By now, you’re likely convinced of the power of email marketing, or you have at least heard from a few people that growing your list is something you should be investing in. And there are good reasons for this:
- Email marketing one of the best ways to cut through the clutter and reach your customers. 90% of email gets delivered to the intended recipient’s inbox, whereas only 2% of your Facebook fans see your posts in their News Feed
- Email boasts a better ROI than any other digital marketing channel (up to $38 for every $1 spent)
- And… even though we hope this never happens, Instagram (and all of your followers) could go away tomorrow… your email list is YOURS to own.
In order to see positive results from your email marketing efforts, you must have a healthy, growing list. (And by healthy we mean an audience that is actually engaged with the content you are sharing. In almost all cases, this means never purchasing a list). Instead, we recommend using fun and engaging opportunities to get big growth from the right audience. Here are our 5 favorite ways to build emails lists:
- Host a BIG giveaway. One of the best ways to create value from your social media followers is to convert them to email subscribers. But it isn’t always easy to get our fans to leave Instagram or Facebook to sign up for a newsletter. So create an offer that they can’t refuse. We recommend building a high value gift basket (and great images of everything inside). Create a landing page on your website with the details of the promotion and an email opt-in form. Promote this giveaway regularly on your social channels over 4-6 weeks and really build up the buzz around this contest.
BONUS TIP: Partner with another brand or company and cross-promote the giveaway on both of your platforms. That way, you each get the benefit of the other brand’s followers. - Leverage Offline Events. Any in-person event is a great opportunity to engage with potential customers and start nurturing relationships. Have a Sign-Up Sheet (or app) readily available and as you are talking with visitors ask them to signup or leave a business card. Chances are this audience is already warm, so they will be likely to say yes!
BONUS TIP: Make it a contest. Create a giveaway or contest to entice guests to enter. - Create Value with Gated Content or Discounts. If you are asking for something of value from your visitors (their email address) then you should offer something of value in return. This is often a discount for e-commerce (10,15 or even 20%) and gated content for B2B. There are great apps out there that make it easy to hide high-value content behind the ‘wall’ of an opt-in form (we use Bloom on our site). Just remember that the primary focus here should be on adding value. Always ask yourself, “What does the customer need from me?” and then try to deliver.
BONUS TIP: Incentivize sharing. Create an additional discount or special offer for current email subscribers who share your post or newsletter or post about you on social. Ask subscribers to copy or tag you on their share, so you can be sure to send them the extra treat.
- Don’t be Subtle. Visitors often need to see a message more than once (actually up to 8 times) to take your desired action. Your opt-in forms should have prominent placement on your site, and visitors should be prompted more than once to add their email address. We recommend at least displaying your form across your top bar, in the footer, and on a pop-up form (remember to deactivate your pop-up on mobile to stay Google friendly!) but you can also experiment with exit-intent and shopping cart triggers.
BONUS TIP: Get like-minded brands, bloggers and businesses to mention you. Getting other people to talk about you is a great way to expand the reach of your message, without feeling like a broken record. Look for partners that share your brand values for maximum impact. - Try Lead Ads. Facebook ads offer unparalleled audience targeting. This is a great way to identify qualified prospects and drive them to your site. We recommend putting a piece of your monthly marketing budget towards these ads, and entice the audience to signup for your email list with gated content, discounts or a contest.
BONUS TIP: Drive traffic to a landing page on your site rather than using Facebook lead ads. That way, if they don’t sign up, you can still retarget them later.
If you are ready to grow your email list and take your email marketing to the next level, contact Team 624 Communications to help!
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