Do you want to maximize each visitor and lead your website generates? And, do you want to do this for less than most other marketing channels?
This can be done with email marketing and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune….just some time, creativity, consistency and discipline.
In this article we are going to show you how building an email list from scratch is possible, and necessary, for just about any business.
If your business doesn’t have one yet or you’re still not quite sure what an email list actually is, then all you have to do is check your inbox.
Why?
Because you’re probably on at least a couple of them already.
That’s right. All of those emails you don’t want, and even some of the ones you do want, are coming from companies that have placed you on their email lists.
How did you get on that list?
Well, you most likely purchased something online or provided your contact information somewhere and either checked a box that said something like “Subscribe to our email newsletter” or you forgot to uncheck a box that said something similar.
Don’t feel tricked if you never checked anything as it’s pretty common for companies to opt people in when they purchase something or provide their contact information. You can always unsubsribe so don’t go getting all upset.
The point is that email lists are very common and there’s a legitimate reason for this…
A strong email list coupled with a creative email marketing strategy can be one of the best ways to generate more revenue for your existing customers and attract new business from leads and prospects interested in your products and services.
Let’s take a look at how you can start building your email list from scratch to take advantage of these statistics.
There seems to be quite a bit of resistance when it comes to email marketing. Tell us why you haven’t started yet in the COMMENTS BELOW as we your input helps us to learn too.
Before you can start building your email list you need to build up and maintain the demand for it.
If you overlook these important steps, then you are going to have a rather frustrating experience trying to get people to sign up.
So, how do you make your email list so irresistible that everyone will want to sign up?
There are many different ways to build demand, but here are some of the more effective methods we have seen that you should try…
Are you seeing a theme from these 5 tips?
If not, here you go: Be specific about what someone is going to get when they subscribe.
And when those signups start coming in…..make sure you DELIVER.
To build a strong email list you need to learn to take advantage of every single opportunity you have to convert someone into an email subscriber. This mindset needs to extend throughout all of your activities, online and offline. Our 20+ tips below should be a great start for you.
Here are some recommended ways to start building your email list…
If you’ve got a sound inbound marketing strategy in place, then you should be driving most of your traffic to your website. If so, then you need to make sure you’re capitalizing on each and every visitor.
To do this you want to optimize your website to convert your visitors – no matter what stage they are at in the buying cycle. It doesn’t really matter if they’re just window shopping or if they’ve just purchased something from you – there’s always an opportunity to get each visitor into your email list.
TIPS:
Social networks are more than just places to promote your content or to spoil the Game of Thrones season finale for everyone else. When used properly, these channels can be fantastic places to help you build your email list.
To accomplish this you may need to change your mindset a bit about how you use your social media accounts. Instead of using them to talk at your followers and friends you need to start using them to engage them and entice them to signup to your email list to get even more / better interaction with your company.
TIPS:
One of the most overlooked ways of building a valuable email list doesn’t actually involve any type of online marketing or website optimization.
Instead, just going out into your local community to physically collecting email signups can be one of the more effective ways to build your list. Make sure you have a plan though or else you’re going to annoy a lot of people.
TIPS:
Although we’re listing this one last it is far from being the least important or the least effective way to build an email list.
As a matter of fact, if you’ve done a good job of building real (online and offline) relationships, then this should actually be the easiest and most effective way for you to build your company’s list.
TIPS:
Your priorities as a business usually center around keeping your customers happy and generating revenue for your business. We would never advise against these, but we would encourage you to start integrating one more priority into your business practices…
Get people to subscribe to your email list
Email is still the most popular online activity and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon.
You want to be able to reach your prospects and customers in a scalable, cost-effective, highly targeted way and email marketing is still the best solution for that. And the best part is that the barrier to entry (getting an email marketing strategy started) is extremely low.
By following the tips above, using a reputable email marketing provider (like MailChimp or Campaign Monitor) and committing to an on-going email marketing strategy you will start to build one of your business’ most valuable assets – an email list of opt-in recipients.
So, what are you waiting for?
Either get going on the tips we have outlined in this post or get in touch with us to learn how we can help you get your email list on a growth trajectory and get your business using it to generate more revenue.
Need help building your email list?
9 Comments
Patrick Coombe
June 14, 2013
Really solid post. In many cases I’ve opted not to implement a subscription form fearing that I would lose out on the conversion I am trying to solicit or the lead I’m trying to generate.
I’ve run tests before and have found that even asking for an email address can drive your visitors away. Nevertheless, building a list is very important and definitely should not be overlooked.
Vinny La Barbera
June 14, 2013
Thanks Patrick!
We appreciate you sharing your experiences with us. We can’t say that including an email field on lead forms has had the same negative effect, but every site is unique in its own way.
If you don’t mind me asking, how do you build your list if you’re not collecting emails from lead forms on your website? Are there other methods we mentioned that you use that are more effective?
Keith Austen
August 11, 2014
Great post! I think that it is our modern obsession with instant results which prevents most people getting started with list building. But that is so short-sighted…having a genuine asset (your list) is something that can seem a leap of faith, but you get many more opportunities to try to sell your products if you ‘take the risk’. It really isn’t a risk. This is a really balanced and fair overview of what is involved.
Vinny La Barbera
August 11, 2014
You couldn’t be more spot on, Keith.
Thanks so much for reading the article and for your input.
Giles Thomas
October 17, 2014
I agree keith, building a list is everything. I wrote an 8000 word piece about this too: http://acquireconvert.com/list-building/
Vinny La Barbera
October 17, 2014
And a hell of a piece it is, Giles. Seriously nice work. I’m glad you checked on this one and mentioned yours. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for even more info.
Giles Thomas
November 4, 2014
Thanks Vinny!
T ONeill
February 4, 2016
Vinny – Great article but have you had any success with paid advertising online to speed the ramp up time? I have used some paid campaigns through Udimi with pretty good results. Great stuff though!!
Vinny La Barbera
February 4, 2016
Using paid traffic to grow an email list is certainly an option that should be considered. Just remember that the cost per acquisition (email subscriber) needs to make sense for your business.