The #1 Way I Grew My Email List without a Lead Magnet or Social Media [Ep. 169]

How I Grew My Email List Without Freebies or Social Media

Have you been spinning your wheels trying to grow your email list with little results? Are you tired of being told you need to create yet another freebie or dance and point on social media?

I want to share how I transformed my business by tripling (and even quadrupling) my email list without relying on social media, paid ads, or the standard lead magnet freebies that everyone claims are essential.

My List Growth Journey

Back in 2022, I had only about 150 subscribers after nearly two and a half years of trying to build my list. The problem? I was making critical mistakes:

1. I created lead magnets that didn't lead anywhere
2. I had no customer journey mapped out
3. I lacked clarity on my offer and ideal client
4. My business wasn't aligned with God's design yet

Then I discovered a strategy that changed everything. In just weeks, I tripled my email list. More recently, I grew my list by 162 amazing women in just 22 days – all while I was sick and unable to actively work on my business!

The Strategy: Leveraging Collaboration as Your Top-of-Funnel Lead Magnet

The key to my success has been using collaborations as my primary lead generation strategy. Instead of relying on traditional freebies, I focus on:

• Value Visibility: Strategically showing up where my ideal audience already gathers by participating in collaborations, guest teaching, and providing genuine value
• Voice Visibility: Building relationships and credibility by lending my unique voice to conversations through podcast guesting, collaborative projects, and partnership events

This framework focuses on quality over quantity, resulting in more engaged subscribers right from day one.

Recent Results

Those 162 new subscribers I mentioned? They came from just two bundle events I participated in. And my current open rates hover between 30-50% (well above industry standards), with click-through rates also exceeding averages.

This tells me I'm not just growing my list – I'm growing it with the right people who genuinely engage with my content.

Why I Don't Rely on Social Media

Here's where I might be a bit controversial: I intentionally shifted away from social media as my primary list-building strategy. Why?

• Social media algorithms control your reach
• Platform tactics and strategies constantly change
• Success becomes tied to something outside your control

Instead, I focused on strategic partnerships that give me direct access to my audience without algorithm interference. This doesn't mean I abandoned social media completely (though I did lose all my accounts to hacking in January 2025 right before a huge launch). I still maintain a presence, but it's supplementary rather than foundational.

The freedom this shift has given me is incredible! I'm no longer stressed about posting daily or keeping up with the latest trends. I've reclaimed hours each week to better serve my audience and clients.

My Email Growth Drivers

Here's what actually drives my list growth:

1. Strategic collaborations: Carefully selected bundle events where my offer is positioned alongside complementary experts serving the same audience
2. Speaking at virtual summits: Events with hosts committed to promotion and audiences that match mine
3. Hosting my own collaboration events: This gives the biggest return on time invested as you control the positioning and collect all email addresses

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey.
Hey.
Welcome back to theKingdom Revolution podcast.
Today we're gonna be talking about howI grew my email list without a freebie.
I'm excited you're here with metoday because I'm going to dig
into something that has absolutelytransformed my business since 2022.
And today I'm gonna share you exactlyhow I tripled, quadrupled my email

(00:23):
list in 2022 and recently withoutrelying on social media paid ads.
Or even the standard lead magnet freebiethat everyone tells you is essential.
So if growing your email list and businessfeels overwhelming, like you're constantly
spinning your wheels with little result,this episode is going to give you a

(00:45):
clear roadmap to focus on what strategiesthat actually work and drive the needle
for lead generation and email growth.
I promise by the end of this episode,you will have a completely new
perspective on list building thatfeels sustainable, simple, and fun,

(01:05):
as well as being alignedwith your business goals.
What we're gonna be covering inthis episode is what my list growth
numbers look like in 2022, and mostrecently, my visibility framework on
how I've used that to grow my listsustainably and in a strategic way.
I'll explain why I intentionally don'tuse social media as my list building

(01:29):
strategy and why you shouldn't either.
And then finally, I'll breakdown the mistakes that I see
Christian women in online businessmaking with their email growth in
marketing, so you can avoid them.
So let's take the beginningof the story back a few years.
In 2022, I actually tripled andprobably even quadrupled my email

(01:50):
list using this number one strategyand it wasn't a lead magnet that
most gurus say you need to have.
When I utilized the strategy, I hadroughly 150 amazing women on my email list
who didn't even want what I had to offer.
I spent two, almost two and a halfyears building that email list.

(02:15):
I got into the online businessspace at the end of 2019.
Around that year, I investedin a high ticket group coaching
program and a coach in 2019.
Who told me I neededto grow my email list?
All right, great.
The problem was, is that I created a leadmagnet that didn't take people anywhere.

(02:40):
It was just attracting Christianwomen, but not Christian women who
were called to the online businessspace and wanted to create, grow,
and launch a profitable business.
Number one lead magnet mistake Iwas making was that I wasn't driving
people to my offer and I did nothave the customer journey mapped out.

(03:01):
I had no idea what I was going to dowith the women who joined my email list.
I had no nurture strategy besidesjust emailing them weekly.
I had no way to lead them tothat next step because I didn't
know what that next step was.
This is a common mistake Isee in lead magnets today.

(03:23):
In a previous episode, 1 67 ofthe Kingdom Business Revolution
podcast, I talked about the numberone lead magnet mistake Christian
women are making in online business.
So you can go to that episode afteryou listen to this one, and you can
see if you're making the same mistake.
I'll link that up inthe show notes as well.

(03:43):
So that was the first mistake, is thatI wasn't leading someone to my offer.
I didn't have clarity onwhere I was taking someone.
I didn't have offer clarity.
I didn't have ideal client clarity,and I most certainly did not have a
customer journey mapped out that wouldlead that person to that next step
and then that next step to my offer,
so I was like, I like to sayduct taping my business together.

(04:06):
The next reason why I wasn't seeingthe growth and I struggled for a
few years is because my businesswas not by God's design yet.
And I'll dive into what that actuallymeans in a characteristic of a business
by God's design as it relates towho you are by God's design, because
that's the most important part.

(04:27):
We can't create a business by God'sdesign if we first don't know who we
are by God's design and the why, themovement and the eternal impact the
Lord wants to create in and through us.
So we'll talk more about that at thecalled to the business battlefield.
Five day live event thatwill take place May 12th.
You'll have a link to sign up for that.

(04:50):
That will be coming soon in youremail, so stay tuned because you're
not going to want to miss this fiveday plus three bonus day event.
It is for the Holy Spirit led womanwho knows that she's finally ready
to have a profitable and sustainablebusiness by God's design without
being a slave to social media.
So those were the mistakes I was making.

(05:11):
It wasn't by God's design yet I wascreating content after content, trying
to get something to stick because I didnot know where I was leading my people.
Then when I finally had clarity andin 2022, I harnessed the power of
collaborations that allowed me to getvisible and to use my voice to add
value to other people's audiences sothat I could grow my email list as

(05:36):
well as help those that I collaboratedwith grow their email list as well.
And at that event, I tripled my emaillist within just a few weeks, and most
recently I sent an email out statingthat I was under the weather for about
three, three and a half weeks, and Istill have this cough that sometimes

(05:59):
doesn't go away, unfortunately.
So I was doing nothing with my business.
The bare minimum
I even listened to that Holy Spiritprompting of canceling the called to
the business Battlefield Live five dayevent I, that was originally scheduled
the first or second week of April.
And listening to that, prompting taught mesomething because two days later is when

(06:23):
I came down with that horrible cold fever,whatever it was I had, and it was even
a struggle just to do the daily things.
I would have showed up for that event, butI wouldn't have been able to show up in my
full capacity and give you what you neededand what you desired from that event.

(06:46):
And the Lord knew it.
He knew the beginning from the endand being obedient even though.
It was something I didn't want to doin my human flesh, but being obedient
allowed me to take a step back andallow Holy Spirit wisdom and allow
the Lord to lead and guide me throughthose three, three and a half weeks

(07:07):
of absolutely not feeling well at all.
Which allowed me to slow down and takea step back as well and serve you in a
better way, sharing my story, sharingmy journey, because now what I get to
share in this episode, like I sharedin that email that went out a few.
Days or weeks ago was that even thoughI was not doing a thing in my business,

(07:30):
I was not showing up on social media.
I wasn't doing lives.
I wasn't posting.
My virtual assistant might have beenposting some podcast episodes, but
I wasn't personally doing anythingand my email list still grew by
162 amazing women in 22 days.
I'm gonna tell you how that happened.
However, I want you to think aboutwhat could you possibly do to grow your

(07:53):
email list with 162 amazing people?
Who are the ones that you arecalled to serve in 22 days?
There is nothing else out therelike the strategy that I'm going to
tell you what it is and you probablyalready have an idea of what it is.
'cause I mentioned it in thebeginning of this episode, but
there's nothing else out there.
That will do what this does, and that isthe collaborations in leveraging kingdom

(08:17):
relationships so that you can show upand get visible by adding value to other
people's audiences to grow your emaillist and those that you collaborate with.
And here's what's more exciting thanjust an increased subscriber count.
My open rates are consistentlyhovering around 30 to 50%.

(08:39):
I know that's a wide range, butit is above industry standard,
and my click through rates areabove industry average as well.
So that tells me that I'm not onlygrowing my email list, but I'm
growing it with the right people.
People who are genuinelyinterested in what I have to share?
And that's the keydifference with what I teach.

(09:01):
My clients to do.
And what most list building gurusare promoting, it's not just about
getting anyone on your list, it'sabout attracting the people that you
are called to serve your perfect fitclient, those who will engage with
your content, who will eventuallybecome your loyal paying customers.

(09:25):
So at the beginning of this episode, Isaid I was going to let you in on the
strategy that I used to build my emaillist that doesn't involve throwing
and plastering freebies all over theplace, and the email growth that I just
mentioned from 2022 to now most recently.
Has been done without a standardlead magnet freebie that

(09:49):
everyone tells you is essential.
What I have done and what Iteach my clients to do as well
is leverage collaborations asyour top of funnel lead magnet.
Collaborations that you participatein, or collaborations that you host
yourself, these now become that top offunnel lead magnet that attracts the

(10:12):
people that you are called to serve.
In a large quantity versus plasteringsomething all over social media,
dancing and pointing, hoping someone'sgoing to see your post pop on over
to your profile and grab that linkand download your freebie, and
it is a phenomenal strategy.

(10:34):
The foundation of this strategyand list building is the visibility
framework, and my visibilityframework has two components, value
visibility, and voice visibility.
Value visibility is aboutstrategically showing up.
And placing your collaboration eventor showing up, partnering with someone

(10:58):
else in their collaboration eventvalue visibility is about showing
up where your ideal audience alreadyhangs out and providing genuine, true.
Real and authentic value,not just promotional content.

(11:18):
This means you are showing up withcollaborations and doing guest teaching.
You are contributing expert insights.
You're solving real problemsfor free and spaces where your
people are already gathering.
Voice visibility focuses on buildingkingdom relationships and credibility
by lending your powerful, unique voice.

(11:41):
To conversations through podcastguesting, guest articles, collaborative
projects, partnering with events.
This isn't about being everywhere.
It's about being in the rightplaces strategically, where your
expertise can shine, and whenyou combine value visibility.

(12:07):
With voice visibility, you create apowerful presence that naturally attracts
those that you are called to servewithout the endless content creation
hamster wheel, without being a slaveto social media and without paid ads.
The beauty of this framework isthat it focuses on quality over

(12:28):
quantity, which leads to more engagedsubscribers right from day one.
So using this framework and thatemail growth within 22 days of 162
amazing new women on my email list,that specifically came from two

(12:49):
bundle events that I participated in.
That was it.
Remember, this framework focuseson quality over quantity.
And those bundle events that I chose tostrategically participate in was something
that I decided to do back in February.
February, March, April, right?

(13:11):
Almost 90 days.
60 to 90 days.
So what you decide to dotoday is going to affect your
business 60 to 90 days from now.
What currently are you doing to that?
You are going to see that emailgrowth or that business growth
from 60 or 90 days from now.

(13:32):
At the end of this episode, I'mgonna give you some action items,
the important thing to know is what youdo today, the amount of effort and time
you put into your business today, you'regoing to see the results 90 days from now.
Too many times we want it to be, nowwe live in a microwave society where
we want instant results, and that'snot how the business world works.

(13:56):
And I would challenge you.
To think about what other strategy wouldallow you to have 162 new amazing people
that you are called to serve on your emaillist within 22 days from one bundle event
came almost 90 of those amazing women.
Because I was strategic and Istarted to shift my focus away from.

(14:21):
Owned media into thesestrategic partnerships.
Now I'm gonna talk about somethingthat might be a little bit
controversial and why I don't relyon social media for list growth.
More and more online entrepreneursare starting to talk about this.
However, I was talking about thisat the end of 23, when I realized

(14:41):
there was something powerful withcollaboration strategies and then
capitalizing on the momentum of thatgrowth in launching into a paid offer.
That's where my smart lead gen methodwas created back in 2022 and 2023.
So even though people are starting totalk about it now, you're gonna hear it

(15:02):
from a lot of people that, Hey, you cangrow your business without social media.
I have been talking and putting thisout into the ether for over two years
now, because I realized somethingimportant back in 2022, social media
algorithms were controlling my reach.
They were controlling andhiding what I would post.

(15:22):
And consequently that wasaffecting my business growth.
And I knew that I did not wantmy success to be at the mercy of
platforms that changed tactics andstrategies that were always changing.
And I knew that I didn't want my successto be at the mercy of something I
couldn't control, like social media.

(15:44):
So instead, I focused my strategyfrom owned media, such as Facebook,
Instagram, TikTok onto strategicpartnerships where I have direct
access and direct ownership of my emaillist and direct access to my audience
without the algorithm interference.

(16:05):
My email list and growing it throughstrategic collaborations and kingdom
relationships became my focus.
Now, that didn't mean I abandonedsocial media completely.
Most of you do know, or if you'renew to my world, I lost all of my
social media accounts back in Januaryof 2025, right before a huge launch.
I was hacked, or Zuck face took medown and I lost my four to 7,000

(16:29):
followers, my huge Facebook community.
I lost everything thatdid not affect my launch.
I had the biggest launch to date back inJanuary due to the fact of harnessing this
power of collaborations and growing myemail list I still maintain a presence
on social media, but it no longer isthe engine that drives my list growth.

(16:52):
It's supplementaryrather than foundational.
The freedom this shift has givenme is absolutely incredible.
I'm no longer stressed out aboutposting daily on Instagram.
We're keeping up with the latest.
TikTok trends.
I've reclaimed hours of my time eachweek, and now I can dedicate that to
serving my audience and clients betterand create more impactful content.

(17:14):
And that email that went out thatstated how my email list grew utilizing
collaboration strategies, eventhough I wasn't doing anything with
my business because of how I felt
that didn't include this pastevent that I participated in being
a speaker at a client Summit.
Gabe hosted the Grow Your Business WithoutSocial Media Virtual Event, and this

(17:39):
is our second year hosting that . Gabewas a previous client of mine and went
through my summits with Impact programand at this second event this past week,
I grew my email list by 75 Amazing women
so what drives my email list?
Growth?
You already know strategiccollaborations, bundles, summits.

(18:01):
I am selective about contributingto highly curated resources of
bundles where my offer will bepositioned alongside complementary
experts serving the same audience.
Then.
Speaking events at virtual summits, Icarefully choose those events as well
to make sure that my audience is aligned

(18:23):
and the key here isn't just aboutparticipating in any summit.
It's about selecting the onewhose hosts are committed to
promotion and whose audiences anddemographics match mine as well.
The most powerful thing about creatingcollaboration strategies as the top
of funnel lead magnet is not only thatit grows your email list and helps

(18:46):
others grow their email list as well.
. It allows you to capitalize onthat visibility framework of adding
value, visibility and using yourvoice to actually provide genuine
value that will strengthen importantindustry relationships with those

(19:07):
collaborators, but also strengthensthat relationship and know, like, and
trust factor with those attendees.
What also makes these strategies sopowerful in these collaborations is that
they bring in pre-qualified subscribers.
The people you're called to serve on youremail list, these aren't random people

(19:27):
just clicking on an ad or coming across afreebie that they might be interested in.
They're individuals who are alreadyconnected with content and people
who are similar to my content and thepeople I'm called to serve and have
actually said, yes, I'm interestedin what you will provide me.
I've been talking a lot aboutparticipating in collaboration strategies,

(19:51):
and I love that strategy, but I alsolove even more hosting the collaboration
strategies myself because that has thebiggest return on your time invested.
You are in control of the event andpositioning it strong, and you get to
collect all the email addresses as wellas adding value to those collaborators

(20:14):
that you collaborate with by helpingthem grow their email list as well.
I.
And if you are interested in learninghow to host your own collaboration
event, whether it is a round table, asmall virtual event, a large virtual
event, a bundle event, message mebecause I can help you determine what
is going to be a right fit for you.

(20:36):
You're not building a cookie cutterbusiness, and your collaboration
strategy is not a cookie cuttercollaboration strategy either.
We get to determine what is goingto work for you and the season of
life that you are in, and what worksfor your business and ideal clients.
I do have a Summits with Impactprogram that will help you

(20:57):
put together a virtual event.
I also have a Bundles withImpact program that will help you
put together a bundle program.
And I also have a bundleswith impact for contributors.
If you are interested in juststarting with contributing into other
people's bundles, this mini courseis going to give you a walkthrough

(21:18):
of what you need to have in place.
Things that you need to know beforeyou apply for other people's bundles.
So if that's something you'reinterested in, email me or send me
a DM on social media because some ofthose don't have specific links to
a sales page because I'll be pullingthem out of my program and offering

(21:39):
it to you at a special investment.
Before we wrap up today, I want tohighlight the biggest mistakes I see
Christian women in online businessmaking with their email growth
and business growth strategies.
Mistake number one is chasingafter those vanity metrics.
The number of likes, the numberof shares, the going viral, or

(22:01):
just focusing on subscriber countover engagement and quality.
I would rather have 500 engaged womenon my email list than 5,000 who never
opened my emails or reply back to me.
Going viral, focusing on the number oflikes, likes, and lurkers aren't leads.

(22:22):
Going viral doesn'tincrease your email growth.
They're not a lead until they're on youremail list, and you can actually nurture
them and lead them to your paid offer.
Mistake number two is inconsistency.
Inconsistency in nurturing your emaillist and inconsistency in emailing.
I see emailing sporadically once a month.

(22:45):
Or once every other week, and thenwondering why your list isn't responsive.
They signed up to be on your email listbecause they want to hear from you.
You get to now email them on a regularconsistent basis at least once a week.
When you are in launch phase andyou are doing a live launch or a
webinar and you're launching intoa paid offer, your email is going

(23:08):
to increase that consistency.
If you're only emailing one time aweek during a live launch and you're
wondering why people aren't buyingyour offer, it's because you're
only emailing one time During alaunch, you email every single day.
And those of you who don't wanna beemailed every single day from someone,
then get off their email list, youdon't understand how business works

(23:29):
and we are just making an offerand you get to make a decision.
So for you listening, switch thatmindset that your people don't
wanna hear from you every singleday, especially during a launch.
I don't know why I'm going offon this tangent here, but when
you are live launching, youare emailing every single day.
Go and follow some of those sixand seven figure entrepreneurs and

(23:50):
watch them through a launch cycle.
Watch what they're doing.
You are going to get an email everysingle day during their launch, and they
are consistently emailing otherwise.
So mistake number two.
Inconsistency email at least oncea week and make sure that you are
figuring out a way to nurture your emaillist using the visibility framework.

(24:14):
How can you add value, visibilityand your voice visibility?
How can you get in front of yoursubscribers so they can see you,
hear you, and get value from you on aconsistent basis besides your email list?
Mistake number three is treating your listlike a bank or an ATM and only showing

(24:35):
up when you have something to sell.
This is a transactional approach thatreally erodes trust and diminishes your
relationship with your subscribers.
On the opposite end of the spectrum.
Which I could make this a mistake numberfour, but I'm gonna throw this in.
Mistake number three is not evershowing up with something to sell.

(24:56):
Not ever making them an offer if you'renot making an offer on a consistent
basis, if you're not making atleast an offer once a week to your
email list, whether it's to a trustbuilding, offer a mini course, a mini
offer, or planting the seed to what'scoming, or you're higher ticket offer.

(25:17):
If you are not doing something likethat every single week, and you
wonder why your revenue isn't growing,why no one's joining your program.
That could be why you're notgiving them the chance to actually
make a decision on whether or notthey want your offer now or not.

(25:38):
You have to give them an opportunityto say yes or no, and if you're
not extending an offer, thenthey don't have that opportunity.
And then mistake number four isoverwhelming new subscribers either
giving them way too much content rightaway with confused messaging that doesn't
clearly communicate your value propositionand doesn't clearly walk them to that

(25:59):
next step leading them to your offer.
And don't worry, I've made all of thesemistakes and sometimes I still do.
We're learning and we're growing.
The most important part is that youimplement what you've learned so
you don't make those mistakes again.
So as we close today, I'm gonnashare with you how you can implement
what you have learned today withwhat I have shared with you.

(26:22):
Here are your action steps.
First, identify two to threepotential collaboration
opportunities for this quarter.
Remember.
What you do today is going to affectyour business 60 to 90 days out.
Look for bundles, summits,podcast guest appearances,
how can you put your value, visibilityin your voice, visibility in front of

(26:46):
the people that you are called to serve?
Now, if you don't know whereto look for these potential
collaboration opportunities, you can.
Join the Kingdom BusinessRevolution community.
It is a separate app.
It is my community off social media.
I will link that in the show notesas well, and you can head on
over to the collaboration corner.

(27:07):
Once you join the community and myvirtual assistant and myself, we
go to social media and we grab thepotential collaborations that we see
and we bring them over and post them.
In the Kingdom Business Revolutioncommunity app for you to take a
look at, so we do the work for you.
You don't have to be aslave to social media.

(27:29):
So come on over and join the KingdomBusiness Revolution community, our own
app off social media, and you can start tolook for your first two to three potential
collaboration opportunities over there.
If you want to host your own message me,we can set up a consultation call and
we can strategically determine what typeof collaboration strategy would work for

(27:52):
you in the season that you're in and yourbusiness, what collaboration strategy
you could host in the next 30 to 90 days.
The next action item, I want you to startto implement the visibility framework
by asking yourself, where can I providegenuine value to my current audience,
to my email list, or where my currentfuture ideal client is hanging out?

(28:15):
Where can you lend your voice to?
Existing conversations in your industryso you can start to show up and add
value, visibility and voice visibility.
Then I want you to commit to nurturingyour current list consistently, even
if it's a small one, create a simpleemail schedule you can stick to if

(28:37):
you don't have one that allows youto be consistent and then think of
how you can nurture your email list.
How can you get in front of them to addvalue and use your voice so they can
see, you know, you trust you and hearhow you coach them through a problem

(28:58):
finally audit your current list buildingstrategy, and honestly evaluate which
ones aren't working and which onesare bringing in engaged subscribers.
If something's not working and you'restill doing it, then I want to ask
you why are you still doing it?
You get to have a return on yourtime invested, and being on social

(29:21):
media is not a good investment toyour time because social media is
not a business growth strategy.
So I hope this episode has shownyou that growing a engaged.
Highly active email list.
Doesn't have to involve a constant contentcreation, complex funnels, expensive
ads, or even a ton of freebies thrown allover the place by focusing on strategic

(29:49):
visibility and meaningful collaborationsand putting your collaboration strategy
as your top of funnel lead magnet.
You can build a thriving email list ofpeople who you are called to serve and
people who actually want to hear from you.
Remember, if you are ready to hostyour own collaboration strategy, or

(30:09):
if you want help participating in one,email me, we can have a consultation
discussion and figure out what type ofcollaboration strategy would benefit you.
And remember that sustainablebusiness growth and email growth
comes from focusing on the rightstrategies, not all of the strategies.

(30:32):
Be blessed and have a great day.