Author: VerticalResponse / Source: Business 2 Community One of the first steps in any email marketing campaign is pulling together a list
One of the first steps in any email marketing campaign is pulling together a list of addresses from people likely to be interested in what you have to say or promote.
That said, building a list from scratch can seem a little overwhelming at first. After all, newbies are in a bit of a catch-22 situation: They can’t start a campaign without addresses, but they’re often so dependent on email that they don’t know how to ask customers to opt in without emailing them. So how do you build an email list without email addresses? Once you have addresses, what do you do with them? How often should your send emails? What can you do to ensure your emails are delivered and not lost in spam or junk filters?
Still need to gather more email addresses for your contact list? Fear not! With diligence and a little creativity, you can build a solid list of interested addressees through a variety of methods. Here we’ve compiled by category 105 strategies, tips, tools, and ideas to help you find viable, interested consumers to add to your email subscriber list.
General tips to keep in mind
- Only use email addresses you have gathered with permission. Buying a list of consumer names is a bad idea since it heightens the risk of complaints, bounced addresses, unsubscribes, or accusations of spam.
- Experiment with new methods – ranging from pen and paper to online forms – and maximize the most effective ones.
- Methods borrowed from others may not work for you, depending on your industry or business.
- Once your list grows, segment audiences to increase strategy effectiveness.
- Avoid being pushy; if you offer value, loyalty will follow.
Fine-tune your opt-in form
- Make signups less invasive by initially requesting only addresses.
- Offer subscription options addressing content and intervals.
- Leverage testimonials from satisfied recipients.
- Mention subscriber numbers if they’re substantial.
- Promote exclusivity by offering subscribers something only they can get.
- Give away something valuable to all subscribers.
Optimize email addresses you already have
- Gather your addresses from transactional business communications.
- Share email lists with complementary businesses (with permission from your subscribers).
- Include a signup link in all your personal emails.
- Place forward-to-a-friend links in all emails.
Use your website as a portal
- Promote your email by social media, website, and blog. There is no limit to where you can include a signup form for your email list.
- Design a separate landing page specifically for signups.
- Treat your blog home page like an email capture form.
- Conduct a heat map test to identify best places for opt-in buttons.
- Test-drive CTA locations including your 404 page, sidebars, headers, footers, pop-up boxes, slide-ins that appear halfway down a page, or “sticky” forms that move down with scrolling.
- Require commenters on your own blog to provide addresses.
- Offer opt-ins to anyone “liking” comments on your blog.
- Exchange opt-in links with other businesses’ newsletters.
- Incorporate opt-ins within online forums your prospects might visit.
- Buy paid ads…
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