We’ve been talking all month about how to grow your following and build your email list! Have you checked out my past blogs on this topic? Today I want to chat about what it looks like to build a business offline!

If not, check them out Here! Blog 1, Blog 2, Blog 3!

As I spend the Fall season focused on growing my email list, I have been sharing all of my strategies here with you and something I noticed is that all of my strategies have included having an online presence. But what happens if you’re not online or the social platforms we all know and love either crash or fail to exist? 

I surely am guilty of focusing all of my growth efforts in the online realm, but what would it look like to grow our businesses and build an email list offline? 

In-store.

If you have a brick-and-mortar business, you should always be trying to capture the names and emails of your in-person clients. You can do this by asking for their email at checkout or using a sign-up sheet when they enter your store. Just be sure you are getting their full consent to use their email to connect with them in the future! 

Trade shows and festivals. 

Have you ever set up a booth at an in-person trade event? If so, be sure to ask for the names and emails of anyone that stops by your booth! If you haven’t yet been to a trade show event, maybe this is a great time to think about signing up for one in your area! 

Word of mouth. 

Now, I don’t suggest harassing all of your friends and family members for their email addresses just so you can grow your email list, but are you talking about your business when you’re out and about? Are other people talking about your business and sending their friends your way? Be sure to always carry a business card – I know, how 1990s of me – when you’re out in public. You never know when you will have the opportunity to strike up a conversation about your business and what you have to offer and you want those people to know where to find you. 

Snail mail. 

Obviously, this comes with a cost that doesn’t exist online, but you can do it on a very low budget with the use of flyers or postcards. No matter what you may choose to send, be sure to include a call to action or QR code that will link people to sign up for your newsletters! 

It seems so silly to assume that social media and all of the other platforms we love to connect on will always be here. This is why it’s so crucial to be thinking of ways to connect and engage with your ideal clients offline. These were the very ways I grew my business two decades ago, and honestly, they haven’t lost their effectiveness, maybe just their efficiencies. But with smart planning, we can make them just as efficient as posting online!

For help working smarter, not harder to grow your business, purchase my course, The Profit Plan! 

Let’s create a plan to easily reach our customer base offline in order to grow our businesses and build our email lists, shall we? We can do it together! Thank you for reading what it looks like to build a business offline!

For even more content on building a business with the skills and hours you already have, be sure to check out:

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