Even the best email campaign will fall flat if
it is sent to an email list consisting of contacts that don’t have any interest
in your brand or don’t generally buy candy—this can happen if you purchase an
email list. Although purchasing an email list is certainly a quick way to gain
volume, don’t expect quality leads. Building an email list of individuals who
opt-in, or voluntarily give their email address, is always the best approach
because it will ensure your list consists of consumers who have a genuine
interest in your brand and value what you have to say. Keep reading as RCI members, Melissa Wedman with Mollycoddled Hashslinger and Jayni Wunderlich with Graham's Chocolates, share four tactics they use to build a quality email list.
POP-UPS
When used correctly pop-ups can be both
effective and well-received by customers. Despite the bad rap these little
attention-grabbing boxes have developed since Google started policing pop-ups
deemed disruptive to its users, Sumo.com says “well-designed pop-ups have the
potential to convert 9% of visitors that encounter them.”
When creating pop-ups for your website,
messaging must be brief, relevant and add value to visitors of your website. If
you use a pop-up to encourage customers to subscribe to your email newsletter,
consider adding bulleted details about what they’ll receive such as special
offers, new product notices, updates on special events you’re attending (like a
farmers’ market or charity event) or maybe even holiday gift guides.
Melissa: A pop-up request
appears after five seconds of opening any page on our website (the use of
cookies, ensure it doesn't keep reappearing while navigating multiple pages of
our website) that says, "Join Our Email List! Stay connected with us for
promotions, recipes & more!" and includes a close-up of our signature
caramels.
GIVEAWAYS
Everyone loves getting free stuff, right?
That's what makes giveaways a great way to build your email list quickly.
However, choosing the wrong giveaway can leave you with a large list of
unqualified leads. Sure, giving away a new car is guaranteed to get you a
massive list, but focusing on prizes that appeal to your customers will help
ensure you gain contacts that are interested in your products and not just free
stuff.
Jayni: We build our email
list by having contests to win a free box of chocolates during the holidays and
then collect their emails to use for future email blasts. Once gathered, we
send email blasts out on occasion to promote holiday products. We use MailChimp
and really like their service.
Melissa: We give away prizes
at special events and pop-up shops we participate in. As an added opportunity
to build our email list, our giveaway slips include a box for customers to
check if they’re interested in receiving our monthly newsletter. We have found
that the people who join our email list from these slips more actively read our
newsletters and become strong followers through social media as we've had the
opportunity to build a rapport with them in person. Comparatively those who
subscribe directly through a social media platform or as a result of an online
purchase or through one of our wholesale accounts do not seem to have the same
level of brand loyalty.
SIGNUP FOOTER
Adding a signup footer to the bottom of your
website is a simple and less-intrusive option to build your email list. Many of
your loyal customers may already be scrolling to the bottom of your website
looking to easily subscribe to your email list.
Melissa: The footer of each
page of our website includes a "Stay in the Loop" section with our
social media icons/links as well as a place to input your email address. If
someone is new to our website and declines the entry pop-up request to be added
to our newsletter, the footer is always visible as they're spending more time
on our website.
EVENT OPT-INS
If you’re already hosting events like tours,
parties, classes or tasting events that require attendees to register in
advance or purchase tickets, simply adding an opt-in box to the registration or
checkout process will help you capture contact information for consumers
interested in your brand. Offering the option to subscribe to your email list
(or not) will help to more accurately reflect the success of your email
messaging.
Jayni: We sell tickets to
our special events online and collect email addresses along with those
purchases. For instance, we host a wine and chocolate tasting every year during
a wine festival in our town. By selling our tickets through our website, this
allows potential event goers to visit our website, and sign up for our
newsletter during check out.
Your email marketing campaign is only as good
as your email list. Communicating with the right audience will help your
business increase sales, generate new customers and retain loyal customers.
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