So, your marketing strategy needs a refresh and you’re ready to grow your email list to give your campaigns a boost. Sounds easy enough, right?
Building a list is not as simple as buying emails or signing up people who have no idea who you are. The “art” of building a list is equal parts analytical skill and creative prowess. In this article we will walk through the fundamentals of expanding upon your existing lists and recruiting new subscribers.
What is an email list and how do you create one for marketing campaigns?
An email list is a group of subscribers who have expressed interest in your brand’s communications. In general, the most common way an email base is grown is adding an email every time you sell to a new customer. This is known as implied consent because you are assuming a purchase with your brand equates to their interest in receiving your emails. If you include a checkbox in your checkout process that allows a person to opt in, that is explicit consent.
The most common ways to create a new email list are:
- Collecting emails at checkout: you can set this up easily with most ecommerce platforms, though it’s an ecommerce best practice to not require a new account.
- Including email signup forms on your site. You can add them to a sidebar, the footer, or as an exit intent pop-up.
- Using social media to encourage signups by putting a link in your bio to a sign up page, typically this is done with an incentive like a discount.
- Email campaigns are effective in increasing a contact’s participation in other lists by using CTAs, buttons, and forward to a friend functionality that rewards sign-ups with discounts or loyalty points
It’s a good idea to invest in an email marketing platform to help you manage your list. These are known as marketing CRMs, a.k.a “Customer Retention Management” systems. The right tools can help you incorporate email personalization and segmentation, plus automate your email and social media campaigns.
You have the list, now nurture it!
Growing your list is crucial, but, to see the best results, you’ll need to manage it. You can improve your email performance metrics—open rates, click rates, conversion rates, and even unsubscribe rates—by optimizing your email list.
There are several effective optimization approaches, but the most common are:
- Email personalization: personalization can be as simple as including your subscribers’ names in the subject line. The prerequisite for this is that you actually have that information…. So ask for a first name in your pop-ups and email signup forms to start incorporating personalization.
- List segmentation: segmenting your lists can lead to higher open and click rates, as well as an increase in revenue. It’s also simple to do if you already have email automation tools. Common ways to segment your list include demographics, web history, propensity and frequency in which they buy from you, etc.
- Marketing automation: you can use automation in everything from your email campaigns to your social media posts.
If you aren’t sure where to start, try a simple pop up on your website, and monitor the engagement rates of your latest email campaigns to re-engage dormant email addresses.
When you want to grow your email list, the best thing you can do is focus on reaching as many people as possible. That means crafting creative marketing campaigns that stretch the boundaries of your current demographic.
On top of this, sharing engaging content that has value for the readers will ensure they stay subscribed. With time, and the right strategy, you can see significant growth in your email list. Remember: always stay innovating and A/B testing your approaches. That way you can prevent plateaus and reader burn out.
Need some help growing your email list?
Send a message to olivia@mysocialbiz.net to cash in on a complementary audit of your current list strategy and ways to improve it in the new year!