Growing your email list is by far one of the most valuable things you can do for your ecommerce business. When you have permission to chat with your customers and prospects in their personal inboxes, you have the power to drive loads of qualified traffic back to your website (and ultimately drive loads of sales, too).
Many business owners overlook the importance of building their list or - worse - try to grow their list with artificial methods like buying email addresses or adding names without permission.
For savvy business owners (like yourself) ready to add quality leads to their list, here are 6 ways to start growing today.
Create an irresistible opt-in offer
The very first thing you need to get squared away is your opt-in offer.
Asking people to opt-in for "updates" isn't enough. You need to give your website visitors an irresistible reason to lend you space in their crowded inboxes.
That means your opt-in offer needs to have clear value. What, specifically, will your subscribers get in exchange for joining your list?
Maybe you'll offer weekly or monthly coupons that they can't get anywhere else, or exclusive invites to shop sales before non-subscribers.
You could also create a content-based opt-in gift, such as a short eBook or whitepaper. Or you could host an online webinar and collect emails during registration.
The key is to ask yourself what your audience would value, and then package it up in a neat little opt-in offer.
Put opt-in forms in the right places
After you've created an irresistible offer, you need to make sure your website visitors are being exposed to it regularly.
Placing one opt-in form on your website isn't enough. Put it in multiple, high-traffic areas in order to reach a large portion of your visitors.
Effective places to consider are:
- Your website's side bar
- Across the top of your website
- On your "About Us" page
- On your "Contact" page
- In the footer of your website
For those who host a blog, placing an opt-in form at the end of each post or providing an offer that leads to an opt-in form is also an effective way to get visitors to opt-in.
In addition to static opt-in forms that will be visible to your visitors at all times (like the ones mentioned above), setting up an exit-intent popup can help you earn even more subscribers. These popups only appear when a user is about to leave your website, which makes them less intrusive and highly effective.
Drive social traffic to your list
The fans and followers you've gathered on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+ are great candidates for your email list.
Help interested prospects opt-in by driving traffic from social media profiles to an email opt-in landing page.
Your landing page can be as simple as you'd like - it just needs to be focused on your opt-in form without any added distractions.
Once you've created your landing page, simply include the link in your social media profile bios. When linking to your email list opt-in page from social media profiles, make sure to include a compelling call to action (i.g "click here for free money-saving coupons").
You can also drive traffic to your opt-in landing page by mentioning it to your fans and followers in social media updates. Tell people about your free opt-in offer, create a hashtag campaign where applicable, and then share the link so they can take you up on it. If you use Pinterest, create a pin about your free offer on a relevant board (such as a "Favorite eBook" board if your offer an eBook, or a "Money Saving" board if you give out coupons or discounts). Link your pin to your opt-in landing page to start gaining new subscribers. If you're using video sharing sites like YouTube or Vimeo, don't forget to add calls-to-action and URLs at the end of the videos.
Create outstanding email content
In order to maintain and grow your email list, you need to be delivering great email content consistently.
If you promised exclusive coupons, make sure you're sending exclusive coupons. If you offered a weekly newsletter, make sure to send your newsletter each week, and make sure it's full of valuable, quality information.
This may seem extremely basic, but it's one of the biggest reasons business owners fail to grow their list.
If your subscribers aren't excited to open and read your emails, they'll delete them. They won't share them. And a lot of them will unsubscribe (which equals a shrinking email list).
Ask for the Share
Happy subscribers can be your biggest list growth advocates - but only if you show them how.
Don't be afraid to ask people to share your email content and opt-in offer. If you're delivering great emails, most of your subscribers will be happy to spread the word for you.
Make it easy for them to do so by adding social media share buttons to all of your emails, and including a clear call to action near them (such as "Like what you see? Share it with your friends by using the social media buttons below.")
You can also add a "Mailto:" link to allow your subscribers to easily share your newsletter with their friends and colleagues.
Share social proof
Social proof is one of the most powerful tools for growing your online audience, and also your email list.
Ask your current subscribers to tell you what they love about your email content. With their permission, turn that feedback into short testimonials that you can share on social media and place on your website next to your opt-in forms.
Having simple endorsements from your happy subscribers will help up your opt-in rates big time. What other people have to say about you is always more powerful that what you say about yourself.
These strategies are fast and effective ways to grow your email list numbers. And, even more importantly, they will help you attract quality, enthusiastic subscribers who will turn into your company's biggest fans.
Remember to always focus on delivering value and serving your prospect's best interest first, and the numbers (and profits) will follow.