01 Jun 4 Tips to Kick Start Your Email List
What is one of the best ways to stay in touch and engage with your customers and potential customers?
Throughout my work over the years, the one digital marketing strategy that I have seen to be really effective to start growing and maintaining a business through the growing, nurturing and maintaining an email list.
Email is the one channel, unlike Facebook, Twitter etc that you truly own. If Facebook was to close down tomorrow do you have a way of contacting all those people who ‘Like’ your page? The answer is generally no. However if your email provider were to crash tomorrow you would still always have your email list of customers and potential customers you could always find.
Email is such a good way to reach out individually to your audience, right into their mail box. Many people check there emails multiple times a day. With the right subject line, relevant interesting content and an interesting layout you’re sure to reach many people in a way that no other social media platform can.
But how do you get subscribers I hear you ask? Even if someone comes and visits your site, it’s hard to get them to actually give you their email address.
I have put together 4 tips on ways to get people to sign up to your email list based on many years of experience, experiments and trial and error!
#Tip 1: People won’t give you their details for free – offer an opt-in incentive (freebie) to entice someone to sign up
You MUST have a freebie or hook to encourage people to sign up.
With so much competition to get your details and your business, no-one signs up for ‘updates’ or ‘newsletters’ these days. Make sure your opt-in incentive:
- Is specific & relevant to the customers you are trying to attract
- Shows your potential customer who you are, and what you are capable of. Use it to display your expertise
- Solves a problem for your visitors
- Is as good as anything people would pay for. Don’t give away something with no value. This is no benefit to you or the potential client and if anything is detrimental when you’re trying to establish credibility
The freebie can take many forms – some that have been seen to work really well are: an Ebook, ecourse, video course, free program, checklist, worksheet, recipe card, shopping list, cheat-sheet, guide book, step-by-step guide, checklist, webinar – pretty much what ever you think will get the interest of your potential client.
# Tip 2 Put a signup/Opt in box in a number of spots on your site to attract different customers who view your site from different points
Generally there are a number of points during a customers visit to a website where they may decide to sign up and provide their details. It may be when they first visit, it may be to take advantage of the free giveaway, it may be to get specific information from the contact us page or it may be as a result of being impressed by your content that they wish to know more in the future. Whenever they have reached that decision, you need to make sure it’s as easy as possible for them to do so so you don’t lose a potential customer.
Another way to do it is to put a signup form in a fixed location, like your header, footer or sidebar so that when they are ready the signup form is always there!
#Tip 3 Your Goal for your email list is Not Simply to Grow Your List – aim your opt in offers to the right audience
It is important to remember that the number of people on your email list has no value in and of itself if it is filled with people who aren’t interested in what you’re talking about! (which hopefully is not the case with you…) If you have a huge email list filled with people that don’t care about your expertise and delete every email you send, your email efforts are a waste of your time.
By really targeting your opt in offers and regularly engaging with your email list you can hope that the people who stick around are actually interested in what you have to say and gain value from your emails. The success of an email list is whether it is actually adding value to the right people, not how many people are on
#Tip 4 Get your subject line right!
According to Digital Marketer there are 8 different components which consistently perform well in a subject line.
They are:
1. Self Interest
Direct to the readers interest. Explaining to them why they would benefit from opening the email
eg/ How to write the best emails ever
2. Curiosity
Peak the interest of the reader without giving much away – forcing them to open the email if they want to know more
eg/ The key to success is….
3. Offer
Offer cheap/free offers right in the subject line to encourage them to open up and take up the offer
4. Urgency/Scarcity
Offer a deal they can’t resist. By adding a time limit introduces a sense of urgency that they need to take up the offer or they will miss out
eg/ 2 days left until the cart closes!
5.Humanity
Show your human side and remind your followers who you are
eg/ Merry Christmas!
6. Social Proof
Mention the success you’ve had with previous customers
Meet Sarah – she added 1000 subscribers to her mailing list in 2 months
7. Story
Telling a story in your subject line is a great way to highlight a benefit you can offer your customer
My plan to grow my business and whats worked for me