Why Building an Email List Is So Important For Small Businesses
The online marketing world agrees that 1 email subscriber = $1/month in revenue.
When you first start your small business, setting up an email subscription list might not be the first thing on your mind.
This article is here to guide you into the world of email marketing.
Setting up your email list is crucial to a small business and can help you grow.
You might wonder if building an email list is still an effective strategy. Well, the answer is a resounding yes!
Whether you're an affiliate marketer, running an e-commerce store or a local business, or offering SAAS (software as a service), having an email list can significantly boost your bottom line.
If you don’t have a direct line to your clients & customers, you don’t have a reliable way to make sales
The great thing about having your own email subscription list is that it belongs to you. You have complete control over it, and it won't suddenly vanish or be affected by algorithm changes.
On the other hand, if you rely solely on social media, you know the frustration of not knowing how many people see your posts.
But with email, you can be confident that your messages will drop right into your subscribers' inboxes. Of course, whether they open and engage with your emails depends on consistently delivering value and using enticing subject lines to grab their attention.
What is an email list?
When reaching out to your customers through email, it's crucial to focus on building an email list. Email list building involves attracting more people to subscribe to your emails.
The stronger your efforts to encourage visitors to subscribe, the more robust your email list will become.
Essentially, an email list is a compilation of email addresses obtained from visitors or customers interested in receiving information, updates, discounts, and other details about your business, all delivered conveniently to their email inboxes.
Email lists hold great significance because email marketing surpasses social media when it comes to connecting with customers. In fact, emails are six times more likely to generate higher click-through rates than tweets. Moreover, email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter....
Why are email lists important for businesses?
Email marketing is a powerful engine that drives businesses forward, propelling them towards success. Just as a well-oiled machine delivers outstanding performance, email marketing has an astounding 4300 percent return on investment (ROI) for businesses in the USA, according to the Direct Marketing Association.
Imagine your email subscribers as a carefully curated garden, where each plant represents a potential customer.
Because email subscribers joined your email list from your website and verified their identity by clicking on a link, they are highly interested in what you offer. This is why they are more likely to convert into paying customers.
Building, segmenting, and keeping your mailing list clean should be high on your list of organizational priorities for the foreseeable future.
# Why is this so important?
Firstly, email marketing provides a direct line to your subscribers' inboxes. Unlike social media platforms and other marketing channels, your messages land directly in front of your audience, capturing their undivided attention.
Secondly, email lists offer the power of targeted marketing and segmentation. In today's competitive business landscape, small businesses must seize every opportunity to stand out and connect with their ideal customers. By tailoring your messages to specific segments of your mailing list, you can deliver personalized experiences that resonate deeply with your audience.
Thirdly, email lists allow for increased reach and engagement. With over 4 billion people actively using email, there has never been a more opportune time for small businesses to tap into the potential of their email lists. By leveraging this vast pool of potential customers, you can expand your reach and engage with a broader audience, fostering brand awareness and loyalty.
Moreover, email marketing plays a crucial role in developing trust with customers. Trust is the currency of the business world, and email marketing is an invaluable tool for building and nurturing this trust. You can cultivate a strong foundation of trust with your audience by consistently delivering valuable content, nurturing relationships, and providing exceptional customer experiences.
Unlike other marketing strategies that may leave you guessing about their impact, email marketing provides tangible and measurable outcomes. By tracking metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, you can unlock the power of email marketing's measurable results, allowing you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your campaigns for maximum effectiveness.
In summary, email marketing is a powerful engine that drives business growth. It provides a direct line to your audience, offers targeted marketing and segmentation, enhances reach and engagement, builds customer trust, and delivers high conversion rates and measurable results.
This makes sense if you think about the reasons that make email an incredibly powerful communication channel:
You may have heard that Facebook has 1.4 billion and Twitter has 100 million daily active users. You may not have heard the number of people using Email daily.
Every internet user has at least one email account. A recent research by Radicati found that there are 3.8 billion active email accounts. That’s half the population of Earth.
This is precisely why every smart business worldwide has an email list.
Big-name brands learned this lesson a long time ago, and that’s why they spend thousands of dollars on social media campaigns to get people to sign up for their email lists.
They understand that email marketing is the best long-term investment with a much higher return because people will continue to get their message at a meager cost for extended periods.
Top 5 reasons why you need an email list
Main Benefits:
3 Things you need to build an email list
By now, you know why building an email list is so important, and why ignoring it can be a HUGE mistake. So let’s take a look at what you need to start building your email list.
A website or blog
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An email marketing service
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High-converting opt-in forms
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All three of these are fairly easy to set up, and none of them require programming or design skills.
If you don’t have a website or blog yet and opt-in form, then see our step by step guide on how to start a blog or how to make a website.
How do you build an email list?
When it comes to building an email list, there are several best practices that you should follow. By implementing these strategies, you can increase your chances of attracting subscribers. Let's explore these practices in more detail:
1. Incorporate CTA buttons:
Including call-to-action buttons on every landing page of your website can prompt visitors to subscribe to your email list. These buttons should be strategically placed and visible to capture your audience's attention.
2. Utilize attention-grabbing images:
Consider using images that pop up or slide in on all your landing pages. These visually appealing elements can capture visitors' attention and encourage them to sign up for your email list.
3. Implement timed surveys:
Timing is crucial for engaging visitors. By utilizing surveys that pop up while visitors browse your website, you can gather valuable insights and allow them to subscribe to your email list.
4. Leverage social media platforms:
Promote your email newsletter on your social media accounts. By posting about your newsletter and its benefits, you can attract followers and encourage them to subscribe to your email list.
5. Highlight the value:
Clearly describe what visitors will gain by subscribing to your email list. Explain the benefits, such as exclusive content, special offers, or updates, to entice potential subscribers.
To illustrate these strategies further, let's look at a few examples of how companies encourage visitors to subscribe to their email lists through their websites and social media accounts.
Social media vs Email marketing
Are you wondering about the impact of social media on email marketing?
Many have asked if email marketing is still relevant since social media has become popular.
To address this, let's examine the information that Twitter and Facebook require when you sign up.
Yes, it's an email address.
These companies understand that emails are the most effective and dependable way to communicate with their customers.
Even if you register with your phone number, they will continue to request your email address to assist you in finding friends, providing password recovery options, and, most importantly, sending you personalized email notifications.ur text here...
While social media is a great way to reach your audience, it’s important to keep in perspective the timely nature of social media platforms.]
They come and go.
Not long ago, we had MySpace, FriendFeed, Google Buzz, Plurk, and countless others. Most of them are either dead now or irrelevant.
Your users are all over the place on different platforms. However, studies show that at least 91% of consumers check their email daily.
We are not saying that social media is not important. It is, and you should explore every opportunity to reach your audience.
However, spending more time and effort on something that guarantees higher results would be best.
Growing your email list and getting
more subscribers
In today's digital world, maximizing the potential of every website visitor is essential.
Did you know that over 70% of visitors who leave your website will never return? You can verify this statistic by checking the new vs. returning visitors percentage in your Google Analytics.
The challenge is that the average internet user spends only a few seconds on a website. This limited timeframe means you must make your email signup forms highly visible and compelling. Visitors will leave without subscribing to your website if your forms go unnoticed.
Rather than relying on tedious signup forms placed in the sidebar, you can leverage powerful opt-in forms proven to convert. These forms include lightbox popups, floating header and footer bars, slide-in scroll boxes, fullscreen welcome mats, inline forms, and more.
One such effective tool is GoFunnelBox. What sets this platform apart is its behavior automation and personalization features.
With Funnel Systeme, you can track your users' mouse behavior and leverage the Exit-Intent® feature. This intelligent feature detects when a user is about to leave your website and presents them with a targeted opt-in form, increasing their chances of subscribing.
By utilizing Funnel Systeme and its array of opt-in forms, you can significantly enhance your email list growth and achieve more subscribers. Don't miss out on the opportunity to engage with your website visitors.
Start implementing these strategies today and watch your email list flourish.
Choosing the best email marketing service
Email marketing services are designed to help businesses grow their customer bases and market their services and products.
The best email marketing platforms make creating professional-looking emails, seamless workflows, and up-to-date contact and mailing lists easy.
When it comes to email marketing services, there are numerous options available.
For those just starting out, it's common to opt for the free choice to save money.
But that’s not proper email marketing.
Here are some of the downsides of using a free blog notification service:
- You can’t send out private email newsletters.
- You can’t personalize the email message.
- You can’t categorize subscribers by interests, demographics, or content type.
- There is no reporting.
This is why we ALWAYS recommend using a professional email marketing service from the beginning.
Yes, they cost a little bit of money, but they are an investment in your business that pays enormous returns.
The benefits of professional email marketing services are:
- You can send private mass emails to your subscribers.
- You can see subscriber activity and group your subscribers based on their actions.
- You can run A/B split tests to see which email subject line, content, and offers work best with your subscribers.
- With reporting tools, you can see which country you have the most subscribers from.
- Last but the most important, you can see the email addresses of all your subscribers.
There are hundreds of professional email marketing services available.
We recommend Aweber for small businesses because it is one of the world's most extensive email marketing services.
They offer a free trial for Up to 500 subscribers.
This gives you plenty of time to set up and start seeing the results.
Finding quality software is the first step in creating an effective email marketing campaign.
As your business grows, we recommend Funnel Systeme.
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This Is The Game-Changing Tool Every Online Business Owner Needs
FAQ
Building an email list is fundamental to any successful small business marketing strategy. It allows you to establish a direct line of communication with your audience, nurture relationships, and promote your products or services cost-effectively. By leveraging the power of email marketing, you can drive traffic to your website, increase sales, and ultimately achieve long-term business growth.
Having an email list can significantly benefit your small business when compared to relying solely on social media or other marketing channels. While social media platforms are subject to algorithms that control the reach and engagement of your content, an email list provides you with direct access to your subscribers' inboxes. This direct access ensures that your messages are more likely to be seen and engaged with by your audience, resulting in higher conversion rates and a better return on investment for your marketing efforts.
One effective strategy is to offer lead magnets, such as ebooks or discount codes, to entice potential subscribers to sign up for your email list. By providing valuable content or exclusive offers, you can encourage individuals to share their contact information with you.
Another strategy to consider is hosting webinars or events.
Implementing pop-up forms on your website is another effective way to grow your email list. Be sure to offer a compelling reason for individuals to sign up, such as exclusive content or access to special promotions.
Running contests or giveaways can also be a powerful strategy for growing your email list. To participate, individuals must provide their email address, allowing you to expand your subscriber base.
Consider creating engaging content and using targeted ads to reach individuals who are likely to be interested in your business.
To ensure success with email marketing, it's important to send relevant and valuable content to your subscribers, segment your list based on their interests and behaviors, personalize your emails, optimize your subject lines and email copy for higher open and click-through rates, and regularly analyze your email metrics to refine your strategies.
Absolutely! The purpose of building an email list extends beyond simply acquiring leads; it also involves fostering connections with your subscribers over an extended period. By consistently providing them with valuable content, addressing their needs and concerns, and actively engaging with personalized and pertinent information, you have the potential to transform subscribers into devoted customers. These loyal customers will not only promote your brand but also contribute to the expansion of your business through the power of word-of-mouth referrals.
Summary
Email is a goldmine for businesses if you use list-building best practices. The effectiveness and ROI of list building depend on the authenticity and relevance of your lists, first and foremost, and, secondly, the length of your list.
Beyond organic list-building practices, your campaigns' quality and level of personalization are essential for your email marketing efforts to work.
If you’re not already doing so, the time is now to build up your mailing list and promote trust and value in your brand with engaging and targeted email communications.
Need help building your email list?
Building an email list can benefit your small business, but where should you start?
We can help.
If you want an extra hand marketing your small business, Book a Demo Call here for a free marketing consultation.