arrival procedure.
- As people are getting settled, and as you begin to lead, call out and ask everyone to raise their card in the air and make sure everyone has a pencil.
- Ask everyone to write their name, email address, and the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on one side of the card, and to leave the other side blank. You’ll want to state clearly that their contact info is optional, but very few will opt out.
- Then tell them to set them aside and keep track of them, because they will need them again at the end. You could hint or allude to any special thing you may have in store for them later. This part can relate somehow to your work, (use your creativity).
- At the appropriate moment at the end, you’ll ask them to pull out the cards again with their pencils, and then the rest is up to you.
- It could go something like this:
- First I’d like to pause for a moment and invite you to write the one key takeaway or favorite moment from todays session on the blank side of your card.
- Now, flip the card, and if you would like to learn more about working with me on a deeper level, please write yes after number one.
- If you know someone else who would benefit from this work, please write yes after number two.
- And if you would like a free copy of my “Super-Valuable-Bonus-Gift” please write yes after number three.
- If you have a helper, have them gather the cards, or do it yourself, and bingo, you’ve just created a clear path to engagement with nearly everyone in the room. Your initial email to them will be inviting them to opt-in to your list, but that’s topic for another time.
Action Step:
Try this the next time you are with a new group. Play it out in your mind and write down the sequence, timing, and requests in a written plan. Start keeping your eyes open for the sundry stationary items you will need.
Mix up this general idea with the mojo of your modality, and you’ll set the tone right off the bat with a spirit of inquiry and engagement. I trust this may be of use to you at some point, and please let me know your thoughts and questions over in our Facebook Group.[/upme_private]
Facebook Comments Box
