Building an email list is a great way to begin building relationships with your audience.

It might sound like a lot of hard work but you can automate it for the most part.

I use email autoresponders to get people to connect with me on social media, create user generated content, get new content ideas, help solve peoples problems & push traffic to older posts.

The Welcome Email

This email gets sent to new subscribers immediately. It thanks them, sets expectations but most importantly invites them to connect with me on social media.

This not only helps grow social signals from a follower stand point - but will help to grow social sharing in the future when you publish new content.

The How Can I Help Email

A few days after the first email I send out an email with the subject How Can I Help You? Ask Me Anything - Don't Be Shy!

The purpose of this email is to break the relationship ice and create used generated content in the form of a forum post.

When people post a new question this creates a new page on the forum which in turn brings new long tail traffic from Google.

When I respond to those posts, this creates relationships with people. I get great feedback about the fact I actually respond and take time to help people.

This will also create relationships with people that don't ask questions - the fact that you reach out in that way is enough!

The Full Sequence

After those 2 emails I begin sharing my older posts & tutorials that are buried away in the archives.

Each week people get a new internet marketing tutorial delivered direct to their inbox which pushes new traffic, comments and social signals throughout the entire blog week in week out.

Every now and then I put in a more relationship focused email such as Which Tutorial Do You Want Me To Make Next? You Decide! which creates new content ideas.

I also send out an email asking people for 1 thing they like about the blog, 1 thing they don't like and 1 thing they would change immediately.

Not only have those two emails helped me shape the blog - they have created ever lasting relationships with my readers.