Steps to Building a Quality Email List
Building a list of email subscribers is an essential aspect of email marketing and can be highly effective for reaching and engaging with your target audience.
Email has stood the test of time as the heartbeat of modern communication, continuously evolving to meet the demands of businesses and consumers alike. From startup founders to seasoned business owners, email marketing has proven to be a dynamic tool that empowers entrepreneurs to connect, convert, and cultivate relationships with their audiences.
Did you know that there are 4B email users and growing, and 99% of email users check their inboxes every day?
Research shows email marketing is an effective communication tool for direct-to-consumer brands and those selling to businesses. One survey shows that 87% of B2B marketers and 77% of B2C marketers use email marketing to encourage their customers throughout the various stages of the buying process.
Building a quality email list takes time, but it is worth the effort.
Follow these steps to prepare to build your email list.
Step 1. Find a 3rd party email subscription platform.
Using a 3rd party platform for email marketing is essential to ensure reliable email deliverability, as these platforms have established relationships with email service providers and maintain high sender reputations. Most 3rd party platforms also offer advanced features like automation, segmentation, and analytics, enabling targeted and data-driven campaigns, which saves time and increases the personalization of your emails. Lastly, 3rd party platforms handle compliance with anti-spam laws, ensuring that your email marketing efforts remain legal and reputable.
Step 2. Give your subscribers a reason to join.
Incentivizing people to sign up for an email list is crucial in enticing potential subscribers and driving higher conversion rates. By offering valuable content, such as exclusive guides, ebooks, or informative newsletters, you give them a compelling reason to join and access content not readily available elsewhere. Alternatively, offering discounts or special promotions upon subscription can create a sense of urgency and immediate value, prompting users to take action and become valuable members of your engaged email community.
Step 3. Set up your email subscription platform.
Begin by importing and organizing your audiences to ensure targeted communication. Segment your audience based on demographics or behaviour for personalized content delivery. Implement a double-opt-in process for new subscribers to confirm their interest and comply with best practices. Create visually appealing email campaign templates reflecting your brand identity. Lastly, it is encouraged to set up an automated welcome email sequence to warmly greet new subscribers, deliver valuable content, and kickstart a positive customer journey when they join your email list.
Step 4. Set up Email Subscription forms on your website.
To maximize email subscriptions, place your email subscribe form in various prominent locations on your website, including the homepage, sidebar, footer, and within blog posts. Consider utilizing pop-up forms with non-intrusive timing to capture visitor attention effectively. Additionally, create a dedicated landing page exclusively for email subscriptions, enabling easy tracking of traffic to that webpage. A dedicated website landing page also provides a direct web link, making it easy to share on email signatures, advertisements, and social media posts. Try experimenting with different subscription form designs, copy, and incentives to find the most effective combination.
Now it’s time to promote your email list!
32 ways to promote & build a quality email list.
Create High-Quality Content - Produce valuable and relevant content that attracts your target audience and encourages them to subscribe for more.
Offer Incentives - Provide exclusive content, discounts, or freebies in exchange for email subscriptions to entice users to sign up. i.e., “Sign up to our email list and get 15% off your first order.”
Run Contests and Giveaways - Organize contests or giveaways with entry requirements being email subscriptions to boost your subscriber count. This is a quick way to get subscribers. Make sure that you give them a reason to stay once you have them, such as blog content, VIP discounts, etc.
Use Exit-Intent Pop-ups - Display pop-up forms when users are about to leave your site to capture those who might otherwise be lost.
Share on Social Media - Promote your email subscription through social media channels to reach a broader audience.
Host Webinars and Events - Encourage attendees to subscribe to your email list for updates and additional resources. Don’t assume that you can add them to your email marketing just because they signed up to your webinar. Be sure to have a place where they can opt-in to your email list in the registration form.
Segment Your Sign-Up Forms - Customize your sign-up forms for specific content categories or products, allowing users to subscribe to what interests them most. For example, when you sign up to the Acorn Studio Marketing & Co. email list, you have the option to select what content you want to receive.
Utilize Content Upgrades - Offer bonus content upgrades, such as downloadable PDFs, in your blog posts in exchange for email subscriptions.
Add a Subscription CTA in Email Signatures - Include a link to your subscription form in your email signature to capture contacts with whom you correspond.
Run Facebook Lead Ads - Use Facebook's lead ads to collect email addresses directly from the platform.
Create Quizzes or Surveys - Offer quizzes or surveys with email capture as part of the process to engage your audience and gather insights.
Cross-Promotion - Collaborate with others in your niche to gain exposure and drive subscriptions. For example, if you find a blog that is relevant to your business, reach out to the owner and see if they will link to your website. This may be in a resource section at the bottom or directly in the article. For example, if you sell boat charter services, you might reach out to a tourism blogger who is writing about ‘things to do’ in your town. Look for similar local businesses, media outlets, or niche bloggers.
Lead Generation Content - Tease valuable gated content, often referred to as lead generation content, on your website. This may be an e-book, guide, whitepaper, etc. Create a landing page with an overview of the content. Encourage them to provide you with information and subscribe to your email list to obtain the content.
Offer Personalization - Use personalized content and offers to make subscribing more enticing for individual users.
Create a Referral Program - Reward subscribers who refer others to join your email list.
Use Influencer Marketing - Partner with influencers in your industry to promote your email subscription and reach a broader audience.
YouTube Channel - Use your YouTube videos to promote your email list by mentioning it in your video content, including links in the video descriptions, or using YouTube info cards and end screens.
Podcast - If you have a podcast, mention your email list during episodes and direct listeners to subscribe for exclusive content or updates.
Online Forums and Communities - Participate in online forums and communities related to your niche. Include a link to your email subscription in your forum signature or when relevant to the discussion.
Offline Events - If you host or participate in workshops, seminars, conferences, or networking events, encourage attendees to join your email list for further engagement and updates.
Print Materials - Incorporate your email subscription link or QR code on business cards, brochures, flyers, and other printed promotional materials.
In-Store Signage - If you have a physical store or office, display signage promoting your email list and its benefits.
Partnerships and Collaborations - Collaborate with other businesses or influencers in your industry to cross-promote each other's email lists.
Email Signature of Employees - Encourage your employees to include a CTA [Call-to-Action) and link to the email subscription in their email signatures.
Digital Advertisements - Use online advertising platforms like Google Ads or social media ads to drive traffic to your email subscription landing page.
Guest Blogging - Be a guest blogger for websites that share your audience but are not competitors. For example, if you sell solar control window film for homes, you may want to consider a shared audience who is selling to home owners looking to save energy, such as an HVAC company or an architectural design company focused on sustainability.
LinkedIn - Leverage LinkedIn by sharing valuable content and encouraging your network to join your email list for more insights.
Customer Invoices and Receipts - Include a subscription CTA on customer invoices and receipts, whether in print or digital format.
Product Packaging - If you sell physical products, include a call-to-action to join your email list inside the packaging.
Add section to your blog landing page - Checking in to your favourite blogger to see when they post a new article is not an efficient use of time! Create a section on your blog main webpage encouraging them to subscribe if they want to get notified right in the inbox when a new article is posted.
Instagram Bio and Stories - Use your Instagram bio link and stories to promote your email list with engaging content and CTAs.
Pinterest - Create visually appealing pins that link to your email subscription landing page.
Follow these tips to build a quality email list to get the most out of your email marketing.
Email marketing is an essential and popular form of marketing for entrepreneurs due to its directness, cost-effectiveness, automation capabilities, data-driven insights, and relationship-building potential.
Using these email marketing best practices and strategies will help get your content in front of the right people so you can promote your business and take your customer experience to the next level. Consider email marketing as part of your entire sales and marketing strategy for an integrated approach to communicating with your customers throughout the buying process.
