Blogs > Building Your Email List
Building Your Email List
March 13, 2015 Michael Bickerton
Why should you be building your email list? Marketers must continue to build and develop their email lists. As we’ve suggested to you before, email is your primary marketing tool. This means that list building must be one of the most important tactics. Keep in mind your email list properly managed may well prove to be your most profitable asset for your business!
There are some conventional ways to build your list. We recommend that marketers use as many tools and tactics as available to them. There are many online tactics and just as many offline tactics. Here are links to some very simple and easy to use email list building tactics.
Offline Email List Building Tactics
Online Email List Building Tactics
Every website, every landing page, and every email should allow consumers to find an opt-in form, and allow them to join your email list for newsletters, coupons or event opportunities that your company offers. Encouraging existing consumers to subscribe and share is a great tactic. Here in Canada, Goodlife Fitness uses in-store customer referrals on an ongoing basis providing “free” gifts to existing customers who provide three email addresses of friends. This is an example of peer-to-peer marketing and is a very effective tactic for a number of reasons.
We have come across a variety of tools for small business that do not have the opportunity to work with a digital agency. One such tool is Leadpages . Leadpages helps business owners create opt-in and or landing pages to gain sign ups. It is effective for small business owners as it does not require coding or design experience. Although, naturally having experience or an experienced designer or agency certainly provides value.
Once you create a sign-up form, you must create a reason, such as providing an offer or a discount, or a prize, in order to incentivize consumers and prospects to sign up.
Many marketers have also started using point of sale techniques. Receipts are fast becoming a conventional tactic in email list building. Many retailers are utilizing email technology to simplify processes, save printing and paper costs, as well as gather email list information. The offer to have your receipt emailed to you instead of printing them is very effective.
This also helps consumers because it is one less thing needed to keep track of, and as a small business you have the opportunity to connect with your customer base through email. In this email, it is important to include a link on the receipt to subscribe to your list and get permission.
Here are two services that offer this feature.
The use of video is also a great way to show off your products, services or company. Marketers can give advice and attract new visitors in a variety of ways. When creating, you can offer viewers the opportunity to a sign up at the beginning or end of each segment, using URL to your sign up landing page. Keep in mind an offer or incentive is recommended using this style of tactic. Marketers can also include this in the description of your video, or you can evenly simply give them instructions on how to subscribe to your list.
Savvy marketers also use email signatures as a way to drive email opt-ins. Considering how much impact email has, and given that email signatures indicate a level of intimacy (one-to-one) and that teams and companies use email on a daily basis, this is a subtle tactic that can provide value at very little cost.
Social networks continue to grow, develop and increase the opportunity to not only grow your followings, but also build a marketing email list. As an example, Pinterest has 70 million+ users; it can help you attract new subscribers with relatively little effort.
Pinterest works because of how visual it is, and it is a great place to gain new subscribers just by making a pin, which can then lead to a sign up form. Keep in mind that Pinterest has a significant following of women. There is a great post on Vertical Response on how you can grow your email list using Pinterest.
Also make sure that you utilize the sign-up function on all your social profiles. The opportunity for marketers to include links to sign up forms can be leveraged on all social platforms. Use the “About me” section and include a link to the sign-up sheet on your website or landing page.
The use of tradeshows and events are a great way to gather email options in an offline fashion by using a coupon or business card bowl, yet at the same time marketers can leverage technology by using a tablet or smartphone to encourage email sign-ups.
Small business can use this tactic daily, with the use of a daily special, daily giveaway or program that entices opt-ins and personal one-on-one, in-store discussions. This also gives your staff the chance to make a personal connection with consumers and prospects.
As we wrap up this email list building tip, keep in mind we are not advocating one tactic over the other. Not at all. Raven5 advocates the ongoing use of ALL available tactics. As well, we are not suggesting you try this for a week, a month, or not at all. It’s imperative for marketers to employ ALL available tactics all year long. Email list building is not one time tactic, it’s a process of continual development and continual asking.
Email is your most effective marketing tool; it allows you to send your message, in your time frame to your target. No other marketing tactic can make this claim. The result is that list building may in fact be the most important job you and your staff; smart marketing begins with email list building.
Interested in learning more? Check out Email insights.
Michael Bickerton, Raven5 Ltd. March 2015
Here are some other resources to assist in email list building.
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