Email List Building for Introverts – Your List Can Be Your Tribe

Having trouble turning your blog readers into a tribe?

A list of email subscribers can turn blog readers into fanatical tribe-members.

You are a quiet kind of person who would never talk loudly on the street but you know you need to find a better means of communicating your ideas to your fans.

This article will show any shy or introverted blogger how to build the tribe of his or her dreams.

I am an Introvert

I was a teacher for 29 years. Teaching might sound like a silly career choice for an introvert but it’s not: Most of the time you are in your own classroom with the students doing your own thing.

Writing as a blogger suits me perfectly and from talking to other bloggers it looks as though most bloggers are introverts.

No introvert wants to come across as loud and crass. And that is the reason I have never had an email list. I saw it as annoying people, as bullying people into giving me their email address, as heavy-handed. An email list was against my principles.

I have thought about this for a long time and have come up with a new conclusion.

So many extrovert marketers see their email list as an audience for them, as a way to make sales. My introvert mind says this attitude is wrong.

An introvert also needs an email list, but the reasoning is much more restrained. I need a list so I can help people, so I can show people what I am thinking. Perhaps I can inspire readers just as I did when I was teaching.

More than that though, I see an email list as a group of people who are interested in the same thing, as a community. And in a community all members have a contribution to make. Everyone learns from everyone else.

Email list building – Why Build a ‘Tribe’?

When you think of your email list as a tribe your subscribers see themselves as tribe members. They feel involved and engagement increases. Your subscribers know that you care about them and they feel loved. They trust you.

You come to enjoy your role as the leader of your tribe and experience more personal growth as you put more efforts into supporting your group. You get to do all this while remaining within your introvert comfort zone and without forcing yourself to become someone you are not.

How to Build Your Online Tribe Through Email

Even as an introvert you happily send emails without any stress.

People read emails. Emails win every time, so you don’t need to think about using anything else.

There is much talk online about building your tribe using this program or that piece of software.

You need none of those.

Your email subscriber list is your tribe. All you need is an email sign-up form on every website page AND to provide obvious benefits of signing up.

People love to belong to groups. They appreciate the support that a good group can provide. Your tribe will not be perfect for everyone, but the people who join will be the people who love what you do. They will be your kind of people.

If people love what you write on your website they will sign up because they want to get to know you better. They want to be part of your community.

Altruistic List-Building

This is how a subscriber list should work. Your subscribers just plain old-fashioned believe in you.

You need to be very careful when you recommend services and products to your tribe because  they trust you and that is a big responsibility.

How to Grow Your Tribe

Here are some simple steps to capture, cultivate and grow your business, build reputation and form an online tribe

  1. Know what your business, blog or  is all about and how you plan to grow it.
  2. Discover where your people are, who your people are and what problem your people want SOLVED.
  3. Reach out to influencers, rolemodels, competition and people who you believe will benefit from your blog, business or product. Make the first move & build a valuable email list.
  4. Build relationships, form friendships and nurture your new tribe. Offer incentives, guest post, share your tribes blog or write a review for one of their products.
  5. Learn from your tribe. Talk to them, discuss ideas and ask for feedback! 
  6. Word of mouth is powerful (and free!) Use your tribe to grow your business.
  7. Hire a tribe. Short on time? Why not outsource? [2]

Like My Thinking?

If you like this approach to list building then subscribe and join the Roads-to-Riches community.

Your Thinking?

Are you one of the vast majority of bloggers who do not actively build a community? Do you count yourself as an introvert? Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts on any issues I have raised in this article.

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About Phil Turner

I have been writing since the dawn of the Internet from my home near Cork, Ireland. I write because I have things to say. I write to pass on my knowledge to others because what good will my learning do unless I pass it on? My writing has brought me a lot of good things in life, including happiness and a rewarding career, but most importantly, it has brought me friends. I live and work by the 5 Currency principles, which I have written about on my blog, Time Money Problem. To learn more about me, please read my personal story.