"One thing that worked really well for me when building my second email list is that I focused on two things: free value and nurturing.

The common process for building an email list entails that you create a free resource and drive traffic to it for your audience to download it. This I did, but with a twist.

First, I carried out a short research survey to discover the pain points of my audience. This took me a short while and helped me discover the exact current pain points of my audience and what would be the best value resource they would jump on without thinking.

Once I did that, I created the resource and shared my creation process on my Instagram stories as often as I could. I also created short polls and asked those interested to indicate that to me so I would send the resource link to them personally. This made them not only look forward to the resource, but also anticipate a message from me.

Now, another important step I took was to not stop at a free downloadable resource. I created a 5-step nurturing email sequence for anyone who downloaded the freebie. This means that once they download the freebie, they would get an email from me fo r five consecutive days, breaking down a major pain point they had that was addressed in the freebie and how to use it. This was such an important step because:

1. It got my audience familiar with my brand name, what I stand for, and how I can help them (top of mind).

2. It created an avenue for true conversation and connection. This breeds trust, which is very important for sales.

3. It encouraged and reminded them to actually use the freebie so it wouldn't be one of the thousand other freebies they had downloaded without using.

After creating this sequence, I released the resource, announced on all my social media pages, reached out to those who indicated interest personally, and I began to get downloads! I also simultaneously created a lot of valuable content on my Instagram to drive traffic to the free resource. I was in comment sections of similar communities answering questions and just truly caring about what my audience struggled with.

It was a great experience, and I learned a lot. I also got multiple responses from the 5-step nurturing email sequence I created, which served as more content ideas for me.

And, of course, after this, I continued to send them weekly emails addressing their questions, concerns, and pain points."