12 simple tips to grow your email marketing list
Email marketing can be a powerful tool for growing your business. But to make the most of it, you need a healthy email list - highly engaged and growing enough to get stronger, not just to maintain numbers as people unsubscribe. Here are 12 simple tips to help you grow your email marketing list.
Ensure the basics are covered:
Have a sign up form in a clear place on your website
One of the most important things you can do to grow your email list is to put a sign-up form in a prominent place on your website. The form should be easy to find and should be visible on every page. Completing it should be simple and take as few clicks as possible.
Collect customer emails as they purchase
These are highly valuable contacts that cost nothing to gain, and they're likely to purchase again in the future. By collecting customer emails, you can stay in touch with your customers, build relationships, and continue to generate sales. Ensure they actively opt-in to remain GDPR compliant!
Ensure you have a strong incentive for people to subscribe
People will rarely join without an incentive, so it's important to offer something that they find valuable. This could be a discount on their first purchase, exclusive access to content or early access to new products. Whatever you choose, make sure it's something that will appeal to your target audience and that you can deliver on.
Make it easy via social media
Have a CTA button on your Facebook page
If you have a Facebook page for your business, you can add a call-to-action button that will stand out at the top of your page. You can use this to link to your website where customers can sign up, or to a form more directly - it is freely customisable.
Get a link and CTAs on your Instagram profile
We are likely retreading the basics for established marketers here, but you should ensure your Instagram bio is a neat summary of your business finishing with a CTA for people to visit your website/join your newsletter. Given
Promote your newsletter on Twitter
Your Twitter followers already want to hear from you, so if you can convert them into newsletter subscribers they will be valuable contacts. You can promote your newsletter in three ways on Twitter: in your bio, cover photo, and pinned tweet.
In your bio, make sure to include a link to your mailing list sign-up page. Your cover photo is also a great place to promote your newsletter - consider adding a call-to-action telling people to sign up. And finally, make sure to pin a tweet promoting your newsletter to the top of your Twitter feed.
Some active steps to take
Run a sign-up competition
By offering a prize that will go to 1 or more people who sign up to your mailing list, you can generate interest and get people to join. Plaster it all over your social media and consider offering extra prizes to people who share the competition themselves. Plus, running a competition is a great way to build buzz and excitement around your brand.
Collaborate with partners
If you are friendly with businesses in a similar sector to yours, offer them the chance to send an email on their behalf to your audience promoting their mailer, and vice versa. This way, you can tap into each other's networks and grow your mailing lists more quickly and efficiently. Plus, it's a great way to build relationships with other businesses in your industry. Win-win!
Offer a freebie or discount for signing up
One effective strategy to grow your database is to offer a freebie or discount for signing up. For example, you could offer a 10% discount on your products or services for anyone who signs up for your mailing list. This is a great way to get valuable contacts into your database and potentially convert them into sales. Plus, it's a great way to build goodwill with your customers.
Ensure maximum coverage
Include a sign-up link in email signatures
If you're looking for a novel way to get contacts subscribed to your mailing list, include a sign-up link to your newsletter in the email signatures you and your employees use. By doing so, you'll be able to take advantage of your employees' existing network of contacts and potentially reach a wider audience than you would through other marketing channels. Since people are more likely to trust recommendations from people they know, this could be an effective way to boost your open and click-through rates.
Gate key bits of content behind the newsletter
In other words, people have to sign up for your mailing list in order to access this content. This could be a website feature, or some sort of valuable information such as a guide or ebook.
There are a few benefits to this approach. First, it ensures that only people who are actually interested in your content are signing up for your mailing list. This helps to avoid spamming people with content they don't care about. Second, it gives you an opportunity to pitch your mailing list in a more compelling way. Rather than just saying "sign up for my mailing list to receive updates," you can say "sign up for my mailing list to get exclusive access to my guide/ebook/website feature." This helps to increase the perceived value of your mailing list, and makes it more likely that people will sign up.
Add pop-ups to your site
It may require some more hands-on website work, but consider adding a popup to your website that invites people to join your newsletter. I've used yieldify in the past and it worked well. Adding a popup is a great way to increase sign-ups, but make sure not to make it too intrusive or you'll turn people off. Be creative with your messaging and offer a compelling reason for people to sign up. If done right, popups can be an effective way to grow your mailing list.
These simple tips should help you take your email list from wimpy to winner in no time. Just remember, a healthy email list is key to successful email marketing. So make sure you're constantly working on growing it. And if you need help with ticketing or events, be sure to check out LIVE IT. We can help you grow your business and sell more tickets - without all the headaches.
