Creating an Email list is one of the things most businesses shove aside.
Naturally, they go after social media, blogs, websites, SEO, ads, etc., but leave out building an email list which is very important.
So, you are getting a lot of traffic to your website. How do you keep these people so you can reach them anytime you want to?
Or when it comes to customers, How do you retain them, build relationships and get them to buy again?
One way to do these is by building an email list and engaging fully in email marketing.
Why do I need to build an email list?
Here are some reasons why you need an email list:
- It is an excellent way to build relationships with your prospects in an intimate way. Our emails are personal. So, sending an email creates a personal effect.
- It helps to build trust. Constantly engaging people about your brand or the solution you have to offer makes them trust you and over time, feel like they are a part of your brand.
- It is cheap to run. You do not have to run ads to increase reach like social media platforms. You have access to all your contacts. The only thing that might eat into your pocket is the tools.
- It helps to increase sales. Creating a community around your brand gives you the opportunity to keep talking to your prospects until they finally convert and buy what you are selling.
How do you get people to give you their mail?
In building an email list, you need to know how to get your prospect’s email, the right way. You cannot build an email list without emails.
Before you begin…
1. Get an email marketing software
If you want to truly build and grow your list, then you need an email marketing software.
There are several email marketing software like Aweber, Mail Chimp, etc. that can help you build your list. Go through the ones you are interested in and pick the one that best suits you and your business’s email needs.
Note that you need a website to build your email list. So, make sure that your company has a website first before you go ahead to do anything.
2. Create an offer with great value
People with not drop their emails just because you ask them to. It needs to be an exchange.
You present something of immense value to them and tell them to input their contact information, so you can send it to them.
You can offer them a free piece of content, one that they find interesting or valuable. Apart from that, you have to be sure that the piece of content is one that will attract your ideal customer, not just anyone.
Ask yourself?
What is my ideal customer seeking for that I can help with? It can be a checklist, a report, an e-book, etc., offering a piece of information that will be of great help to your prospect.
The word “free” will also motivate them to want to get what you are offering.
You can also offer discounts or coupons for their next purchase if they join your list. This will make them willing to subscribe.
You should put this offer up on your landing page.
3. Create an email opt-in form
Your customers cannot fill up their contact information if there is no opt-in form.
After they click the CTA button on your landing page, they should be let to the form they have to fill to subscribe.
You can also include this form in your menu bar. This will give your visitor easy access to signing up.
And then….
4. Create a pop up for every page on your website.
Before you do this, you need a website created for your business.
Pop-ups make it easy for your visitors to share their contact information with you and subscribe to your list.
It might look bothersome, but they are not if you do it the right way.
You have to make sure that your pop-ups are well-timed. Give them a while to scan through the site. Let the pop-up be relevant to the content on the page they are viewing.
A good example is the exit pop-up which comes on when a visitor is about to leave a page.
Whatever you do, make sure you do not distract your visitors with irrelevant offers.
5. Create a CTA for every blog post
This is very important. It puts out your offer to them, no matter where they look.
Speaking of blog posts, you should ensure that the content of the blog post tallies with what you are offering.
So, after your article, you leave them with a clickable call to action telling them you can provide them with the information they need.
If you do not have the time to create varying pieces of content, create one (e.g. An e-book) that will help meet the needs of your visitor.
Then include the link in pages with content relating to your free content.
What you should never do;
1. Buy an email list.
This might seem to be the easiest way to get your email list and to be frank, it can be quite tempting. But you may end up regretting it.
A person’s mail is a personal space. People never trust emails they did not sign up for and will probably mark it as spam.
Also, consider this. The contact on this list have never been to your website, they do not know your brand and there is a high chance that they may not be interested in your product or service.
How to grow an email list?
You can use the exact tips I gave above because truthfully, it’s the same thing. The only way you can grow your list is by making people give you their emails.
Other tactics to try out include:
1. Giveaways
You can start giveaways on your social media platforms. Tell your followers to drop their emails as one of the requirements to enter for the giveaway.
2. Polls
You can also create a poll on your website. Get visitors to engage and you can ask for their emails in the process. Make sure the content of the poll is engaging and exciting.
3. Webinars
You can decide to host a webinar and make it free for everyone. Since it is a live event, and something of value, people will be willing to drop their emails so they can have access to it.
4. Quiz
Create a quiz – one that will interest your visitors and after they are done taking the quiz, tell them to input their email address so that you can send them the result.
In conclusion,
There are several ways to get people to give you their email.
And if you were sitting on the fence before, now is the time to get off and begin to create your own email list.
The earlier you do, the earlier you can begin growing your business through email marketing.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. I will love to answer all of your questions.
