Tips on email list building

With email marketing, it is far more desirable to build up your own list of prospects than take a short cut by buying or renting ones from elsewhere.

 

Doing so means that those on the list have already expressed an interest in your products or services, and are therefore far more valuable.

 

Here a few tips to help you build up your list...

 

Put a sign up box in a prominent position on your website 

This means placing it above the fold where it can easily be spotted, and making it clear what the box is.

Putting a sign up form on every page of your website will increase the chances of getting more sign ups. Not every visitor to your site will arrive via the homepage.

 

A lot of email sign ups are pretty basic. Just asking for an email address alone may simplify the process, but it is perhaps worth asking for a few more details so you can use this information to make your emails more relevant, though you should take care not to put off people by asking for too much.

 

If you have a retail store, use this to encourage more customers to sign up for emails. For instance, my local Borders store will ask me if I want to sign up for emails when I make a purchase, offering discount vouchers in return.

 

If someone has just made a purchase from your website, send them a follow up email asking if they want to join your mailing list.

 

The previous example from Borders offers 20% off an in-store purchase when you sign up, so provides a good reason for people to make the effort. Offering discounts is a great idea, but you could also offer entry to prize draws, or a free white paper, depending on your website.

 

When sending emails, why not give people the opportunity of forwarding it on to a friend, especially if you have created some compelling content for your emails.

 

For more advice, please feel free to contact us.