Email marketing is one of the best and most effective ways for businesses to reach a wider customer base.
One of the many benefits of this marketing channel is that it offers a higher ROI than other marketing methods. But, in order to experience those benefits, you need to build the right list first.
In this article, we take a look at 7 unique ways of building an email list. Implement each one of the strategies in your marketing so you can start adding to your subscriber base today.
Why you should create and build an email list
A lot of business owners and marketers don’t realize the importance of building an email list.
Yet the power of the email list is evident in the numbers. Studies show that email marketing has an average return on investment of 4200%.
With an ROI like that, it’s easy to see why email is essential for all businesses.
Here are a few other strong reasons why you need to get started right now building a list of your own:
Email is direct and personal
It allows you to get your message right into the inboxes of your audience where they can read it in privacy, as opposed to a public news feed or timeline. This helps to foster trust and build stronger connections. Also, there’s no ranking system to limit your reach.
Email is targeted
The people on your list have already shown some interest in your business, content, or product. And since you already have an idea what they like, it’s easier for you to deliver highly relevant offers that are more likely to convert. Though you can try to convert cold emails to potential customers, it’s significantly more difficult to do.
You own your list
You don’t own Google, Facebook, or Twitter, which means that all your SEO and social media marketing efforts can turn out to be a massive waste of time if those platforms go down or alter their policies. Your list, on the other hand, is not influenced by the changes that happen in other businesses.
In short, having an email list is important for customer acquisition and sales. It will allow you to:
- Easily get your message to your customers;
- Bring more visitors to your website;
- Build stronger relationships with your audience;
- Boost customer loyalty and
- Ultimately, make more money.
How do you create an email list from scratch?
Even if you’re in the midst of the product discovery phase and trying to determine the best move for your organization, the process of creating an email list can be a big scary step for beginners. But doing so is absolutely crucial.
The process can be very intimidating, but when you break it down into simple, easy-to-follow steps, it becomes clear that creating an email list from scratch doesn’t have to be an overwhelming experience.
Here are the steps to follow:
Step 1: Understand your audience
Your first step in creating an email list from scratch is to get a clear idea of who your audience is. You need to know exactly who you are targeting, otherwise, you will end up with a huge list filled with people who will never become actual customers. You can filter out your desired audience after gathering emails through an email finder
Create a marketing persona to represent your ideal customer, and then move on to the next step.
Step 2: Build a website
You probably already have a website set up, but in case you don’t, this is the next step to take. Learn how to build a website from the best experts and so you can be sure you’re doing the right things.You need a hub where your potential subscribers will gather. From there, you will be able to entice them to join your email list using a variety of techniques that we will discuss below.
Step 3: Get email marketing software
You need an email marketing platform that will allow you to communicate effectively with your new list.
There are a lot of platforms to choose from. A great option that will help you deliver a superior email experience is Dyspatch. This email service will allow you to organize your list and easily send emails, and much more.
Step 4: Create an enticing offer
Once you’ve set up your email marketing software, you need to create a tantalizing offer to encourage your audience to sign up for your email list. This can be anything – a product, service, or content, such as the following:
- E-book
- Report
- Webinar
- Gated Content
- Content Upgrade
- Create an Online Course
- Free Trial
- Discount Code, etc.
Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something valuable and useful that your target audience truly wants so that you give them a compelling reason to join your list.
Step 5: Use existing resources
If you are building an email list from scratch, one of the best things you can do to get the momentum going is to use what you already have to start building your list.
Send emails to your existing contacts explaining what you do and asking if you can include them in your email list.
Now that you know how to set up an email list in a few easy steps, let’s take a look at how you can actually start to grow that list using some of the most effective list building techniques available to you right now.
How to build your email list
There are a lot of interests competing for space in your customers’ inboxes. That’s why it’s important to use unique strategies that make you stand out to your potential subscribers so you can acquire emails from valuable leads.
Here are seven proven tactics that you can use to build your email list.
1. Use YouTube videos to drive signups with unique opt-ins
YouTube has a massive audience of over 2 billion monthly active users. 80% of marketers consider it to be a valuable platform for extracting emails. Not only is a YouTube channel great for making money by itself, but it’s also a wonderful place to drive signups to your email list.
You can use enticing lead magnets to get tons of sign-ups on YouTube, but you must make sure that your lead magnets solve a specific problem for your viewers to make it more likely that they will opt-in.
You can also use compelling calls to action in your YouTube videos, as well as the video description. Additionally, you must display and promote your lead magnets in various areas on your YouTube channel to give your viewers as many opportunities to sign up as possible.
You can include a link to your lead magnet in the following areas:
- Description Box
- Channel Header
- About Tab
- Comments Section
2. Reward subscribers for sharing and forwarding emails to others
Another way to help enhance your email list building efforts is to incorporate rewards for subscribers who share your emails. Offer an incentive like email coupons to contacts who forward your marketing emails to their family and friends.
This benefits you in the following ways:
- Your list grows whenever new contacts opt-in
- Your brand awareness expands when contacts share your emails
- It gives you the opportunity to convert contacts into customers
Add a compelling call to action to the bottom of your emails (as well as the specific reward for forwarding the email) to encourage your subscribers to take action.
3. Utilize quizzes and social media ads
This tactic leverages social media engagement to help you reach new audiences, make new connections, and add contacts to your list.
On social media, you can post the link to your landing page to build your list organically. Alternatively, you can purchase ads to build your list even faster. For example, let’s say you decided to use LinkedIn, which is an excellent professional social media network, to build your list.
Both regular ads or retargeting ads on LinkedIn are beneficial to build a list, the key is to make sure you collect the lead data as quickly as possible when they visit your website. To make the most out of social media you can use various tools like Facebook marketing tools, Instagram automation tools, etc.
Another effective tactic to gather emails on social media is to use quizzes. You can create a quiz using a tool like SurveyMonkey, share it on social media, and then collect emails in exchange for the results of the quiz.
4. Require email opt-in to join a Facebook group
Posting a link to your lead magnet on Facebook is a great way to collect dozens or even hundreds of emails. But, you can take it even further by collecting emails to allow access to a Facebook group that provides useful information, training, or community.
Creating a space where your target audience can come together to connect and share is one of the most powerful ways to gain exposure and interaction.
For instance, in the past I had created a Facebook group focused on the retail arbitrage business model and it accumulated hundreds of followers within 3 months, which also meant hundreds of verified emails for me to market to.
As long as you offer high-quality, relevant, and useful information, you will get phenomenal results from your Facebook group list building efforts.
5. Use podcast or YouTube video interviews to drive subscribers
Podcasts and YouTube video interviews are great ways to drive email subscribers. When you are in front of a new audience, that’s an ideal time to plug your email list.
Find podcasts and YouTube channels that your ideal audience is likely to be interested in. Secure a guest spot and then use the interview as a way to market your offer for free.
All you have to do is have an irresistible offer for that audience. Create a specific landing page and then share your offer with the audience during your interview.
6. Always use exit intent pop-ups to grab emails
Another effective way to grow your email list is to use exit intent pop-ups effectively. These are pop-ups that appear on the visitor’s screen when they attempt to leave your website.
You can use them as a last-ditch attempt to convert your visitors into subscribers. But, keep in mind that some people find them extremely annoying, so you will need to use them in an effective yet non-intrusive way in order to get your audience’s attention.
If you want a more subtle way to encourage your site visitors to leave their emails—consider chatbots instead. If your site runs on WordPress or Elementor, you can easily add a WP chatbot that will act like a (much less intrusive) pop-up, for instance offering a lead magnet. Additionally, make sure to get good web hosting for WordPress so that your website runs smoothly.
7. Be active on social media and have a CTA and opt-in
Social media offers you exposure that goes far beyond your circle of family and friends. No matter which platform you’re on, it can be a powerful tool for gathering emails from the exact people you’re trying to reach.
But, you will only see significant results if you are active and have a compelling call to action and an appropriate opt-in on the platform.
Along with using social media management tools,here are some ideas to use for gathering leads on social media:
- Create a Facebook Ad to Generate Leads
- Host Twitter Chats
- Use Social Media to Promote Gated Content on Your Site
- Market Your Lead Magnets on LinkedIn Groups
- Create a Contest or Giveaway on Facebook
- Create How-to Videos on YouTube with CTA Cards
- Film Instagram Stories to Generate Leads
- Host a Google Hangouts Webinar
If you put consistent effort into your social media lead generation efforts, before long, you will see your email list explode to hundreds and even thousands of addresses.
You’re all set to grow your email list!
There you have it. Seven unique ways of building an email list that can not only grow your business, but possibly lead to hidden business revenue opportunities. Now you have all the information you need to build a list from scratch and to grow it to phenomenal numbers. Implement each of the steps in this article in your email marketing so you can expand your reach and grow your business.
