Attracting new subscribers to your small business email list takes time, creative thought and constant attention!
However, instead of looking at it as a numbers game, look at it more strategically. It is far better to have fewer email address which belong to your perfect customer than hundreds of lukewarm prospects. Keep in mind that the age-old adage that 20% of your customer base is responsible for 80% of your revenue. It is very close to the truth for many small businesses or even big corporations who will have cleverly segmented lists.
If growing your list is one of your priorities this year, then try the following steps.
1. Goals (again!)
If you want to grow your list, ask yourself one question – how am I going to bring value to my customer through their inbox? Define what you want to achieve, and this will help you decide upon the best channels to obtain email addresses.
2. Look at what you have
Look at the processes you have in place and the resources you have to hand. There are tweaks everyone can make to enhance what you already have to hand.
Social sites – Face book, LinkedIn et al are great spots to let people know they can subscribe to your company news, download your free resources or grab an exclusive offer.
Your website – add in a pop-up to alert visitors to your website and newsletter option.
Customer service – add in an option on your emails or via your phone calls which encourages people to sign up for your list.
After each project ask your customers if they would like to join your newsletter list.In fact, add an option to ‘join our list’ to your email signature with a direct link to your CRM
3. Use your content marketing wisely
Valuable content is the key here! You might want to offer resources to help your customers, such as:
A free consultative call
Webinars
Templates or customisable templates
Case studies or white papers
A new app
4. Spike up your social media
Paid for advertisements are worth considering if they are broadening the reach of your business and you can add in an email opt-in form. Testing platforms and advertisements will help you reach the best results.
You can continue to use organic posts to capture the email addresses from your existing audience. If you have a good number of followers, remind them that they can sign up for your newsletters and access the deals you want to push.
5. PR wins
Nothing pushes out your expertise faster than a bit of positive PR! Getting your name or business featured in a popular site or media outlet can work wonders. Responding to journalist requests or seeking out guest blog opportunities not only boost your own website’s domain authority, but they are also great opportunities to let new audiences your business is ready to help them.
6. Good old -fashioned direct mail
Direct mail remains popular and is possibly more popular than emails which can get lost in the noise of the day. Why not create a series of mailers that encourage people to subscribe to your newsletter or join your email list? This is a particularly powerful local tactic as people do respond to local direct mail. It’s not over expensive to send out a direct mail option to say a 20-mile radius and then convert new subscribers by offering them an irresistible offer in the mail!
If you’d rather not pay for ads, you can still use organic social posts to capture email addresses from your existing audience. You may have plenty of potential customers already following you on social, now it’s just a matter of letting them know they can subscribe to your blog or get exclusive discounts through email.
Email marketing is never going to be a quick win and should be thought of as a long-term strategy that can take time to get results, but it’s absolutely worth it. As long as you’re focused on the unique value you bring to your customers, your list will grow.
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