5 ways to grow your e-mail list
A direct line of communication with your customers
As a small business owner, you know that e-mail is one of your most powerful marketing tools.
It’s a direct line of communication with your customers, and it keeps you in their ear even when they’re not thinking about you.
That’s why it’s so important to build and develop your e-mail list!
In this blog post, we’ll show you five ways to do just that.
We’ll also give you a few tips on how to maintain the quality and hygiene of your data, so that your e-mail list remains healthy and effective.
What is an electronic mailing list?
An e-mail list is a collection of e-mail addresses gathered from customers, subscribers or other sources.
It’s an important tool for small business owners, enabling you to keep in touch with customers and prospects who have agreed to receive information from you.
Having a strong email list means you can send product announcements, promotions, special offers or simply keep your customers up to date with what’s going on in your business, all through email marketing.
Why is list hygiene important?
List hygiene simply means ensuring that the data on your e-mail list is accurate, up-to-date and free of inactive or unsubscribed users.
This is important because it ensures that your e-mail list is filled with people who actually want to receive messages from you.
This also helps maintain a high deliverability rate, meaning that more of your e-mails end up in inboxes instead of being marked as spam.
Here are a few ways to keep your list healthy:
1. Delete inactive users:
An inactive user is someone who hasn’t opened or clicked on one of your e-mails in a long time.
Of course, before deleting these users, you first need to relaunch them with specific campaigns.
If they still don’t respond to your e-mails, you can use an e-mailing service provider to automatically remove these people from your list after a certain period of inactivity.
2. Delete bounced e-mails:
A bounced e-mail is an e-mail that could not be delivered to the recipient.
This may be because the address is invalid, the mailbox is full or the server was down.
Bounced e-mails can harm your deliverability rate, so it’s important to remove them from your list as soon as possible.
Again, you can usually set up automatic deletion through your e-mail service provider.
3. Delete unregistered users:
An unsubscribed user is someone who has explicitly told you that they no longer wish to receive e-mails from you.
You need to offer users the option of unsubscribing from your e-mails, usually in the form of an unsubscribe link in the footer of your e-mail.
Make sure that your e-mail platform is configured to quickly delete these unsubscribe requests.
Now that we’ve seen why e-mail lists are important and how to keep them clean, let’s see how you can develop your own!
5 ways to grow your e-mail list
Simplify things
It’s important to make it easy for customers to sign up for your e-mails, because you want to make it as easy as possible for them to hear from you.
The easier it is, the more likely they are to sign up.
Plus, it shows that you’re interested in your customers’ feedback and are willing to make the effort to communicate with them.
Let’s not forget that this can help you build a larger list and reach more people, which can lead to more potential sales.
There are a number of things you can do to make it easier for people to sign up for your emails.
Set up a registration form on your website.
Make sure it’s visible and easy to find.
You can also add a pop-up form to your website so that it’s clearly visible and easily accessible.
It’s also important to keep in mind that when creating your registration form, keep it simple and not too long.
You should of course ask for their e-mail address, but beyond that, make sure you only ask for information that will be of real use to your business.
For example, you could also ask for their first name so that you can personalize future communications with them.
Nobody wants to spend a ton of time filling in a form, so make it as quick and easy as possible.
Keep mandatory fields to a minimum, and make sure the submit button is easy to find.
Offer the opportunity to sign up for emails during the checkout process on your website or in your brick-and-mortar store.
You can also include a sign-up form on your receipts.
This is a great way to grow your list, as you’re reaching people who are already interested in what you have to offer and are more likely to be receptive to your news.
Offer value
The best way to motivate people to subscribe to your e-mails is to give them something valuable in exchange for signing up.
After all, if you’re sending them regular e-mails, they’ve got to get something out of it, right?
Think about what your target audience would find interesting and use it to entice them to subscribe to your e-mails.
Whatever you decide to offer, make sure it’s something that will appeal to your target audience and entice them to subscribe to your e-mails.
Here are a few examples:
- A percentage or dollar amount off their next purchase
- Free delivery on their next order
- Exclusive access to sales and new arrivals
- A gift such as a digital download, e-book, etc. A look behind the scenes
- Tips or advice related to your sector/product.
As you can see, there are lots of different options when it comes to offering value in exchange for an e-mail address.
It’s important to think about what would be most useful to your target audience and go from there.
Keep in mind that the incentive doesn’t have to be big or expensive, it just has to be something that attracts your target audience and makes them want to subscribe to your e-mails.
Promoting an online contest or competition
People love free stuff.
So if you’re looking for a way to quickly grow your e-mail list, an online contest or offer is a great option.
When promoting a contest or online offer, make sure that the prize is attractive to your target audience and encourages them to sign up for your e-mails.
To set up a contest to develop your e-mail list.
Follow the steps below:
- Create a landing page for your contest or offer and include a registration form.
Make sure the registration form is clearly visible and easy to find on the landing page. - Promote your contest or offer on social media, in e-mails, on your website, etc.
- Include a call to action (CTA) that tells people to sign up for your e-mails to enter the contest or take advantage of the offer.
- Think about your communication plan for everyone who subscribes to your e-mails and enters the contest or takes advantage of the offer.
This is a great opportunity to nurture potential customers and turn them into lifelong fans of your company. - Share on social media
Social media is a great way to get in touch with potential customers and grow your e-mail list. When posting information about your email list on social media, be sure to explain why they should sign up (for example, 10% off your first order) and what they can expect (for example, be the first to know about our sales and promotions); include a CTA that tells people how to sign up for your emails (for example, go to our website and join our email list).
You can also use ads on social media to promote your e-mail list and encourage people to sign up.
Another good tip is to showcase the content of your e-mails on social media and invite your followers to subscribe to your e-mail list to receive the content directly to their inbox.
Avoid spam
It goes without saying, but it’s important not to spam people with e-mails.
If you constantly bombard people with e-mails, they’ll eventually get annoyed and unsubscribe from your list or mark your e-mails as spam.
So make sure you only send e-mails when you have something valuable or interesting to share with them.
It could be the launch of a new product, an upcoming sale or simply a useful blog post relevant to their interests.
In short, you need to make sure your e-mails are relevant and useful to your target audience.
If they are, people are more likely to open them and read the content.
And if they find value in your e-mails, they’ll be more inclined to stick around for the long haul.
Building an e-mail list is a great way to get in touch with potential customers and grow your business.
By following the tips above, you can start building your e-mail list quickly and easily.
Remember to focus on offering value, promoting an incentive, sharing on social media and staying spam-free.
Do all this and you’ll be well on your way to creating a powerful e-mail list that will help you take your business to the next level.
