Build an email list

How To Build an Email List

While email is one of the oldest digital marketing channels out there, it’s also one of the most effective. Convincing someone to give you their email address during their first visit to your website is easier than convincing them to make a purchase. So, how to build an email list from scratch?

What makes a great email list?

Starting from zero, building an email list can feel like an impossible task. What makes a great email list? To build a great email list that generates sales, you need to prioritize:

1. Quality: Focus on real people′s email addresses. Do not buy email lists. Spam accounts, bots and abandones email addresses do not make a purchase.
2. Relevance.?Focus on people who are really interested in your products or services.
3. Quantity.?Grow your email list and expanding your reach to include more audience.

How?to build?an email list?easily

But how to build an email list? Here are some tips to get you started easily:

#TIP1: Add a pop-up offer to your homepage

With homepage pop-up forms, you can add to your email list. Start with an exit intent pop-up. This pop-up will only show if a visitor moves their mouse off the page.

#TIP2: Put an opt-in form in your footer or navigation

Giving new subscribers ample changes to subscribe to your email list, is a great way to start. In addition to a homepage or exit pop-up form, you should add an email signup form on every page on your website. This you can do by adding a opt-in form in your footer or navigation.

#TIP3: Collect emails at an in-person event

Face-to-face connections arethe most effective tool for converting leads into customers. Your in-person interactions can help you build your email list, leading to more digital sales.

• Ask people to write down their name and email address.
• Include a Call-to-action on your business cards to increase email signups.

#TIP4: Add a signup button to social media

People follow brands on social media for many reasons. The most important reason, is however, to stay up to date.

• Add an option on social media to signu up for email update.
• Add Linktree?to include a link in your social media bio for email sign-up
• Include a call-to-action button to signup for your email list.

#TIP5: Build a personalized landing page

?It is important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all to convince webvisitors or social media followers to provide their email adress.

• Create multiple personalized landing pages with opt-in forms
• Adapted your message to each persona (particular segment of your audience).
• Create a personalized Call to action (CTA) for each landing page.

Advanced strategies for email list growth

After implemention the above five tips, it is time to let your email list grow. Below you find some advanced strategies for email list growth.

1. Add a chatbot to engage with website visitors

Chatbot technology offers effective tools to automate your messaging with website visitors. It can help you with generating email list signups. Using a chatbot is a popular method for consumers to interact with brands.

• Use MobileMonkey to encourage your target audience to submit their email in exchange for a special discount of your product or service.

2. Survey your target audience

With visitors surveys and questionnaires, you can collect the right data to gain valuable information about your audience′s wants, needs and feedback, while capturing their email address.

• Send out a questionnaire before your product launch to start building an email list.
• Use Google Forms,?SurveyMonkey or LinkedIn Survey to create a survey.
• Include a field in your survey to subscribe to your email list.
• Invite survey takers to opt into your email list at the end.
• Send your survey to your LinkedIn connections, family and friends, or mention it on your Social Media platform.

3. Provide valuable content to your audience

Your product or service is not the only value proposition. Gaining passive income by creating an online business is in the first place to solve a problem or meet the needs of your audience.

• Sharing valueable ideas and solutions in content, such as blog articles or downloadable content, is a great way to be able to gain passive income.
• Create a lead magnet- a free piece of content- that adds value to your target audience is a way to build trust in your brand, generate more email signups and eventually get more customers.

4. Run a contest on social media

Creating a contest on social media let your email list grow.

• Turn subscribing to your email list into a winnable event. This is helpful when you start out building your email list and have few subscribers.
• Partner with brands who sell to your target audience. With the right partner, your product or service will complement each other, making the offer more attractive, than if you ran the contest alone.

Email list tools

• MailChimp is a great place to start building your email list. Start with a free plan with basic email template creation, email scheduling and automation options. Continue with a paid subscription to get premium email templates and advanced tools to give you insight in your email list and email campaigns.
• LinkedIn Newsletter is a great option, if you do not want to get an external tool for your email list. With the LinkedIn newsletter you can easily invite all your connections or followers to subscribe to your newsletter. You can create a newsletter on LinkedIn as a Page or with your personal LinkedIn profile.?

Building an email list is just the start

No two businesses are the same. It is important to test various strategies for email list building to find what works best. Testing will help to get a loyal email subscriber base and attract long-term customers.

Ready to build your email list?

In the next article, I will explain how to create a free digital asset.

Share your tips and ideas in the comments.