If you have a business, and you are taking advantage of modern technologies online, one of the most important things that you need to have is an email list. As a matter of fact, if you do not have one, you are actually making a very big mistake. Of course, you may think that what you actually need are page views and not emails because page views can generate more revenue. But, you’d be wrong as a matter of priority.
Building an email list is very important. In fact, a lot of businesses find themselves wasting time focusing on pure social media strategies and waiting for page views when in fact they can easily maximize the potential of their blog or website by building an email list.
Why the Need?
Some people may have the notion that the concept behind email marketing has long been dead. However, reality dictates that all serious bloggers and small business owners need to focus particularly on building an email list continuously and right now! Email marketing has never really died. In fact, it has never been as alive as it is today. If you notice, every website these days asks for your email address, whether it is in social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter or other websites such as The New York Times. Why is this so?
The answer is pretty easy. Everybody has an email address, and most people log into their email accounts many times a day. A lot of people who have smart phones are automatically signed into their email accounts, having access to emails 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with their push notifications enabled. Email is more direct, personal and reliable for getting in touch with other people.
True, social media helps–it’s a good way to reach your potential audience. However, we need to face the reality that social media websites can come and go. Just a few years ago we thought that MySpace, Google Buzz, Plurk and other websites were cool. However, most of them are either dead or viewed as irrelevant these days. What we have reigning now in the social media world are Facebook and Twitter. However, not everybody is really hooked up with these sites compared to their personal email accounts.
The Advantages of Building an Email List
Building an email list can turn out to be the best thing you can ever do for your business and website. In fact, an email list can drive more traffic with higher user engagement rate compared to other platforms. This is because when a user subscribes to your email list using a double opt-in, it means they are very interested and are more likely to check your email and click on the links available. Here are the reasons for such:
- Emails are More Personal
With an email, you have the opportunity to land in somebody’s inbox. Unlike social media sites, there is no ranking system that limits your reach with an email list. Your message is directed at a particular user and it will land straight in their inbox. Therefore, it is very personal, direct and informal.
- Emails are Purposeful
In order to have your email, a specific user has to sign up for an email list confirming their email address at the same time. A user who will take the time to do this is someone that is more likely to be responsive and receptive to your message.
- Emails are Well Targeted
Users who sign up for your email list are the ones who have already shown a level of interest in the products and content you offer. This means they are giving you the consent to receive emails from you. They are also the group who is most likely to click, pass the word and buy your offers.
- Emails are Private
Unlike social media sites wherein messages are posted on a timeline or public wall, emails can be confidently read in private. Emails can also allow users to establish a one-on-one business relationship with you. This can greatly foster trust in your brand.
Creating an Email List from Scratch
If you want to maximize the potential of each and every visitor on your site, building an email list is your best option. You do not have to spend a fortune for this strategy. All you need to have is time, consistency, creativity, and of course, discipline. Here is how you create an email list from scratch:
- Identify one specific advantage that your subscribers will have the chance to receive upon signing up, such as exclusive deals and promos, inside information, free advanced tips, etc.
- Offer a preview of what customers can expect from your email communications so your subscribers can easily see the value.
- Exhibit real testimonials from other subscribers on your signup landing pages.
- List out clearly what your subscribers can expect to receive and how often they can expect to receive emails coming from your company.
- Make sure that you offer an ongoing, exclusive value for your subscribers.
Ideas for Building an Email List
If you already have a reliable inbound marketing strategy set in place, your focus should be on driving most of the traffic going to your website. This means that you need to capitalize on each of your website visitors. In order to do this, you can optimize your website so that you can easily convert your visitors into subscribers regardless of where they are in the process of buying. For this, you may opt to add a simple email signup form which can be viewed from any page on your website. At the same time, you can also include links to your email signup page all throughout your content. This will certainly increase the likelihood of users patronizing your products and services.