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Email marketing is one of the most effective ways of connecting with your target audience. Despite the rise of other digital marketing channels, marketers continue to vouch for the power of email marketing. It offers a robust way of sending direct and personalized communication to your potential customers. Moreover, it offers long-term revenue and has a higher return on investment (ROI) and engagement rates than other platforms such as social media, paid ads, etc.
Email marketing is also a powerful tool for converting your subscribers into paying customers. However, the success of your email marketing strategy depends on the quality of your email list. If you’re a beginner, you might be tempted to purchase email databases and send spam content. Needless to say, it can do more harm than good.
When it comes to email marketing, the quality of subscribers is as crucial as the size of your email list. It is also essential to build your list organically to ensure that your email marketing strategy continues to yield fruitful results. In this blog, we’ll discuss a few effective techniques to grow your email list. Before delving deeper, let’s understand what is an email list and why it is important.
What Is An Email List? Understanding the Concept
Simply put, an email list is a database of email addresses that you’re going to use for your email marketing campaigns. In other words, it is a collection of email addresses of your potential customers. You’ll likely collect these email addresses by engaging with your target audience through various lead generation campaigns. It is crucial to offer an irresistible incentive that will compel your audience to submit their email addresses.
A robust email list helps you establish a strong connection with your potential customers. You can even forge a long-term relationship by sending personalized offers and product recommendations. This, in turn, reinforces customer retention and loyalty. It also helps build brand authority and credibility.
An email list is one of the most powerful marketing assets for your business. However, it can only be effective when you regularly grow and refine it. Let’s find out why it is essential to keep growing your email list.
The Importance of Building an Email List
In recent years, there has been plenty of debate on the relevance of email marketing. Many brands and business owners have switched to other digital marketing techniques such as social media marketing and content marketing. It has resulted in a plethora of sub-par content floating across the internet. This, in turn, has compelled marketers to reconsider the power of email marketing.
Email marketing helps you break through the clutter of mediocre online content and hit the right chord with your audience. 78% of marketers agreed that their email engagement rates had improved over the last twelve months. Many brands have also witnessed a remarkable increase in their ROI. Take a look at the following graph:
Consequently, marketers and business owners are also realizing the importance of building their email list. It is the only way to directly connect with your potential customers, drive conversion, boost revenue, and build an army of loyal brand advocates. It is, however, worth mentioning that building your email list is a continuous process.
Even if you have a plethora of email addresses in your list, you should always strive to attract new subscribers. This is because email addresses often become invalid when people resign from their current jobs. Likewise, some people might switch to a new email address or unsubscribe from your list. It is, therefore, crucial to keep adding new email addresses to your list.
Additionally, a significant fraction of your subscribers may not actively engage with your emails. This, in turn, can lower your engagement rates and obstruct the success of your email marketing strategy. It is, therefore, essential to identify such inactive subscribers and remove them from your list.
It’s now time for us to discuss a few effective strategies to grow your email list.
Different Ways to Build Your Email List
Curating your email list is the first step in building a successful email marketing strategy. The quality of subscribers will significantly impact your click-through rates (CTR) and ROI. The key is to devise effective ways to encourage your target audience to share their email addresses. You can easily achieve this by tempting them with a stimulant such as an e-book, webinar, free product samples, etc.
Here are a few practical tips to grow your email list:
1. Leverage Lead Magnets
A lead magnet is an incentive that you can offer to your target audience in exchange for their contact information. It could be something as simple as a downloadable PDF version of an insightful blog post. You can also use whitepapers, case studies, tutorials, checklist, etc. as lead magnets. Likewise, if you’re a podcaster, you can offer audio transcripts and bonus episodes in exchange for email addresses.
Irrespective of the type of lead magnet you select, you must ensure that it provides added value to your audience. Otherwise, you can’t convince them to submit their contact details. It is also a good idea to offer instant takeaways and solutions in your lead magnet. Make sure you also highlight the specific benefits your audience will get when they access the lead magnet.
Once you’ve created a lead magnet, the next step is to vigorously promote it. From social media posts to paid search ads – utilize every channel to build awareness about your lead magnet. Additionally, you can promote it at the end of relevant blog posts. Make sure you use an eye-catching call-to-action (CTA) for this purpose.
Take a look at the screenshot below:
You can also make strategic use of pop-up boxes throughout your website to promote your lead magnets. It is also recommended that you create a dedicated landing page that highlights the benefits of the lead magnet. Make sure you use a simple layout and attention-grabbing CTAs.
Take a look at the landing page used by HubSpot to promote one of their lead magnets:
2. Create Evergreen Content
Evergreen content remains valuable and relevant irrespective of how much time passes since it was first created. Let’s say you’ve started a blog on digital marketing. Topics such as “digital marketing courses for beginners” and “cost-effective digital marketing channels for startups” are examples of evergreen content.
Evergreen content is one of the most useful tools for attracting email subscribers. The key is to create your lead magnets using such content. It helps ensure that your lead magnets continue to generate results for months and years to come.
3. Use Pop-Up SignUp Form
Pop-up boxes are widely used by digital marketers, bloggers, and website owners to build their email list. You can even add create customized pop-up boxes that are triggered when a user takes certain actions. For instance, if a visitor has been on your website for 15 seconds or more, you can launch a pop-up box that encourages them to sign-up for your newsletter. Likewise, you can use exit-intent pop-ups that are triggered when a visitor clicks or hovers over the exit button.
You can even use an email marketing service like Constant Contact to add pop-up sign-up forms to your website for free. You can customize the form and even integrate it with your existing email list. It ensures that all new email addresses are automatically added to your database.
To create a Pop-up Sign-up Form with Constant Contact:
- Click Sign-up Forms.
- Click Create Sign-up Form.
- Choose “Pop-up”.
4. Create Lead Generation Landing Pages
Landing pages are extremely crucial for building your email list. Apart from promoting lead magnets, it is also recommended that you create a landing page for your sign-up form. Make sure you list the exclusive incentives that people will get after submitting their email addresses.
You can even use Constant Contact to create appealing custom landing pages for free. To create an Inline Sign-up Form:
- Click Sign-up Forms.
- Click Create Sign-up Form.
- Choose “Lead Generation Landing Page”.
5. Leverage Facebook Lead Ads
A significant section of your target audience likely already uses Facebook every day. You can reach out to them using Lead Generation Ads. When a user clicks on such an ad, it launches a pre-filled pop-up form that contains their contact information. Users can either submit the form as it is or edit their details.
The best part about Facebook Ads is that you can use razor-sharp targeting. Apart from age, gender, and other standard demographics, you can filter your target audience based on their online behavior, profession, etc.
You can directly create these ads on Facebook or use Constant Contact for this purpose. Follow these steps, To create a Facebook Lead Ad with Constant Contact:
- Click Sign-up Forms.
- Click Create Sign-up Form.
- Choose “Facebook Lead Ad”.
7. Facebook Join My List App
Facebook Join My List is one of the best ways to connect your email list with your Facebook Page so your followers can sign up easily to your mailing list. You can customize it with your own logo, colors, and etc. Also can choose the list in which you want to add your email subscribers.
This app is free to use and It is very easy to use with Constant Contact in just a few clicks. Here are the steps to follow:
- Click Sign-up Forms.
- Click “Facebook Join My List App”.
- Click Add App
8. Use Inline Sign-Up Forms
An inline sign-up form can be placed anywhere on your website to encourage visitors to subscribe to your newsletter. These forms are usually embedded in your website’s HTML code to control their position and appearance.
You can also use Constant Contact to easily create and implement inline sign-up forms. Make sure you use an attractive CTA and don’t ask for too many personal details. To create an Inline Sign-up Form with Constant Contact:
- Click Sign-up Forms.
- Click Create Sign-up Form.
- Choose “Inline”.
9. Utilize Text-to-Join
This is a powerful and hassle-free technique of collecting email addresses from your potential customers. The first step is to create a unique keyword that people can text to your number to join your email list. Whenever someone texts a keyword to your number, they receive an automated response asking for their email address.
While it might seem like a complicated process, Constant Contact lets you execute this strategy in a few simple steps. Follow these steps To use Text-to-Join:
- Click Sign-up Forms.
- Click “Basic Landing Pages”.
- Click “Text to sign-up” on the right side of the page.
10. Use the ListBuilder App
Let’s say you’re at a meetup or a trade show where you’ll likely meet a plethora of potential customers and even future investors. Such events are a goldmine for growing your email list. You can use the offline route of collecting everyone’s business cards and manually adding each email address to your list. Needless to say, it is time-consuming and laborious.
Alternatively, you can use ListBuilder to sync your device’s contacts and directly upload them to your email list. All you have to do is install the app on your device, configure it, and stay logged in. It is available for both iOS and Android devices.
Moreover, Constant Contact lets you install and use ListBuilder for free. To use the List Builder App:
- Open the App Store on your device.
- Search for “ListBuilder”.
- Click to install.
11 Create Compelling CTAs
If you’re a digital marketer or a website owner, you likely already know the importance of a powerful CTA. From landing pages and inline forms to pop-up boxes and notification bars – you’re going to use CTAs throughout your website. The color, shape, placement, and copy of your CTA have a significant impact on your conversion rate.
The first step is to use a striking color that immediately grabs eyeballs. It is recommended that you use a color that stands out from the overall palette of your website. Next, you should judiciously decide its position. Additionally, you should use positive and affirmative words in the copy to encourage people to sign up. You can even use a changing sign-up button to make sure visitors don’t miss your CTA.
12. Don’t Ignore Guest Posting
Guest posting is a tried-and-tested way of building awareness and authority. It is just as useful when it comes to growing your email list. This is particularly crucial when you’re publishing your guest post on a popular and recognized blog.
All you have to do is include a link to your sign-up form in the author byline.
13. Modify Your Home Page
The home page of your website is likely one of the most-visited pages. If you want to convert these visitors into subscribers, you should convert your home page into a landing page. You can even use a Constant Contact which encourages visitors to sign-up before navigating your website.
Conclusion
Email marketing is a powerful tool that delivers high ROI, engagement, and reach. Even if you have a large mailing database, you must grow and update it. Make sure you create valuable and high-quality content that will compel your audience to share their contact information.
You can premium but reliable Email Marketing tools like Constant Contact to build your email list as fast as possible.
