Email marketing is a massive tool for any business.
And it's not going away. As businesses strive to stay connected to their customer and prospective customer base, landing dedicated emails in their inboxes is one of the best ways to go about it.
While the content of the email is wildly important, that is going to be a blog topic for another day. Today, we're going to go over a few ideas on how to build your email list.
There are black hat methods that will net you a ton of email addresses if you were to Google your way to some help. Do everyone a favor and stay away. No one likes being added to an email list they didn't sign up for or being added to a list for a business they've never even heard of. This also includes buying email addresses, just don't do it.
There are a few tried and true methods to gathering email addresses though, methods that easy to implement and will leave your customer base happy to see your emails appear in their inbox, rather than frustrated.
1. ONLINE GIVEAWAYS
This is the big one. People looooove giveaways. They love them so much, 2 of the 3 methods we discuss today will be related to them. First up, the online variation. This is posting to your Facebook Business Page or your Instagram Business Page with some kind of giveaway that requires the user to sign up to win with their email address. You'll direct the sign up link to a landing page on your website where there will be a form to enter their email address. DON'T JUST DO THIS TO GATHER EMAILS! You have to actually give something away. We have the most luck with variety prizes - tickets to a game along with a book or various gift certificates.
2. ON SITE GIVEAWAYS
This is pretty similar to the online variation but you'll have the method to sign up on site, at your business. This is usually done with the classic fish bowl method, creating a sign up card that lets the customer add their email address and drop it in the bowl. For the giveaway on these, we most often have it related to the business the customer is visiting. For both of these methods, make sure you stress that the winner will be contacted via email, ensuring they are putting their actual email address.
3. BUILD TRUST, THEN ASK
Why not just ask? If you are truly sending out worthwhile offers in your e-mail blasts, your customers are going to want in on the action. You can even reference past offers on social media so next time you add the sign up link, people are more likely to jump on it. It is important to build trust first though, you want a dedicated customer base that knows they can trust you. This means following the Golden Rule of business each and every day, the customer is always right.
Most importantly, treat your email list with love. Don't bombard them with emails every day. Don't send them unnecessary reminders to borderline worthless promotions. These are your most loyal customers and fans, give them something they can work with. It'll pay off in the long run.
If you'd like help with your e-mail marketing efforts, you can schedule a free consultation with the Alpha Dog Agency at this link.