By Local Loyal Clients LLC
Technology has changed the way we do business. With so many innovations soaring, it’s only right for businesses to search for opportunities that will retain customers and bring them new visitors. According to various marketing insights, one of the best ways to do this is by collecting emails. If you are just a small and new business, you may want to invest in this, especially if you need a strong online presence.
But how can you successfully collect emails? And what are some of the benefits of having a mailing list? Below is an overview of how you can go about all these.
20 Ways to Collect Email Addresses
Building a large mailing list has a lot of benefits, especially if you are into business and marketing. To successfully collect emails, here are some of the commonly used techniques:
1.Using popups on your website: this is the most common method of collecting emails. A lightbox popup is very easy to use if a user is interested. It normally appears on top of the website’s page while the rest of the site is dimmed out.
2.Use a scrolling box: a standard popup box can be boring. It’s easier for a user to just click it away when they access your site. A scrolling box usually pops up when the user is scrolling down your landing page. Make sure that you put a catchy message in this action-based box so that the user fills it first.
3.Pop up when closing the page: most of the times people close pop-ups when opening or scrolling through a site. This is because they want to first view the content before making considerations. How about creating a windows pop up when they are leaving your website? If they love what is on the page they will definitely sign up.
4.Promote your newsletter: most marketers swear by this technique. Promoting your newsletter signup throughout the site can lead to better chances of collecting emails. Make sure that you put it on the website’s user’s face in a nice manner.
5.Offer newsletter discounts: if you are selling products or services, this method can be highly effective. Offer discounts to only those who have subscribed to your newsletter. This way, you will easily collect their email addresses as they rush to sign up for the discount.
6.Facebook ads: it provides an easier and cost-effective way of growing your mailing list. Note that the success of Facebook ads in generating a large emailing list is due to its large user base. It’s the top social platform with the highest number of users globally.
7.Entice people with useful resources: people are always looking for knowledge or something fresh to consume. A successful way to collect email addresses is by offering your target audience useful resources that promise to improve their lives. It could just be simple tips, a presentation, or an expert opinion on a specific field.
8.Use content teasers: teasers usually make people curious as to what the whole package contains. If you have a new product or content, offer a teaser and then promise those who sign up with their email the first access.
9.Through networking: if you are in the e-commerce sector you are going to network a lot with like-minded people. You can use your network to collect emails. You can request the people you meet for their emails or give them yours.
10.Ask for the email address: this is a straightforward technique that helps to cut down all the chase. In case you are in touch with a prospective customer, just ask for it. You can also request for newsletter signup on various social platforms that are associated with your brand.
11.Use your best content: there are certain types of content that may seem to do well on your site. Such contents keep on attracting a new audience even as time goes by. Seize this opportunity to ask clients to sign up for your newsletters by using such content. I am sure they will willingly do so in the hope of getting similar content in the future.
12.Add a subscription option to your physical products: in case you are selling physical products, then you can add a note in the package and request them to subscribe to your email list. Make sure that you inform them that this will give them a better opportunity to know when flash sales, discounts, and promotions are happening.
13.Restrict access to quality content: this technique also works. Make sure that you restrict access to your best content to those who have subscribed to your email list. Note that a lot of people always want the best hence they will be curious to sign up.
14.Add the subscription option when asking for contact info: clients leave their contact details when they want products or services. In the section where they leave their contact details, create an option of a newsletter subscription. It should be simple i.e. ticking the signup box.
15.Tell an outstanding story: real-life experiences, behind the scenes cuts, and interviews are some of the things that can quickly get the public interested. This type of content usually sticks out and people love them. This will easily get more people to sign up for your mailing list.
16.Use software: there are many apps that have been designed for this specific purpose. These web tools have been designed in such a way that you can integrate the app to your website. So, they create pop-ups as well as slide-ins that make it easier to collect emails.
17.Offer video tutorial: YouTube has become a very popular platform because of visual content. You can do the same by offering your target audience video tutorials. Note that a live tutorial will even be better because you will one-on-one interaction. During this session, ensure that you ask your audience to sign up.
18.Use YouTube: in case you normally upload your video content on this platform, then you can still link the newsletter subscription link to the video description section. Make sure that you promise unique or personalized content to subscribers only.
19.Promise subscribers gift: collecting a large email list involves enticing, promises, and delivery of something good in return. So, promise those subscribers who sign up for your mailing gifts.
20.Use LinkedIn this a professional platform that you can use to get serious subscribers. In case you have a sufficient budget, then you can promote your newsletter signup on this platform.
Note: getting a big mailing list is all about being strategic and creative. The above-mentioned strategies are among the most popular and effective. Additionally, they are not complex to use and you can use more than one method.
Importance of Collecting Emails for a Small Business
While building a mailing list isn’t easy, the benefits are simply rewarding for a small business. Let’s have a look at how a small business can profit from collecting emails.
A Higher Return of Investment (ROI)
Over 50% of B2B marketers swear by email marketing. According to them, this is the best channel that usually yields a higher ROI. Using your email as a marketing strategy will always work for a small business. Marketing studies indicate that can collecting emails can result in a massive ROI of up to 4300%. By optimizing their email strategy, small businesses will definitely earn better results. It’s an affordable strategy that isn’t complex to implement.
Expanding the Target Audience
Small businesses also want to grow. No marketer wants to be a small business person forever. But it’s not easy to transform and grow a small business into a powerhouse. You need to invest financially and it takes time.
However, using your email collection can prove to be the best way of enhancing your network. Note that by placing an opt-in box on your blog site, you can end up collecting a significant number of visitors and turn them into your clients.
Note that when visitors sign up, they are basically giving you permission to send them promotional content, newsletter, and others. The best thing about this is that some subscribers are usually generous. They can not only share your content with friends but also on social media where there is a larger audience.
Helps to Build Stronger Customer Relations
Serious customers will always want to know what their favorite brand is up to. And one way of building a serious customer relationship is communicating with them on a personal level. They not only feel involved in your business but also the fact that you acknowledge and communicate with them.
It’s not even easy to reach out to a small number of customers via phone calls. Its a tasking and time-consuming process that needs careful planning. But by using email, you can conveniently reach to a large number of customers and at a much lower cost. You only need to have a good internet connection.
Are you launching a new product? Are there a few changes in the structuring of your business? Are you offering sales and discounts? Well, let your customers be the first ones to know about all this. The best thing is that you will be sure that over 80% have seen your message. This is because most people usually check their emails every day.
Note: it’s possible to customize an email at a personal level as long as you have the relevant data. This normally includes things such as the first/last names, gender, and location among others.
Better Visibility of Sales
If you combine your mailing list and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), then you can do away with a lot of disruptions. In addition to that, the visibility of your sales will increase massively. How does this happen? Well, a combination of emails and CRM allows the effective exchange of information. Basically, you will be blending both the sales and marketing departments. So, your sales will be more visible thanks to the availability of actionable business triggers.
They Provide Versatility
A small business needs to be versatile in order for it to grow and flourish. But finding a platform that offers versatility isn’t easy, especially when you want to inform your target audience what you are offering.
With emails, you can be as versatile as you want. You can attach text and images to your email. Besides that, it’s also possible to share links. For instance, you can create a promotional video of a new product lunch, pictures of some of your new releases, links to the contents you’re promoting, etc. Overall, email allows you to be as creative as you can.
Perfect for Analysis
All businesses usually do analysis every now and then to determine if their marketing goals are working. There are several factors that need to be tracked and measured. This may include the number of leads, conversion rates, etc.
By using it, you can measure your business’ overall performance. This way, you will be able to establish if a campaign was a success or not. Once you know this, you can make suitable adjustments or even start a whole new campaign.
Emails are Here to Stay
Emails are here to stay, at least for a foreseeable future. There are so many top apps that a lot of businesses used but due to the rapid innovation, they either disappeared or are no longer so popular among consumers.
But we can guarantee you that emails aren’t going anywhere soon. This is the most used channel of communication by all serious entities as well as business organizations. So, if you are just starting out, building a solid mailing list is good for a long-term marketing strategy.
Collecting emails may seem to be a time-wasting strategy, especially if your business is still small and new. You may even be tempted to use social media to draw massive traffic quickly. While this is good, we encourage you to invest in building an email list.
Most social platforms and other marketing tools come and go. However, email has been around for much longer than all of them. Do not be tempted by the glitz that the internet offers. Email is easy to use, effective, and versatile. You can even use it with social media in conjunction with other forms of content marketing.
Benefits of Collecting Emails for Marketing
From the above section, it’s clear that small businesses can reap when they invest in a mailing list. But if we look at a different angle, why should you invest in emails for marketing? The benefits of doing so include:
Reaching the Right Audience at the Right Time
When it comes to marketing, time and the right audience are important. Note that time is important in ensuring that you have a better chance of making more sales than your competitors. If it’s the right audience, then you are guaranteed better sales.
With email marketing, you can do this because you are in contact with the right audience frequently. Additionally, people can access their emails from multiple devices at different times. This can tremendously improve the success rate of any marketing campaign.
You Own It
If you create an email list then you own it. This is why a lot of people love email marketing because you don’t have to share the list with your competitors. There is a big difference between this type of marketing with social media marketing.
For instance, nobody owns their followers on social media. It’s the respective social media companies that own these followers. But until your customer unsubscribes from your email list or they change their address, then you own the contacts. You also have a better chance of contacting them directly via their inboxes.
The Best Platform for Self-Promoting
Self-promotion is important for marketing. But it may easily turn out awkward, especially in spaces where you are not sure if you have a target audience. It’s difficult to effectively market yourself when you are dealing with an audience that isn’t aware of your business.
On the other hand, we understand that the best way to get better returns is by promoting yourself. You are the only one who understands what your business offers. With email marketing, you can efficiently market yourself to your audience. This is because customers would have already opted-in in order to receive your email. So, they have an idea of what your business is about and some of the products/services that you offer.
It’s Cost-Effective
Brands normally spend thousands of money on just one campaign. A successful marketing campaign is usually costly and sometimes it may not even be effective. However, email marketing is cost-effective.
You don’t need to pay for printing services, photo-shoots, or even a placement spot. If you are serious about your campaign, you probably need to employ the services of a graphic designer. It’s much cheaper compared to print or direct marketing campaigns.
Time Saver
You can create an email marketing campaign from scratch and successfully render it within just a couple of hours. It’s easy and less time-consuming. You simply need to gather your ideas and materials e.g. photos and videos and then compile it. Note that it can take days or even weeks to produce a simple print campaign because there are so many production factors included.
A Larger and Better Reach
You might be probably thinking that social platforms have the biggest rich. This is because they have very big user counts. However, this number is much lower compared to the number of people who only use email. In fact, email has around 3-times the user base of Twitter and Facebook.
Successful marketing and a larger target audience go hand-in-hand. This means that you stand a better chance of accessing the relevant target audience if you use email. Just make sure that you build a big and authentic list.
Better Sales
The aim of email marketing for most businesses is to increase sales. Well, this is an excellent marketing tool that has proved to be effective than most top apps. Various studies indicate that it usually leads to higher revenue.
How does this work? These types of campaigns can be tailored to provide customers with better insights into the products or services that your business offers. Additionally, it may be a way to encourage customers to buy the items left in their carts. There are also those brands that offer this type of marketing to announce discounts or sales. Generally, it provides a better chance of influencing customer purchase decisions.
Enhancing Website Traffic
How do you ensure that you increase your website’s traffic? You can use SEO or even social media. But the surest way of generating organic traffic is by using email as a tool for marketing. If you send the subscribers in your mail list about the new content on your website, they will definitely want to look at the latest information.
Note: if you want to generate authentic traffic, ensure that you add the appropriate link to the email. Don’t forget to add a call to action to ensure that you receive the highest possible traffic.
Collecting Feedback
You need to get feedback from your customers. They might have complaints or just positive feedback. In some instances, you might just want to interact and ask about their opinion about your brand.
Email marketing can help you to effectively do this. You can quickly do this by sending them survey questions. Once they have filled the survey forms, you can have a comprehensive overview of what’s working and what needs to change. Don’t forget to communicate back and thank them for participating in improving your brand.
Conclusion
Email marketing has stood the test of time. There are so many platforms and marketing apps that used to be so popular but are no longer in use. However, there are still no signs of us doing away with email. If you are a small business, you can build a solid audience using your email list. Within no time, your business will grow and expand.
Overall, email marketing has proved to be an effective tool in generating traffic, leads, and better sales. It provides marketers with an opportunity to conveniently communicate with their customers in a cost-effective way. To successfully use it, just make sure that you build a big and authentic list.
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