In the age of social media is email still relvant? If so, how do you grow your list? What makes a good lead magnet? Do I need a lead magnet? This is all discussed in episode 630 of the School of Podcasting Sponsor: Podcast Engineering School [1:38] Podcast Engineering School – next semester starts September 18th and runs through October 30th. The classes are live and Chris packs the 2-hour classes with tons of information Today I did a quick search on Indeed.com for “podcast engineer” and saw quite a few options Program Includes: LIVE Interactive Online Training Two Mentoring Sessions with Chris Curran Major Discounts on Software and Plugins Lifetime Access to the PES closed community Certificate of Completion EARLY BIRD PRICING IS NOW – SIGN UP TODAY AND SAVE BIG https://podcastengineeringschool.com/ What Makes a Good Lead Magnet? 3:23 Thanks to Win Charles from the Ask Win show, Matt Rafferty from the Author Inside You podcast, and Jerry Williams from the FBI Retired podcast for contributing Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer defines a lead magnet as “a small chunk of value that solves a specific problem for a specific market that is offered in exchange for an opt-in. My buddy (and co-host of the Podcast Review Show) Erik K Johnston did a whole episode about lead magnets. Today we talk about email lists and why you might want to start using one.  OptinMonster (which is a great tool/plugin for capturing leads) breaks it into seven parts: Solves a real problem – if your lead magnet doesn’t solve a real problem that your customer avatar has, or if it doesn’t give them something they really want, it won’t work at all. Promises one quick win – your lead magnet should promise (and deliver) one quick win for your avatar. In other words, it should help them to easily achieve something. Super specific – don’t create a lead magnet about something general. The more specific you are about the benefit of your lead magnet, the better it will convert leads. Quick to digest – PDF checklists tend to convert really well because they are so quick and easy to digest. eBooks or lengthy reports may make your prospects feel overwhelmed. High value – your lead magnet should have both high perceived value and high actual value. Instantly accessible – your lead magnet will work best if it is something that can be delivered right away. People love instant gratification. Demonstrates your expertise or Universal Value Proposition – when someone consumes your lead magnet, it should demonstrate your expertise or your unique value proposition. This helps turn leads into customers down the road. Here is a list of 69 effective lead magnets (no email required) Advantages of an Email List? 17:44 The biggest advantage of an email list is you are one click away from your desired call to action, and more than likely you have someone's undivided attention. Most people (hopefully) are not reading their email while driving, etc. You can email your list directly and not have the information appear on your website. You are in contact with your engaged audience. 2000 Facebook followers is not the same as 2000 email subscribers According to a 2015 study, 3.57% is the average open rate. So if you have 1000 subscribers, 35 will open your email Derek Halpern of Social Triggers sent his latest post to his email list and his twitter account Here are the results he got: 50 people clicked on his link from Twitter 1,200 people clicked on his link from his email list His email list might be twice as large as his Twitter following but it still generated about 24 times more clicks. Even your grandma has email. Where To Start? 21:38 Mailchimp is many times the place you start. Why? It' starts free (but if your list grows can be expensive). There are many, many companies out there. I've used Aweber before moving to Convert kit. Aweber is $19/month for 500 subscribers or .038 cents per subscribers Convert kit is $29/month up to 1000 subscribers or  .029 cents per subscriber MailChimp