As a business owner, it is likely that you recognize that email is one of the most effective communication channels you have at your disposal. People rely on their email to remain in contact with trusted partners and brands, to be alerted to updates and pertinent news, and so much more. As such, email marketing is one of the key strategies you can employ to grow your sales, develop new streams of revenue, and remain top-of-mind with your customers.
However, success is not guaranteed in this regard. Realizing email marketing efforts that get results is largely dependent on the size as well as the quality of your company’s email list. In this blog, the digital marketing experts at Woland Web will outline how to build an email list that offers value to your company.
Avenues for List Building
Generally speaking, email lists can be built in a variety of ways and could include prospects as well as existing customers who have:
- Purchased from you in the past
- Visited your website and subscribed to a newsletter or marketing promotions
- Signed up for a product or service
- Physically handed you a business card at a networking event
Obviously, there are several avenues by which a customer or prospect might find you online or come into contact with you in person. They may be directed to your website via your social media channels, find your blog online and opt in to be alerted to future postings, see an advertisement about a product you offer that sparks their interest… as well as many other ways.
The point is, no matter how a person finds you, they should have opportunities to opt in to remain connected to you via email—and they should be inspired to take action.
Email List Building Requires Perseverance & Patience
It must be stated that building a high-quality email marketing list doesn’t happen overnight, and we don’t necessarily encourage buying an email list. Not only are these lists typically expensive, but they can also be very unreliable and cause your communications to be viewed as spam to someone who didn’t voluntarily ask to hear from your company. Worst case, you may be flagged as a spammer, causing your account to be suspended by your email platform.
Instead, take the organic approach toward list building and follow these tips to make it easy for a person to subscribe to your list.
- Add a subscribe form to your website. Consider capturing email addresses during the checkout process if you sell something online. Since you are already collecting their name and email address when they make a purchase, include a small tick box where a user can opt into joining your email list.
- If your website has a contact form, then adding a subscribe tick box is a great way to capture new email subscribers. After all, since the visitor is already asking to be contacted by your company, they are showing a strong interest in what you have to offer.
- Add a subscribe form to your blog to not only improve readership but stay top of mind with people who are interested in what you have to say. People who subscribe to your blog will likely become some of your most engaged audience members, commenting on and sharing your posts.
- Encourage your social media followers to sign up for email updates. If you have a following on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., then work on converting these audience members into email subscribers. Provide occasional links to your sign-up forms, be it on your blog, your contact form, etc., and build increased affinity with your social followers.
- Include a link to a landing page in your email signature where a recipient can sign up to hear from you.
- Ask them directly. If you run a storefront, retail business, or have an office where customers and prospects stop in, then ask these people at the point of sale, for instance, if they want to join your email list and collect their address right then. Or place a subscribe form in-store using good old pen and paper. If you want to get fancy, use an app to turn your iPad or other tablet into a beautiful email subscribe form.
Incentivize People for Signing Up
Now that you have made it easy for a prospect or a customer to sign up for your email list, the next step is to offer some incentive that sweetens the deal. Depending on the type of organization you are marketing, it is key to pick out what makes sense for your business based on what will resonate for your audience.
Consider the following:
- Updates to great “insider” content. Maybe you are a financial services firm that can offer pertinent savings or investing tips. Perhaps you are a fitness company and can provide new workout or nutrition tips to the people on your email list. No matter what you do, if you can provide high quality and relevant content to your audience, you will create value and remain top of mind.
- Discount codes and special offers. Incentivize new users to sign up to your email list by offering a discount off a product or a promo code. Not only are you increasing your list through this method, but you may also get some immediate new sales.
- Early access and insider promotions. You can encourage a user to sign up for a list by offering them a “behind the curtain” peek at new products and services or VIP access ahead of the public. People want to feel special and as if they are part of something exclusive.
Your Email List is One of Your Most Important Marketing Tools
There are many approaches toward building an email list and engaging in an effective email marketing campaign that gets results and builds your bottom line. Woland Web would love to coach you on how email marketing can fit into a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to expand your audience and increase engagement. Reach out to our team today to begin a conversation. We would love the chance to speak with you and learn how we can help. Contact us today (and of course, we invite you to sign up for our email list as well!).
