Why are email lists so important? Social media is transient at best. The traffic your site gets from Facebook or Pinterest today may be gone tomorrow. However, when someone gives you their email, they are giving you permission to market directly to them.

There are many ways to build your email list. In most cases inviting someone to “sign up for my emails” just won’t cut it. You will get a much higher opt in rate if they give you their email address, so that you can send them a valued piece of content, a product or a service, etc.

Value is a relative term, so you must know you audience, and know what they would think had value in order to come up with something that they would be willing to exchange their email for.

Here are some List Building Freebie Ideas:

• A printable quote
• A checklist
• A short report
• An organizational or tracking chart
• A list of tips or resources
• Printables for your niche
• A free video
• A free live webinar
• A free preview copy of your new book
• A free chapter of your book
• A coupon code
• A free audio
• A free photo pack
• A free sample of your product
• A free consultation/coaching session
• A free limited-time subscription
• An entry in a giveaway

Promoting the Freebie:

Creating the freebie is just the first step however. You also need a way to let people know about the freebie, a landing page where they can go to claim the freebie, and a way to follow up with them after they get it.

I use either WordPress Estore or Amember for my freebie offers and I use MailChimp for my autoresponders and mailing lists. Of the two, WordPress Estore is easiest to use, but both do their job well. See other tools I use here.

Once your freebie is all set up, you’ll want to enlist the help of your affiliates and networking friends to help you promote the freebie. Many times this is as simple as sending an email or social media message asking someone to share the link to your freebie with their audience. Other times it can be a full-fledged campaign involving you entire affiliate team. And other times, you can submit your freebie or special offer to others in your niche who regularly promote other’s work.

Here is a list of sites who accept submissions:

Deals or sales:

• Money Saving Mom
• Mama Goes Frugal
• Multi-Taskin’ Mom

Homeschool Freebies and Sales:

• Blessed Beyond a Doubt
• Free Homeschool Deals
• Homeschool Giveaways
• The Relaxed Homeschool
• Year Round Homeschooling
• Homeschool Preschool
• Multi-Taskin’ Mom
• Homeschool.com
• The Homeschool Village

Here is a list of Facebook Groups who accept submissions:

Freebies and Deals:

• Family Friendly Freebies, Deals and Giveaways
• Money Saving Tips, Tricks and Deals
• Blog Giveaways - List Yours Here!
• Christian Giveaways

Homeschool Freebies:

• Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies
• Affording the Homeschool Life
• Frugal Homeschooling Moms
• Free Homeschooling Resources
• Build Your Own Homeschool Curriculum for Free by the Good Goat Momma
• Free Homeschool Curriculum

Do you know of another site that accepts freebie and deal submissions? Please leave us a note in the comments. This list is constantly being updated.