Deciding to grow your email list is one thing, but achieving success can be a challenge for online retailers. This is especially true because managing an e-commerce store involves various responsibilities.
The key prerequisites for effective email list building include:
- Generating a good amount of website traffic.
- Incorporating user-friendly sign-up forms on your website.
What’s even better is that the 12 strategies we’ll discuss for email list growth are simple to implement, and you can start seeing results within a matter of hours or days.
For quick insights into the best practices for building your email list, check out these five brief, three-minute videos. They’ll help you create a robust email marketing plan.
What is an email list?
An email list is like a digital address book, filled with email addresses collected from customers, potential clients, or people who visited a website. These addresses serve as a way to send personalized marketing messages, newsletters, special offers, or updates directly to people’s email inboxes.
In the world of email marketing, these lists are super important because they help marketers in a few key ways:
- They let you create and nurture connections with your audience.
- They boost customer engagement.
- They can lead to more sales or conversions.
What’s cool is that you can organize your email list into groups based on things like age, interests, or what people have bought. This way, you can send messages that really speak to specific groups of folks, making your marketing campaigns more effective and on-point.
The main goal of building an email list is to gather potential leads, turning them into loyal customers down the road. It’s like planting the seeds for future success.
Why email marketing strategy is important
If you’re just starting your e-commerce journey, know that building an email list is a bigger deal than you might realize, and the advantages are plentiful. In fact, for most e-commerce stores, their email list is their most cherished asset.
Here are the main perks of creating your own email list:
- It’s budget-friendly: Costs for digital ads are rising, and their impact is dropping. Sending regular emails to your email list is much more cost-effective.
- Email is personal: You can customize emails, which isn’t as doable with ads. You can even set up automated emails based on customer actions, something you can’t easily do on social media.
- Precise audience targeting: Targeting on platforms like Facebook is becoming less accurate. With email, you can zero in on your subscribers based on things like location, gender, or their past actions (like purchases or clicking on emails).
- You own your list: You won’t have to rely on another company or platform. That email list is yours, and it’s extremely valuable.
- You can nurture relationships through email: Digital ads often use a broad approach, hoping to reach as many people as possible with the same message. With email, you can create personalized, automated emails that guide a customer through their unique journey. That’s not something ads can easily achieve.
Optimal Approaches: Guidelines for building an Email List
Before we start talking about the specific ways to grow your email list, let’s first go over some important guidelines. Following these rules will make sure that your email list is of high quality, keeps your audience engaged, and effectively contributes to increasing your business sales.
Get a reliable email service provider (ESP)
Before we begin, it’s crucial to find an email marketing service that you feel comfortable with and one that can genuinely assist you in growing your email list.
While we’d recommend our own service, Omnisend, as it’s trusted by over 80,000 e-commerce brands for list growth and they enjoy using it, there are plenty of other options available for list building.
Regardless of the app you choose, it should allow you to:
- Easily create and personalize various signup forms and landing pages.
- Keep track of how effective each signup form is by monitoring clicks, signup rates, and more.
- Segment your subscribers based on various metrics and behaviors.
- Send automated emails to different segments of your audience.
- Seamlessly integrate with other marketing tools to facilitate list building across multiple channels.
Get more visitors to your site
Let’s quickly discuss some effective ways to increase the traffic to your website. Here are your top options:
- Use ads, especially Facebook ads: They allow you to target your ideal audience at the right time and on the most appropriate platform. Many e-commerce businesses use Facebook ads for building their email lists because they’re cost-effective and can grow with your business needs.
- Produce compelling content: If you create high-quality content that has the potential to go viral, share it on platforms like YouTube (for videos), TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and elsewhere. Ensure you have a clear call to action and a direct link to your store.
Invest in SEO for engaging content: This is a slower SEO strategy that may take weeks, months, or even years to see significant growth in your organic traffic. However, the key advantage here is that it’s entirely free and works across different platforms.
Keep your list healthy
A healthy email list is one where you only contact people who know about your brand, are actively engaged with it, and have willingly signed up for your newsletter. These are the contacts that will yield high conversion rates and drive successful ecommerce marketing outcomes.
To maintain the health of your email list:
- Send confirmation emails to new subscribers: These emails help confirm their email addresses and subscription, ensuring your list includes only valid contacts.
- Regularly clean your list: Remove inactive subscribers, duplicates, and bounced email addresses to avoid wasting resources on disinterested individuals.
- Use tags to categorize contacts: Tags help you group subscribers based on their interests, behaviors, and preferences, enabling you to send more relevant emails.
- Segment your audience: Divide your email list into smaller groups based on demographics, behavior, or preferences to create more personalized and effective email campaigns.
- Remove inactive subscribers: Periodically remove subscribers who haven’t engaged with your emails to keep your list engaged and prevent your emails from being marked as spam.
12 Proven Tactics for Rapidly Growing Your Email List
In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, email remains a powerhouse. It’s not only a reliable and direct way to connect with your audience but also a valuable asset for your business. Growing your email list can be a game-changer, allowing you to reach more potential customers and nurture relationships with existing ones. In this blog, we’ll explore 12 proven tactics to rapidly grow your email list and harness its potential for business success.
Create Irresistible Lead Magnets
To entice visitors to subscribe, offer something valuable in return. This could be an e-book, a free course, a template, or any resource that addresses your audience’s pain points. Ensure it’s highly relevant and valuable.
Optimize Your Signup Forms
Make your signup forms visible and user-friendly. Place them strategically on your website, and keep fields to a minimum. Nobody wants to fill out a long form just to subscribe.
Implement Pop-up and Exit-Intent Forms
While pop-ups can be intrusive, when used intelligently, they can be effective. Consider exit-intent pop-ups, which appear when users are about to leave your site. These can capture potential subscribers at the last moment.
Offer Exclusive Content
Make your subscribers feel special by offering exclusive content, such as early access, discounts, or insider updates. This adds value to their subscription.
Leverage Social Media
Promote your email list on your social media platforms. Use visually appealing posts, stories, and ads to direct traffic to your signup forms.
Run Contests and Giveaways
Contests and giveaways can create a buzz around your brand and encourage people to subscribe for a chance to win. Just ensure that the prizes are relevant to your target audience.
Referral Programs
Encourage your current subscribers to refer friends and family in exchange for rewards. This leverages the power of word-of-mouth marketing.
Host Webinars and Virtual Events
Webinars and virtual events are a great way to showcase your expertise and build a relationship with your audience. You can require registration for these events, thus growing your email list.
Content Marketing
Create high-quality, informative, and engaging content. This will not only attract more organic traffic to your website but also convince readers to subscribe for more valuable insights.
A/B Testing
Continuously refine your email signup process by A/B testing different elements, such as form design, copy, and placement, to optimize conversion rates.
Guest Blogging
Write guest posts for other reputable websites in your niche. Include a call to action in your author bio, directing readers to your website and subscription forms.
Email Signature
Don’t overlook the potential of your email signature. Include a call to action and a link to your subscription page to capture new subscribers with every email you send.
In addition to these email marketing tactics, it’s essential to maintain ethical and legal standards when building your email list. Always obtain explicit consent from subscribers and make it easy for them to opt out if they wish. Comply with data protection regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM Act.
Remember, it’s not just about the quantity of subscribers, but the quality of the list. You want engaged, interested individuals who genuinely want to hear from you. Regularly engage with your subscribers by sending valuable content, updates, and offers, keeping your email list fresh and responsive.
Conclusion
Growing your email list is an ongoing process that requires a mix of strategies tailored to your audience and niche. By implementing these 12 proven tactics and maintaining best practices, you can rapidly expand your email list and unlock the full potential of this powerful email marketing plan tool. Email marketing remains a cornerstone of digital marketing for one simple reason: when done right, it works. So, roll up your sleeves, put these tactics into action, and watch your email list grow, along with your business.