It is easy to believe that email marketing is effective and a key component of any marketing strategy, but if you don’t have an email list, that task can seem daunting. All too often, people turn to purchasing lists, which is not only against best practices but actually illegal on many of the mail servers. This means that you risk getting banned, so the best option long term is to build your mailing list from scratch for several reasons. Below explains some of the reasons to build a mailing list from scratch and then focus on accomplishing it.
As mentioned above, there are many reasons why you should not purchase lists or obtain email contacts in inorganic ways. While this may seem like the easiest path to success, it can cause you many problems. Not only that, you can never actually be sure that the contacts are getting are really people who have an interest in hearing from your brand, which means you won’t see any conversions, so is there really much point?
Aside from the negatives of not building from scratch, below are a few positives:
Okay, so now you understand the value of working with a list of contacts you built yourself — but we need to talk about how to do it. One key thing to remember is that you will want to get permission when you gather information. While this may diminish people interested (especially with all of the mail flooding our inboxes every day), this is another way to keep your subscription, performance, and click-through rates high. You can do this in several ways:
Whether in-store or online, point of sale is a great opportunity to get individuals on your mailing list so that they can stay informed about future opportunities and information you have for them. This is a point of opportunity because you have already sold them on your brand — now you have to keep them engaged.
Having a pop-up to ask visitors to sign up for your online mailing list is actually a very effective call to action. As Just Uno points out, you need to do this effectively with a marketing mindset for it to work. The example below uses a clever headline, engaging imagery, and clear incentive with a CTA. You tell people what you want them to do and why they should do it right as they land on your page. You can also create custom email templates with FeedOtter to really start your campaigns off right and stick-out amongst the competition.
If someone is reading your blog, then that means they share a common interest with your brand. If your brand’s content is perceived as valuable, this means that your emails are likely to share the same value. Having a form on your blog for visitors to fill out (again for incentives and the promise of groundbreaking emails they won't want to miss) is a great opportunity to add to your mailing list. FeedOtter has found success with this strategy:
Many social media sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, have the opportunity to add an app or extension that will add interested followers to your mailing list. These apps are often offered through your email-marketing provider, but you can also add them as an extension yourself. If people are following you on social media, they will likely want to follow your email marketing as well.
Don't just say your emails are for exclusive members—actually make it exclusive. In other words, if you are going to provide incentives or host events that are exclusive to your mailing list, be true to your word and do not make it available for anyone who performs a coupon Google search. By making your emails more valuable you allow more people to see the importance of actually joining (and staying) on your mailing list.
I was at a Chicago brewery recently, and they had postcards sitting on the table. You could write a postcard to someone and they would stamp and mail it for you if you signed up for their mailing list and gave them an in-store review. I was so impressed by their creativity and joined their email list without hesitation.
The postcard was such a small incentive that cost them nothing, but it was creative and grabbed my attention. In short, the idea is that to build your mailing list in a way that is beneficial and most likely to help your business grow, you need to be creative!
This list is exhaustive by no means, but it does hit on some key points you need to consider in building your mailing list from scratch. Do put in the effort to grow your list organically and make sure that you are as creative as possible. Have sign-up forms anywhere they seem logical, and make sure the incentives you are offering are exclusive.
What has been your biggest hurdle in growing your email marketing mailing list? Let us know in the comments section below!
