Unfortunately, we have to start with some bad news. Almost every email marketing database dilapidates by around 20% every year. People change their email addresses as they change their workplaces, click “unsubscribe” to your emails, or change their email provider. It is your responsibility to grow your email list and add new contacts. If you have been building your email list already, or maybe you need fresh ideas, here is a helpful post by Ben Givon on the topic.
1. Be creative when you design your email content
Your content should be remarkable if you plan on preserving your audience. If it is interesting, people will look forward to your emails and even share them with their connections.
2. Entice your subscribers to share your emails
It is a good idea to add buttons to your social media accounts and the “share with a friend” button. This is an excellent opportunity to gain access to your subscribers’ friends, colleagues, and other connections while expanding your list. In every email, include a CTA encouraging people to subscribe to your emails, so people who receive forwarded emails can subscribe, too.
3. Break down your email lists by buyer persona
You can segment your email subscribers according to their personas. If you address the audience’s particular interests, there is a better chance that your content will be successful. You can develop targeted subscription types, and there is a greater probability that your content will be successful.
4. Hyperlink your employees’ signatures
If you add links to your staff’s signatures that lead to a landing page, your prospects might opt for an email subscription. Moreover, if you are already in a conversation with someone, a subscription to emails seems a logical step.
5. Develop a new offer that generates leads
You can provide an ebook or a whitepaper to access which people need to fill out the form and leave their email address. Marketers call this technique a “gated offer.”
6. Provide an online tool or resource
Users seek free online tools. All they need to do is to register and leave their email address. It can be anything related to your industry and field, give it a thought.
7. Bonus content wins
Not every website visitor will be content with your gated content, therefore you should consider providing free content first. It can be a blog post where you provide a piece of advice for beginners, where users can proceed to the “bonus” content, which they can access only if they leave their details, including an email address.
8. Conduct an online contest
You can host a free giveaway event, where users should leave their contact details to participate. Invite participants to visit your website and register using their email address.
9. Ask for feedback
It might come as a surprise to you, but people enjoy giving feedback. Create a section on your webpage where you invite people to provide feedback about your business and their experience with it. And of course, in order to leave feedback, people need to sign up and leave their contact details.
10. Host an online webinar
Webinars are a great opportunity to talk about your business and industry, as well as access the audience that you cannot reach any other way. What counts in our case is that in order to register for a webinar a user needs to leave their name and email address.
