According to Hubspot, 99% of consumers check their email every single day, and email generates an average of $38 for every $1 spent - a 3800% ROI! If someone is interested in your business or service, they will subscribe to your email list. This gives you the ability to reach potential customers in a personal way. Building an e-mail list can seem like a daunting task, especially if you're starting at 0.
Tips for Building an Email List
Make sure your subscribers are opting-in. You cannot add people to your email list that haven't given you specific permission to do so. It's okay to email past clients / customers and let them know you'll be starting a newsletter and give them the option to opt-in. If they choose not to, be sure not to send them any promotional or marketing messages.
Add a subscription box to your website footer. Potential customers should be able to subscribe to your list no matter what page they're on within your website. Including a subscription box in your footer ensures that they always have access.
Add a check-box to any forms. If someone is filling out a form on your website, such as a contact form or consultation request, have a small check-box before they hit submit that asks if they'd like to opt-in.
Create a lead magnet. Create an e-book, checklist or some other piece of content related to your business that your potential customers would want access to! Most will subscribe in order to get the freebie.
Drive traffic to your website from social media. You can create a custom landing page on your website to make it easy for them to subscribe, and after they do, redirect to your home page. On Facebook, create a button under your Business page header to 'sign-up'. Optimize your Pinterest bio and 'pin' your lead magnet / freebie. On Instagram and Twitter, you can also optimize your bio to encourage subscriptions.
Run a social contest. Having a social media contest is an easy way to encourage sign-ups! Enter any new subscribers into a contest to win something. You can giveaway one of your products, services, or bundle up with other companies to create an even bigger campaign.
Add a line within your e-mail signature. Having an accessible link to click to subscribe is a great way to get opt-in's from people you're already communicating with!
Once you start building an email list, you need to manage it to ensure your content is reaching the right people. You also don't want to be sending messages to inactive contacts. According to Wix, sending emails to inactive contacts will increase your bounce rate, cause your emails to be marked as spam, and lower your reputation as a sender. This may cause your email to go to a junk folder or be blocked from inboxes entirely.
Tips for Managing your Email List
Make a lasting first impression. Create an automated welcome email. Personalize this as much as you can, and include your lead magnet or freebie. You can ask them to follow you on social media or ask a question to encourage engagement.
Remove any inactive contacts. After sending a mailing, view stats to see which email addresses bounced and erase them from your list. A high bounce rate can negatively impact your email deliverability. If you have contacts that aren't engaging with your content, create a re-engagement campaign that may include another freebie or a questionnaire to find out why.
Create email labels. Create email lists and group people in certain categories to be able to share more content targeted directly to them.
Make it easy to unsubscribe. Maybe the content isn't relevant to them any longer or they're just receiving too many emails. Let them unsubscribe in an easy way, you wouldn't want them to feel trapped and have a bad impression of your business.
Are you interested in getting started with email marketing but don't know where to begin? Learn more about our email services.
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