How to build an email list by the experts will lead you to know what to do to grow your email subscriber list.
“Just build an email list” they said. “It’s not that hard” they said. So I put a form up on my website and waited for the subscribers to come rolling in. That was 6 months ago, and today my email list consists of a grand total of…7 people. And two of those are me (well I had to test it was working, didn’t I).
If your story is somewhat similar, don’t worry. Growing your email subscriber list is definitely not just a case of “put up a form and they will come,” particularly if your business isn’t that well established.
If you haven’t got the faintest idea of how to build an email list, or you’ve tried and not seen the results you’d hoped for, this article is for YOU. We wanted to help (before you pull your hair out), and so we spoke to 75 email marketing experts, asking them to spill the tips and techniques that have helped them to repeatedly capture exactly what you’re after: those elusive email subscribers!
This article is the result of those conversations. We’ve put together a “hit list” of the main ideas that kept cropping up frequently, and then we’ve posted exactly what each expert had to say further down the page, where they go into waaaaay more detail and share their wisdom with us. If you don’t have at least a couple of “AHA” moments after reading this post, I’ll eat my hat.
How to Grow Your Email List: Quickfire Ideas to Get You Started
- Run a Competition/Raffle/Prize Draw (although you might not get the best “quality” subscribers)
- Promote your email list on your social media accounts
- Create a “lead magnet” – exclusive video, report, podcast, tool – that offers incredible vale to your target audience
- Use pop-ups, bars, flyouts and scrolling tabs on your website
- Put a link to your signup form in your email signature
- Speak at in-person events and offer something in exchange
- Host a webinar/telesummit
- Take part in someone else’s giveaway
- WIFI marketing (for brick + mortar stores)
- Put together an E-Series and offer it to your audience
- Send follow-up emails after attending a networking event
- Start a loyalty program for your brand/business
- Use content upgrades to drive signups from your blog content
- Choose your email marketing software carefully
- Offer exclusive content and/or discounts to subscribers
- Make it easy for subscribers to forward your emails to friends and family + encourage this
- Remarket to unsubscribers on other channels (Facebook, Instagram etc)
- Host a challenge
- Collaborate with influencers
- Promote your email list in author boxes at the end of articles on your website
- Profile “lookalike audiences” and pay for ads on social media platforms to reach the right people
- Make it possible to subscribe from your checkout page
- Collaborate with companies that serve the same audience, but are not direct competition
- Run a survey or a quiz and provide the result by email
- Optimize your signup forms (very important!!)
- Leverage affiliate networks
- ASK when setting appointments (service businesses)
- Use “Text to Join” messaging services
- Produce “printables” to complement YouTube Videos and offer them via email
- Use browser push notifications to guide users to your signup page
- Integrate email signup forms into paid search campaigns
- Offer free shipping to subscribers
- Use time sensitive events or offers to prompt signups
Some Fundamentals to Live By If You Want a Great List
- Quality over quantity/Better not bigger (however you want to phrase it)
- Only email people that have asked to be emailed!
- Make it SUPER easy to subscribe and join your list
- Set the right expectations the moment they sign up
- Segment your list so you provide the right content at the right time
- Track the sources your subscribers are coming from and invest more resources into those that perform best
- Make sure the info you collect is correct
- Use a double opt in process
- NEVER buy or rent email lists – it’ll end badly
- Make the pitch as personal as you possibly can
- ASK in as many places as you can
- Don’t forget about existing subscribers when chasing new ones
- Test, test and test some more
- Learn as much as you possibly can about your target audience
- Don’t lie to get their email address; they’ll only unsubscribe and never come back!
- Make the benefit of signing up crystal clear
- Clean your list and remove “dead” subscribers regularly
- Every email you send a subscriber should provide value; don’t pollute their inbox!
- Make sure your “Calls to Action” really speak to your target audience
Don’t forget to add your business to https://www.top4.com.au/
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Source: What Say The Experts
