GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS
The 3 most important reasons to collect emails from customers and grow your email list are
You have an audience’s undivided attention.
Email subscribers have chosen to be on your list and receive content from you which means they found enough value in what you offer that they actively want to receive more from you.
Emails have the highest average conversion rates and best returns of all marketing.
Your email list (which can also be known as your customer list, but these are sometimes different as not everyone opts into emails) is a very valuable asset to your business and should be a part of your marketing strategy and every marketing plan. Don’t take these lists and these people for granted. Especially if you are a small business, your email lists are vital to your marketing. It is also a free digital marketing tool that you can use at any time to reach your customers.
THE VALUE OF AN EMAIL LIST
An email list is yours and cannot be taken away from you or shut off like social accounts can. So if you’re currently valuing your social following above your email subscribers, I implore you to reconsider this misguided notion. If you are looking to grow your business and own your audience, email and websites are your primary tools. Social should merely be a way to drive traffic to your website and encourage people to subscribe to you.
Remember: email subscribers have chosen to be on your list and receive content from you. They found enough value in what you offer that they actively want to receive more from you. This is great and you should strive to reward them for this!
HOW TO GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST
Before we dive into the tactics to increase your subscribers, do a quick gut check to make sure you know who your audience is and the value you provide for them. Without knowing who you’re targeting, you won’t be able to successfully create content that captures and keeps them. If you need a refresher on this step, download the brand foundations template and fill in step one: Target Audience.
If you are confident you know who your target is and can clearly produce value for them, then let’s talk about a few key tactics to increase your subscriber lists.
Pre-Growth Efforts: Be sure you have excellent content lined up and ready for them before they join your list! If you are going to ask people to engage with you, you want to keep their attention by providing good content. The best way to do this is to plan your email marketing strategy and be prepared to track its progress. Here are 2 excellent template tools that I use for every client’s email marketing: Email Marketing Planner Template and Email Marketing Metrics Tracker Template.
Tap your existing networks. Like I’ve said before, these people should always be where you start! This means asking them to join your list and to provide you feedback on the value you provide. Your list may not be right for all of them so if they decline don’t be offended.
Write and create great content on your site and on your social accounts. Then tell people they can get more of it by joining your email list. Make sure you use clear language, strong CTAs, and workable buttons/links to get them access to how to subscribe.
Use pop-up boxes that have compelling CTAs. If these boxes are viewed as annoying, people will click out and likely leave your site altogether. Show the value quickly and concisely. Whether it is to sign-up for your list, receive a freebie, or get into an event. Make it compelling and value-driven.
Engage people with a quiz that answers a burning question that they just HAVE to know the answer to. Use simple software so the quiz experience is easy for them. A good option is Interact Quiz Maker.
Promote freebies and your content on social channels either organically or paid and request emails to receive the content. This typically is an “opt-out” strategy. Meaning once you have their email and have sent them the freebie, they will have to opt out of future emails from you once they start receiving them.
Use a professional email that matches your domain name. This may seem obvious, but it’s important to remind everyone that consumers will not take you seriously if you do not put your best and professional foot forward.
Use email marketing tools to increase conversion rates and generate more leads. OptinMonster is an excellent tool to use. For a thorough description of this tool, here’s a link to a blog marketer who does a great job of capturing OptinMonster’s value. If you decide to go with this tool, you won’t be disappointed.
Believe it or not, if you drive traffic to your blog you can also increase your subscriber list. You have to make sure the right CTAs and prompts are included in your posts and on your blog pages. But the more traffic your blog sees, the more potential for new subscribers. So employ blog traffic growth tactics too.
Post consistently. Set up a cadence and stick to it as best you can. Customers value consistency.
Update old content so it is fresh and relevant.
Keep clean SEO.
Offer freebies.
Comment on other blogs on your same topic where you can link and add value for readers.
Guest post on other blogs.
Link to credible sources to give readers more value.
Seek our backlinks where possible (by asking or by joining directories).
Use social media with good visuals (Pinterest, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups).
Start with these tactical ideas today and you will see your list begin to grow! As a good practice, make sure you are thanking your audience regularly in authentic ways for both engaging with you and for turning to you for their information. We are all overloaded with information every day and have so many sources to get our information from. Therefore, if people chose to engage with you, thank them for that interest and time.
If you are still at the stage of learning how to create valuable content for your lists or if you’d like to gut-check your content or need a metrics tracker or planner, head over to my self-guided material page and browse the options available!
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