Email has the highest ROI of any digital channel. While developing great creative, offers and content is important, it won’t do you much good if your list only has a couple of email addresses. After all, you are creating content to be read, viewed and interacted with. There is no better way to improve your business than to expand your customer base and building your email list should be at the center of this strategy. We’ve put together a number of tips on how to build your email list.
1. Push Email Signups on Your Website
Consumers that have shown an interest in your brand by coming to visit your site are the kind of people that you want in your database. Ensure that it is easy for these people to sign up for your email list throughout your site. The opt-in box should be on every page of your website and it should be clear and visible to site visitors. Be sure to promote the benefits of doing so, as well. Subscribers may get first view of your new products or a 10% off offer for signing up for your list. If they don’t sign up throughout the visit, make an email opt-in lightbox pop up over the entire page before they leave your site as a final reminder.
2. Offer Free Downloads & Giveaways in Exchange for an Email Address
Your customer’s email address is a cherished commodity for your brand, and you need to respect its value. Most people are willing to share their email address if they get something in return for it, but be sure to make it worth their while. Whether it is a free e-book, a song or a video, offer your customers something they want in exchange for their email address.
2. Encourage Social Signups
An email address is worth a lot more than a social ‘like,’ since email offers you the ability to target and measure the results of campaigns. Still social offers a great chance to connect with new customers. Think of your social page like a networking event: It’s a great place to meet new people, but you are going to have to do a lot more to build long time loyal relationships with these people. In the same way that you collect business cards at an event and follow up with a note, try to collect email addresses within your brand’s social media pages and follow this up with an email.
4. Collect Email Addresses in Person
While we think of email as a digital channel, that doesn’t mean that you can’t ask for an email address in person. Whether it is in person at your brand’s event or in your brick-and-mortar store, a face-to-face meeting with a customer is the perfect opportunity to ask for an email address so that you can continue the conversation online.
5. Run a Refer-a-Friend Campaign
Word-of-mouth referrals are stronger than any ad and your existing customers are your greatest allies when it comes to email list building. Encourage customers to refer their friends and family to your email list. Make it easy by including a forward-to-a-friend link in your emails or offering incentives to customers to share your offers with friends. Be sure the the link directs these referrals to an email opt-in page.
6. Collect Emails in Your App
If your brand has an app, make sure you are using the app to collect email addresses. If your app is available for a free download on your site, then require an email address to do so. If a person has downloaded it from Apple’s iTunes, be sure there is an email opt in within the app, so that you can further connect with this mobile customer.
7. Run Partner Campaigns
Team up with a brand that complements your brand. If you own a store that sells running shoes, partner with the running shoe brand. Send a sponsored email to their list and offer them the opportunity to push their brand to your list. Use this email and its landing page as an opportunity for people to opt into your list. It’s very likely that you’ll have a cross over in customer base and you will both expand your lists.
