7 Tips for Growing Your Email List in a Time Crunch
Building a strong, quality email list and executing a consistently successful email marketing campaign often takes time — especially if you’re just starting out. But that isn’t always comforting to those who want immediate results.
While many different factors influence a person’s decision to sign up for an email list (e.g. ease of signing up, perceived value of subscribing), there are ways in which you can give your subscriber base a quick healthy boost — you just have to act quickly. Here’s how you can get started now:
1. Import your existing list.
If you’re moving from another email marketing service provider, the first thing you should do is import any existing list(s) you already have to AWeber. You found a new provider, so why wait any longer before sending awesome emails?
If you’ve been holding off because you’re not sure if you’re required to reconfirm subscribers when switching to a new email marketing service, check out this quick read to help clarify the issue. Need help importing your existing list? Watch this how-to video for easy instructions!
2. Be discoverable.
The more opportunities people have to sign up for your email list, the greater the chance they’ll actually do so. With that said, you’ll want to include sign up forms in areas both online and offline.
Place sign up forms in strategic areas on your website — in your sidebar, on a landing page, etc. The idea here is to reach your customers no matter where they are in the sales process. You might also want to give serious thought to using a lightbox pop up form to collect new subscribers. Despite any preconceived notions you might have about them, they can actually help you gain hundreds (and possibly even thousands) of new subscribers, as long as it’s done right.
If you have a storefront and/or frequently attend networking meetups and events, be sure to bring along a clipboard or tablet to collect email subscriptions in person. This is your chance to make personal connections with prospective customers and brand ambassadors, so leverage this critical time to continue the conversation even after your interaction ends.
3. Run a contest.
Another quick and easy way to obtain new subscribers is by hosting a contest with a valuable prize and a short entry period. By creating a weeklong contest, for example, people will be more likely feel the pressure to enter right away instead of assuming they have plenty of time to do so.
There are a number of tools available that can help you easily host a contest, such as Heyo or Contest Domination. All you have to do is promote it on social media and your website, and let the emails pour in! But setting up the contest is the easy part. Whatever your prize is, make sure it’s a valuable something-they-can’t-live-without item or offer.
Feeling uninspired? Consider offering incentive items, exclusive sneak-peeks for upcoming product releases, or even a complimentary service or consultation!
4. Give a coupon code.
Coupon codes that are only valid for a few days can be a great incentive for retailers to get people to sign up to their emails. To do so, you might want to distribute cards with codes on them at your store, or feature the offer in a lightbox form on your website.
Tobi, a young ecommerce fashion retailer, offers first-time website visitors a 50 percent off discount code when they submit their email address. This lightbox form not only entices people to give them their address willingly, but to get frequent updates on the latest items as well.
5. Tell a secret.
Consumers love anything that’s labeled “free” and/or “exclusive.” Whether it’s a limited edition item or something that’s only available to a select few, they want to know they’re getting extra special treatment or part of an private crowd.
Fortunately, as an expert in your industry, you have a lot of “insider” information that you can exclusively share with your email subscribers. An owner of a local gym, for example, may want to educate his readers with exercises and workouts designed to target various parts of the body. Just make sure it’s information they can and should implement right away!
6. Cross-promote your list in another list.
Have a list that already gets a lot of traffic? Consider promoting your new email series or newsletter to encourage those subscribers to also sign up for your new list. The idea here is to convince people that there’s value to be obtained from your other email list, and now’s the time to subscribe so they can get something immediately in return.
A marketing consultant that generally focuses on sending email content related to general digital marketing tips might want to narrow in on certain topics and start a new email series specific to content marketing or email marketing. By informing her current subscribers that they can get even more helpful information by signing up to the other list, she can get a jump start on her subscriber base.
Or, you might want to team up with another business that has an email list with people that might be potential customers. To pique their subscribers’ interest, you could feature your contest or another great incentive to raise awareness and encourage sign ups to your list!
7. Add incentives after a purchase.
Not every customer that purchases an item or service from you will always return. You can, however, work towards building customer loyalty with your emails. By leveraging the point of purchase to collect email addresses, you can bring them closer to becoming repeat customers and hopefully future brand ambassadors.
Michael’s craft store, for example, gives customers an offer with their receipt to fill out a survey online to obtain an additional discount that would only be valid for a week after the day of my purchase. It’s a simple way to obtain valuable information about their customers, and for customers to get a discount coupon for a future purchase. Win-win!
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