Whether you already have an email marketing strategy in place or are looking for ways to expand your outreach into email and grow your mailing list in doing so, the approach you take will effectively make or break your efforts. According to HubSpot, 80% of business professionals firmly believe that email marketing increases customer retention, and with 59% of customers admitting that marketing emails affect their purchase decisions, it’s safe to say that email marketing is alive and well as a lead generation and nurturing channel.
However, additional data provided by Medium shows that email open rates across all amount to 22.86%, with 50.39% of all email messages being opened within the first six hours of being sent. This makes crafting a unique, professional and inviting approach to email list growth essential in 2023 if you want to pursue this communication channel to a greater degree. That being said, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of growing an email list at all, before diving into the methods to do so for your business as 2021 unfolds.
Why Grow Your Email List in 2020?
What is the role and subsequent reward behind building a mailing list for your company, regardless of its niche? A mailing list effectively represents a collection of verified, reliable and easily-accessible contact information in regards to converted or soon-to-be customers or clients for your business.
In order to entice someone to trust you with their contact information and be contacted down the line, there is a case to be made for “quid pro quo”, or, giving something to receive something in return. Growing an email list is an introspective activity just as it is about reaching out to potential leads and inquiring about interest in your brand.
To get to the point of sending the first email to their inboxes and bring them a step closer to purchase, pro-consumer value (which will be the topic of our following points) has to be built within your website, portfolio and business model. Once you reach that point, there are several advantageous and highly useful facts you can look forward to with customer outreach going forward into 2020:
- Low-cost, scalable, easily-accessible communication channel
- Higher customer engagement and conversion rates than other channels (social media, PPC, etc.)
- Quicker and easier spreading of word-of-mouth in regards to sales and events
- Access to segmentation and retargeting data for lead nurturing
- Wider content personalization opportunities post-subscription
Email List Growth in 2020
1. Offer a Conversion Incentive
As we’ve previously discussed, providing value to gain leads is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways of growing your email list in an organic way. Conversion incentives in the form of discount coupons, limited-time purchase offers or a content strategy overview of what is to come to your blog and website in the coming weeks can all serve as an incentive.
The placement and nature of said incentives depend on your ongoing marketing strategy on social media, whether you’re an eCommerce or service-based business, as well as who your target audience is.
2. Rely on Social Proof
When it comes to online businesses and sales platforms, potential customers want assurance that the brand is legitimate and that their portfolio is of advertised quality. Neglecting to include real-world use scenarios of your products/services can paint a negative, one-way image of your brand and drive potential leads away due to distrust.
Since that is the case, social proof content such as prior sales numbers, client testimonials or even interviews and live Q&A can be used to a great effect and lead to high mailing list conversion rates. Social proof can be retrofitted into blog posts, published in the form of graphs or videos on social media pages, and even as part of email marketing once your target audience is finally subscribed.
3. Produce Evergreen Blog Content
Between the purchases and product engagement, customers will likely wish for added value in terms of their presence on your mailing list. This value can manifest in the form of evergreen blog content, content that is written in a way that makes it “everlasting”. The secret behind evergreen content lies in the topics you choose to tackle and the ways in which said writing is formulated.
For example, a topic such as “Best items to buy for April 2020” is not an evergreen topic, while “Ways to save on your online purchases” is, since it is not bound to a limited time period. Combined with dedicated writing platforms such as TrustMyPaper, Studicus and Hemingway Editor, evergreen content can become a staple of your business’ blog section and ensure that more visitors convert to your mailing list in 2020.
4. Interest Forms & Surveys
Due to the sheer number of online stores, businesses and services, customers often feel like another statistic in the eyes of the brands they engage with. However, extending an olive branch and asking your site’s visitors about their wants, needs, expectations and feedback – in addition to subscribing to your mailing list – is a great way to circumvent that trope.
Forms embedded into your landing page, as footers on your product page or exit-intent pop-ups which appear just before a user leaves your website can work wonders for your lead generation. Not only will these forms act as a great first contact with new customers but also give you valuable insight into their thoughts about your portfolio, industry trends and expectations, as well as opportunities to personalize their emails shortly thereafter.
5. Social Media Events
Lastly, as we’ve mentioned social media channels several times before, it’s become clear that the channel is far too valuable to ignore in terms of growing your email list. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram enjoy a multi-billion following, following which you can take advantage of and carve out an audience base which will willfully receive your emails and engage with the content embedded within them.
In order to take full advantage of social media, you can rely on limited-time events, contests, giveaways, live sessions and other FOMO-centric activities. These events will cost your business a fraction of the value which you will gain by making your brand viral and spreading its reach across the platform for the duration of any given event. Don’t neglect the importance and around-the-clock user base these platforms contain and make sure to establish your presence within them sooner rather than later with the intent to grow your mailing list more rapidly as 2021 goes further.
Only the Beginning (Conclusion)
Once users are subscribed to your email list, you shouldn’t wait too long before you deploy your welcome email, followed shortly by a tempting purchase offer or a loyalty incentive. Online users are often suspicious of online businesses which offer email subscription benefits and for good reasons – too many low-level establishments rely on mailing list sales and other unwanted activities, leading to unnecessary spam flooding the users’ inboxes. Establish a professional, two-way relationship from the get-go and your mailing list recipients will return the favor in spades, reflected in higher sales numbers and positive word of mouth about your brand.
Author Bio:
Diana Nadim is a writer and editor with a Masters degree in marketing. She combines her passion for writing with her interest in research to create thought-provoking content in various fields. Besides working as a contributing writer for GrabMyEssay, WowGrade and BestEssayEducation.
