When you decide to build an email marketing list, you should know that you are making a long-term valuable marketing asset, and investing in list building will pay off in the long run. One reason why lists will help grow your business is that it's a direct line of communication with your people or consumers. And you would want to continue to build relationships with them.
For example, you regularly send emails to your subscribers and provide them with useful content. That is communicating directly with your consumers. This leads to referrals, leads, purchases, social sharing, and other revenue-generating activities.
Another reason why lists are important is that it is a low-cost way of courting people and delivering quality content consistently. Plus, this is an avenue to build rapport and trust with your target consumer base. And this allows you to spoil them with goodies to convert them.
Further, an email marketing list should regularly be updated because the database degrades by approximately 22.5% annually. Why? A number of factors are behind old lists degrading, such as the contacts changing email addresses, abandoning the old AOL that they used, or simply opt-out from your email.
Thus, to fully maximize the advantages of email marketing, regularly add fresh contacts to your email campaigns. And if you want to build your list, then do it the right way by using the tips below.
Let’s get started.
1. Content
Before starting on list building, focus on creating good quality content that your audience will find not only useful but also interactive and exciting. Your target audience will continually subscribe as long as you keep the consumers interested. Further, if you have quality content, chances are your subscribers will forward your link to their friends who are not on your list, thus expanding your network.
To find good quality content, you should know what topic you should write about. Pick a particular niche or topic before writing. Let's face it: people are either too busy, lazy, or just purely overwhelmed with the extensive information surrounding them that they naturally place labels on simple things. So, know what your target audience or consumer wants because they mark them to make their lives easier.
There are three essential pieces to consider:
a. Social Media Content
Social media has become an integral part of the day-to-day lives of people, like it or not. Thus, your potential customers are highly likely active on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Create social media-specific content for your business and also link your blog posts. Pushing social media traffic to your site is your ultimate goal here.
b. Website Content (Blog)
By creating fresh new content such as blogs to your site, visitors will continually be coming back for more updates. This increases the chance of your site visitors being part of your list.
Always remember that your blogs shouldn't sound self-promotional and ends up looking like an advertisement. The focus here is on providing updated information that is useful for your audience.
c. Giveaways
A little reward goes a long way, sometimes. There are site visitors who will be more than willing to exchange information for a giveaway. This could range from how-to guides to coupons to discounts or anything that peaks the interest of your target audience.
2. Social Sharing and “Email to a Friend Button”
In your emails, encourage your subscribers to forward your emails to their friends by adding social sharing and "email to a friend" buttons and a compelling call-to-action (CTA). This will allow you to gain access to a new network and increase the chances of opt-ins.
3. Conducting Online Contests
This ensures your target audience is engaged by giving them reasons to compete. For example, sponsor a video contest wherein customers create and upload 1-minute videos about why they prefer your products or services. Then, you promote the contest online and invite others to vote on which video should win. This inevitably drives traffic to your site and more chances for opt-ins.
4. Offering Opportunities for Guest Blogging
Include a strong CTA in your guest blogs and links for site visitors to subscribe to your website and be included in your email marketing list.
5. Partnering with a more Established Business or Website
You can collect fresh emails for your list by running a promotion or email newsletter with another site or business.
Also, you can conduct a co-marketing offer with a partner such as holding an eBook or webinar. Then, you ask the partner to promote the registration of the target audience. This is beneficial for both because you can swap leads at any time.
6. Offline Event Hosting
What better way to show and tell your product than in person! By conducting offline marketing events, such as meet and greet, conferences, and hackathons, you'll get a better chance at collecting email addresses from sign-up sheets provided during the event.
7. Webinar Hosting
Seminars online, aka webinars, are also great avenues for collecting emails for your list as you can require participants to provide email addresses upon registration.
8. Be Active
In your blogs and forums, make sure to interact with your target audience or potential customers and of course offer insightful comments. This paves the way for you to sneak in the link to your website and promote your business or service. By linking your website, visitors will eventually stumble into your opt-in forms, and they become part of your list, should they sign up.
9. Word of Mouth
The traditional marketing strategy before our technology-driven age still works wonders when done the right way. Ask current subscribers or customers, even new ones, to refer new visitors or potential customers to your growing list. To further motivate them, offer them rewards such as discounts for every valid referral that is confirmed with consent-backed emails.
10. Go Mobile
When you are out there attending events, you can still collect email addresses from the people you engage with. Thus, take out your Smartphone and collect them all! Second, if your website or business has a mobile app, then always attach an email opt-in to the app. Another way is to offer the app as a free download on your site with their email addresses as the ultimate price.
11. Upfront Sign-ups
Don't hide the subscribe button on your website. Keep it up front with a compelling CTA. You can place these on the homepage, the blog's main page, or on the "About Us" or "Contact Us" pages.
12. Exit Pop-ups
Sure they are annoying, but they increase the chances of people subscribing to your site and becoming part of your list. They are instrumental when used sparingly.
13. Business Cards
What better way to collect email addresses than business cards. If you meet people face to face, always ask for their business cards since 99% of individuals place their email addresses on their cards and then offer yours.
Another way to collect business cards is by placing a glass bowl in local stores or coffee shops. Provide them with an incentive with a free product for every business card.
14. Build an Online Community
People want to feel they belong to something. It's an inherent characteristic. So, make use of it by creating a community where you can easily engage with your customers or potential audience. Then, you can include a sign-up form for every newsletter to the community.
15. Foursquare
Give out a reward to every customer that does business with you. Then, show that that particular customer checked in at your establishment on Foursquare with the use of their mobile device. By doing this, they're announcing to their network that they transacted with you. At the end of the month, reward the customer who has the most exposure in exchange for their email address.
Surely, this is a lot to digest. But by building your list the right way and creating a fool-proof strategy, you will be able to funnel traffic into your highest-converting pages, generating revenue.
As part of a team of highly skilled marketers online for MLA, Marc Mazure serves to execute the highest standards in design while providing his clients with development & e-commerce solutions that are tailored to consumers’ needs. With years of experience in the web design London industry, Marc offers a multitude of services with the very highest standards and principles in web design.
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