Despite a number of new marketing strategies, email is still as relevant as ever. But before you can start creating your first email campaign, you need an email list. Even if you already have one, you should bear in mind that email marketing data decays at a very fast pace – by 22.5% every year. People change jobs, phone numbers, and email addresses, meaning that you need a fresh influx of contacts in order to keep your list updated and your funnel full.
As purchasing a list is a big no-no for many reasons, here are some tips on how to grow your list with high-quality, targeted contacts and subsequently boost your conversion rate.
Create Superb Content
When we say “content” we mean both your website content and your email copy. You won’t go very far if your resources are scarce and you don’t offer value to your recipients. One of the best ways to capture new leads and get website visitors to submit their email addresses is by producing highly-relevant content that tackles some of your target audience’s biggest pain points. Make sure to optimize it for search engines so that your visitors can find you when they’re searching for a solution.
There are several ways to get website visitors to give you their email address. For example, you can use a Subscribe button on every web page, which is a pretty subtle way. Gating your premium content is another solution, and it can be very effective if the content you’re locking is really unique and valuable. However, you have to give your visitors a good reason to subscribe, meaning that your regular free content must be worth reading as well.
Participate in Social Media Groups
81% of all SMBs use some kind of social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora, and other social media and Q&A platforms are great for boosting your visibility and drawing the attention of your target audience. This tactic is very straightforward – join different groups relevant to your business and start regularly contributing to the community by being helpful – answering questions, sharing your experience, or giving advice.
When we’re talking about using Facebook as a list-building tool, it’s worth mentioning that by posting in groups, you’ll also overcome the problem of decreased organic reach. Every time you comment, other members interested in that topic will receive a notification. Besides, posts in groups receive greater visibility as they show up on members’ newsfeeds. The trick is to avoid being too pushy and promoting your website or business blatantly right away as that will put your potential visitors off. First, work on building your reputation and establish yourself as an expert. When the time is right, you can start posting links to your opt-in landing page.
Re-Engage Your Stale Contacts
If you have an old list with stale contacts, don’t just get rid of it without squeezing potential sales opportunities out of it. It’s a good idea to create an opt-in email campaign in which you’ll remind your old contacts of your company, ask them to opt-in if they wish, and promise that you’ll remove those who don’t want to receive your updates from your list. Although it seems a bit strange that a tip for growing your list is the one that will perhaps decimate it, you shouldn’t worry about this. As a matter of fact, this process is among the most important steps in data hygiene. By getting rid of those who aren’t interested in your company, product, and offers, you’ll have a clean list that’s worth investing your time and effort into. This will, in turn, ensure that your message reaches only the people who care and are most likely to convert, resulting in more accurate metrics.
Leverage Social Proof
Word of mouth has always been one of the most effective marketing methods, mainly because customers trust each other more than they trust brands. That’s the reason why so-called peer-to-peer marketing has become increasingly popular. What does this mean? Instead of asking and prompting your prospects to sign up for your campaign, subscribe for your newsletter, or convert in any other way, you should let your existing happy customers do that for you. Customer reviews on your landing pages and website can serve as a nudge when someone is on the fence and trying to decide whether to subscribe and give you their personal information. This is a powerful psychological tool that will add genuineness and credibility to your lead generation efforts.
These four simple steps can help you grow your email list and make sure that the contacts you add are truly interested in what you have to offer. Having a high-quality list will result in much higher conversion rates and the success of your email campaigns.
About Michael
Michael Deane has been working in marketing for almost a decade and has worked with a huge range of clients, which has made him knowledgeable on many different subjects. He has recently rediscovered a passion for writing and hopes to make it a daily habit. You can read more of Michael’s work at Qeedle.