By Tom Wozniak
Pop quiz. When is the best time to start building your email list? Answer: yesterday. But, unless you have a time machine, the best feasible answer is today! I would argue that almost no matter what type of business you’re in from consumer e-commerce to B2B SaaS and everything in between, there’s value in building an email program for your company—and that value compounds over time like interest on a bank account.
Hopefully, I don’t have to convince you of the value of an email list, but here’s a very short and incomplete list of reasons why building an email list makes sense for your business—no matter what industry you’re in.
• It provides a way to connect directly with your audiences (e.g., clients and prospects).
• Email is arguably the most cost-effective marketing and communications channel, so the potential ROI is extremely high.
• Performance is highly trackable, allowing you to accurately measure that potentially high ROI.
So, email seems like a pretty good arrow to add to your marketing quiver. Now, all you need to do is build that email program—potentially, from the ground up. Whether you’re starting from zero subscribers or you already have an existing email list, your goal is to keep growing that list by adding more subscribers. So, here are five tips for building your list, with a long-term view in mind.
1. Make it easy for people to sign up.
This may seem fairly obvious, but how many times have you had to search for a newsletter subscription sign-up form on a site—or randomly discovered they had a newsletter after running across the sign-up box in some less-than-obvious area? If you want to get people to sign up for your email program—and you do—then let’s agree it should be as easy as possible.
You can still include a double opt-in by immediately sending an email to have the recipient confirm their email address. But, make sure that email goes out ASAP. I’ve signed up for email programs before where the sign-up process suggested I would receive a confirmation email, but it didn’t come immediately—or, in some cases, ever. Don’t fall prey to this simple mistake.
2. Be very clear about what your email program will deliver to recipients.
When someone subscribes to your newsletter or email program, you want them to stick around for a while. The whole point is to grow your list over time. The bigger the list, the more opportunities you have to engage with your audience and drive revenue. One of the best ways to attract and keep more of those long-term subscribers is to make it clear what they’re signing up for at the outset. Do you plan on sending them a weekly newsletter that includes in-depth content and links to buy cool products? Tell them that before they sign up. Give them clear examples of what you’re going to send and how often.
This means you need to have a plan for what you’re going to send. So, make sure you’ve given thought to what you want your email program to look like long-term. It doesn’t mean you can’t change things up down the road, but have a clear vision for your existing and near-future email program that you can explain to your new sign-ups.
3. Use all your digital and real-world ‘real estate’ to drive sign-ups.
Along with making it easy to sign up, maximize your opportunities to attract new subscribers by taking advantage of every place (real or virtual) where you connect with your audiences today. That includes your website(s), social media feeds, existing email program (forwards and referrals) and real-world interactions.
One of the best sources of new subscribers is your existing email list. It’s filled with people who want to receive your content. Give them incentives for forwarding your email to their friends and getting them to sign up. Those incentives don’t have to be monetary. You could highlight subscribers who send you the most referrals in upcoming newsletters. Sometimes, people just want a little recognition. So, don’t forget to ask your current subscribers to help you grow. They’re already invested, and everyone loves sharing something interesting and valuable with their friends.
4. Look for opportunities to tap into new audiences.
Get creative with ways to introduce your content and email program to new audiences. Can you get interviewed on a relevant podcast that your audience listens to? How about having your content promoted in an existing newsletter that talks about similar topics but isn’t competitive with yours?
Some of these opportunities may involve an investment. Many newsletters will feature your content in their emails for a fee. These arrangements can sometimes be cost-effective, but do your research into any newsletter you’re going to pay to promote your content. Make sure their subscriber base lines up with your target audience, and ask for some performance data or testimonials from other companies that have worked with them in the past.
5. Deliver valuable content.
If you want to build your email list, you need to keep people around once they sign up. You want to minimize the unsubscribe rate by delivering what you promised—valuable content in your topic area. If you promised to deliver the inside scoop on your industry or recommend great deals on new products, make sure you live up to what you said you would deliver.
Although your business goal is likely to drive revenue from your email list, that’s secondary to the true mission of your email program. Revenue only comes if you consistently deliver useful, engaging content to your subscribers. So, the foundation of your email program needs to be the content you deliver. Make sure it’s relevant and valuable to your subscribers.
This is just scratching the surface of ways to create and maintain a successful email program. But if you focus on these five tips, you should effectively grow your email list over time.
Feature Image Credit: getty
By Tom Wozniak
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Tom Wozniak heads up Marketing, Communications, and overall Operations as the COO for OPTIZMO Technologies. Read Tom Wozniak’s full executive profile here.
