If you’re looking for tips on how to grow an email list, you’ve come to the right place. We asked a handful of business owners and marketing experts for their tips and tools for collecting email addresses that they can then use to generate new leads and stay in touch with existing customers.
here are 16 easy ways to collect email addresses so you can build a valuable list.
1. make sure there is something for them (and never, ever spam)
Think about the emails you open and the ones you immediately delete. I assume you don’t open any email that you don’t think will benefit you or your business in some way. so when you ask for a customer’s email, be sure to offer them something valuable in return. Whether it’s a coupon or early access to a new product or sale, an e-book or other clever content, or a chance to win a prize, when you request someone’s email, make sure there’s something valuable for them. ~ doug churchill, CEO, shortstack.
2. offer helpful resources
“offering ‘knowledge products’ as a way to collect email addresses, including interviews with industry leaders, tips, presentations. The resources also give me information to offer in slideshows in my talks. I also include the verb, ‘if you find this email useful, please forward it to a friend’ in every email, which has increased my list by 50 percent.” ~ John Paul Engel, Knowledge Capital Consulting.
3. use facebook ads
“Hands down, the most affordable and cost-effective way to grow a list of leads for email marketing is through facebook ads. We have easily achieved 7 figures in sales in the last 12 months by using direct targeted facebook ads to capture leads (name and email). Facebook’s user base is at an all time high, and the age range of its users is ideal for most businesses these days. the 30-55+ user base has seen massive growth, while the 13-25 age group has dropped significantly.
Whether you’re an independent entrepreneur, a midsize business, or a large corporation, Facebook is an incredibly powerful way to capture new leads. Even on a modest budget, you capture dozens of new leads every day. And the best part is, these are leads who are predisposed to buy what you’re selling. you can target them very specifically based on their age, geographic location, behaviors, and even their online purchase history.
Our company raised 7 figures in sales, just from facebook leads. On average, we capture 50-150 leads per day through targeted Facebook Ads. the good times will only last so long before the user base moves on to something new. now is the time to dive in full force and strike while the iron is hot.” ~ corey robert,director of marketing for black card books publishing.
4. offer free video tutorials
“At deskbright, we collect email addresses to use for marketing purposes by offering free excel tutorials and lessons via email to our users. we have developed a huge body of free content online, which attracts users through referrals from other websites and a strong organic search presence. Visitors who find our free articles useful can sign up to receive more information and classes via email as we update our site and add content. Our users stay up-to-date on the latest free content available on our site , and we may collect valuable email addresses to market our paid products.” ~sam mcintire, founder of deskbright.
5. promote your newsletter subscription on your entire website
“I collect email addresses through subscriptions to newsletters that I include on my website. the location I get the most subscriptions from is a popup on my blog, but visitors can also sign up by checking a box on any form. putting it in front of visitors is the best way to go, so any chance you get, put an option to sign up in front of visitors. my favorite tool is mailchimp because it interfaces well with wordpress websites and managing subscribers and campaigns is extremely easy. makes it easy to create beautiful newsletters and auto-send my latest blog posts . I’ve used contests in the past to gather subscribers, but if this method is used, make sure participants can opt in or out of your newsletter or else you’ll get a lot of unqualified subscribers who aren’t really interested in what you have to say. .” ~ nick leffler, founder of exprance.
6. be personal
“instead of sending mass mailings to your entire database, segment your lists according to the interests of the recipients. For example, if you are a pet food wholesaler and have a database for cat owners, you can email that database with details of a special offer for cats on your website. it is always useful to create the demographics of your database so that you can do more effective marketing through segmentation.
Think of this as a “boutique” email. select a small list of people with whom you want to develop a relationship. for example, people who fit the profile and personality of your perfect client. You’re not shooting a message at thousands of strangers here, you’re choosing the right ones because you know they’ll love doing business with you, and they’re right in your wheelhouse. make sure the piece you send them is highly personalized, so they never forget it. With today’s digital variable data printers, the amount of personalization in a mailing is limited only by how much you know about the recipient. don’t settle for customizing their name on the greeting; Please include your company name and what type of business they are in your message.” ~ victor clarke, be better, do more.
7. use popups to promote special offers
“The most robust email collection method we’ve experienced is using lightbox popups. Since email subscription forms are typically nested in a site’s footer or sidebar, lightbox popups make it easy for users to subscribe to your emails if they choose. We’ve had success including strong offers, like exclusive discounts, in our lightbox popups. We’ve also learned a lot through channel targeting and experimenting with different lightbox popups depending on how the user landed on our site.” ~ Randy Stocklin is co-founder and CEO of One Click and its three global eyewear brands: Readers.com, Sunglass Warehouse, and Felix + Iris.
8. organize contests!
“We’ve had incredible success lately with running contests. every month we give away a cash prize of 250-500 dollars as well as 5-10 items from our store. We do a lot of social media promotions and have averaged over 100 new signups per day. The cool part about this is that we use a platform so that when the customer logs in, they get extra points for social sharing through their network. the results have been amazing! ~ candice galek, CEO and founder of bikiniluxe.
9. make it very easy
“In addition to collecting addresses at all touchpoints, post signs announcing your ‘text to join’ information, add sign-up boxes on your website and all social profiles, and be sure to be vigilant about collecting cards when be online. When you receive a card, be sure to ask the person if they’d like to be added to your email list; don’t add any card you receive without asking. it all comes down to remembering that these are people, not just email addresses, and treating them with respect, just like you would any client in real life!” ~ lisamarie dias by lisamarie dias designsworks with business owners to leverage social media for profitable growth.