Building an email list for marketing requires a combination of strategies that entice potential customers to share their email addresses willingly. This involves using engaging pop-ups, and signup forms, collecting emails in-store, leveraging social media, creating personalized landing pages, and incorporating signup options at checkout.
Building an email list for marketing is a fundamental part of a successful digital marketing strategy. We recently wrote about the importance of building an email list, so today we’re focusing on actually building an email list. The challenge lies in collecting email addresses ethically and efficiently without alienating potential customers.
If you’re not building your email list and leveraging it to contact your subscribers directly, you’re missing out on one of the most effective forms of digital marketing.
Fortunately, there are a few easy things you can do that will help build your email list.
In this article, we’re exploring six easy options so you know how to build an email list for marketing.
Overview
How to Build an Email List for Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective channels for reaching and engaging with your audience. Building an email list allows you to have direct contact with your customers, providing them with tailored content and offers. Here are some tried and true methods to start growing your email list:
Leverage pop-ups
Adding a pop-up offer to your homepage can be a powerful way to capture the email addresses of your visitors. Pop-ups work by presenting a timely message to visitors, often with a special offer or exclusive content in exchange for their email addresses.
When done right, pop-ups can be very effective because they capture the visitor’s attention and offer them something of value. It could be a discount on their first purchase, a free guide related to your product or service, or access to exclusive content.
There are several tools and plugins available that allow you to easily create and customize pop-ups for your website. You can set triggers for the pop-up to appear, such as after a certain amount of time spent on the site or when the visitor is about to exit the page. Ensure that the design is in line with your branding, and the message is clear and compelling. Provide a simple form for visitors to fill out and make sure that they understand what they’re signing up for.
Put an opt-in form in your site’s navigation
An opt-in form in your site’s navigation or footer can be a more subtle, yet constant way to encourage visitors to join your email list.
Unlike pop-up offers that appear and then disappear, an opt-in form in your site’s navigation or footer is always visible as visitors browse your site. This continuous presence keeps the option to subscribe at the forefront without being intrusive.
The opt-in form should be simple, asking for the minimum amount of information required (usually just an email address). You can include a short call-to-action that describes what the visitor will receive by subscribing, such as regular tips, updates, or special offers. Make sure the design is clean and fits well with the overall look of your site’s navigation.
Tools like Mailchimp or Constant Contact often provide easy ways to embed opt-in forms on your site. Also, consider using a double opt-in process where the subscriber has to confirm their email address. This ensures that the email provided is accurate and that the subscriber genuinely wants to receive your content.
Collect email addresses at your store or in-person event
Collecting email addresses at your physical store or at in-person events you host or attend is an often-overlooked but valuable strategy for growing your email list.
People who visit your store or interact with you at an event have shown a direct interest in your products or services. They are often more engaged and receptive to providing their email address, especially if they have had a positive in-person experience with your brand.
In a store setting, you can ask customers at checkout if they’d like to sign up for your newsletter, offering them an instant discount or future offer as a thank you. At events, you can have a sign-up sheet at your booth or use a tablet to collect email addresses digitally. Ensure that the process is quick and that the benefits of signing up are clearly communicated. You must also comply with all relevant legal requirements and privacy regulations when collecting and storing this information.
Add a signup button to social media
Adding a signup button to your social media profiles can be a great way to tap into your existing followers and encourage them to join your email list.
People who follow you on social media already have an interest in your brand. By providing an easy way for them to subscribe to your email list directly from the platform they are using, you can convert these followers into subscribers, building a more direct and personal channel to engage with them.
Platforms like Facebook allow you to add a “Sign Up” button directly to your business page. You can link this button to a landing page on your website where visitors can subscribe to your email list. On other platforms, you can include a link to a sign-up form in your bio or regularly share posts that direct followers to subscribe. Make sure to articulate the value they’ll receive from subscribing, such as exclusive content, special discounts, or early access to new products. Tools like Mailchimp can integrate with social media platforms, making the process of collecting and managing email addresses more streamlined.
Build personalized landing pages
Personalized landing pages can be powerful tools to attract specific segments of your audience to sign up for your email list.
By tailoring the content, design, and offer to a specific audience or goal, you can make the page more appealing and relevant to the visitor. This personalization increases the chances of them engaging with the page and completing the desired action: signing up for your email list.
You can create different landing pages for different campaigns, products, or customer personas. Include a compelling headline, an attractive offer, and a clear call to action. By using tools like tracking pixels or linking the landing pages to specific ads or social media posts, you can ensure that the right audience is seeing the right content. Personalization can also include dynamic content that changes based on user behavior, demographics, or source of traffic.
6. Include a newsletter signup option at checkout
Including an option to sign up for your newsletter during the checkout process captures customers at a crucial point in their engagement with your brand.
Customers who have reached the checkout stage have already shown a strong interest in your products or services. They are more likely to want to hear more from you, whether it’s for special offers, product updates, or other news. By providing a simple checkbox or signup field at checkout, you make it easy for them to join your email list at a moment when they are already engaged with your brand.
Add a clear, concise option to sign up for the newsletter as part of the checkout process on your website. Make sure that it’s not pre-checked and that it clearly explains what they will receive if they sign up. Also, ensure that the process doesn’t add any complications to the checkout process itself, as a smooth checkout experience is crucial to conversion rates. By integrating the sign-up with your email marketing platform, you can even segment these subscribers for targeted post-purchase follow-up campaigns.
Need Help with Your Email Marketing?
Building an email list can be overwhelming if you’re not sure how to make changes to your website. Sachs Marketing Group is here to help!
Sachs Marketing Group is a full-service digital marketing agency that can help ensure your website, social media profiles, and other properties effectively help build your email list.
With our expertise, we can help you grow your email list and reach your marketing goals. Contact us today to learn more!
Conclusion
Now that you know how to build an email list for marketing, the next step is to start sending emails. Check out our article 10 Types of Emails in Email Marketing to kickstart your email marketing strategy with some great email ideas.
Building an email list for marketing is an essential and achievable goal for businesses of all sizes. With strategies like adding pop-up offers, opt-in forms, collecting emails in person, utilizing social media, and more, you can develop a robust and engaged email list. As your email list grows, you can focus your efforts on turning email subscribers into customers, run surveys for additional insights about the people interested in your brand, and develop a strong relationship with your audience.
If done right, this list can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal, enhancing your reach and conversion rates.
