Building an email list is the same as creating a customer base for your business.
Not only does it build awareness, but also helps build a business that you can rely on for years.
As the saying goes, money is on the (email) list, so as your email list grows, your money piles up.
However, you cannot achieve this without proper strategies.
You cannot have a huge email list of random subscribers and expect profits.
To succeed, you need genuine, targeted, and engaging subscribers.
But how do you grow such an email list? This article goes over how you can grow your email list and build a successful online business.
Develop a Website for Your Business
You can only grow an email list if people know about your business. A website is a convenient way through which you can create brand awareness.
It`s a tool that helps create content and showcase your products and services to your target audience.
Through the website, people will also know how and when to reach you.
The good thing is, to develop a website, you don`t require web development skills.
Various web development programs provide step-by-step guidelines on how to create a website.
What`s better, you can even start with a free plan and upgrade it later. However, you will not be able to access many features as with paid plans. For instance, you can`t install SEO plugins to help you boost your rank.
Also, you can`t use better themes, like Generate Press, that can make your website appealing to clients.
Some of the reliable web development programs are
Although free plans are helpful, the domain names include the web development software name, making you look unprofessional. To look professional, use custom domains.
Custom domains build credibility and authority and are easy to remember.
Your website should look like this: themailscheme.com and not themailscheme.blogspot.com.
Just for $15 per year, you can get a custom domain from Namecheap.
Here is a full Namecheap review so you can see how this tool can help you.
Write Helpful Blog Posts
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| Image by Ron Lach: Pexels |
It`s easy to get people to perform your call to action if you can entice them to read your blog posts. And that can encourage them to subscribe to your email list.
So, every time you create website content, ensure to add calls to action. It doesn`t always have to ask the readers to subscribe. It can be convincing them to
- Download e-books
- Register for free courses
- Register for giveaways
- Sign up for contests
Provided it`s an action that requires them to submit their email addresses, you can use it to entice them.
For your blog content to effectively entice readers to sign up to your email list, ensure it`s relevant to their intent and answers their queries.
To create intent-focused content, you have to know the keywords people use when searching for content related to your niche. You can know this by keyword research, which you can easily do using keyword research tools.
You only need to type your keyword in the tool and click on search. It`ll give you several keyword variations and their volume and competition.
Some of the efficient tools you can use are
Alternatively, you can paste and search your keyword on the search engines. Then check how people use the same keyword in their articles and take insights.
Besides, below the search results, you`ll find a list of suggestions related to your keyword. You can tweak your keyword based on those as well.
After you get the perfect keyword, create compelling, scannable content and optimize it for SEO—not forgetting to add a call to action.
Create a Professional Email Address
Due to the high rise in spamming, it`s scary to open an email from a generic email address—even when it`s genuine.
To increase your email open rate, create a business email address. This is an email address that includes your business name.
For example, if your business website is SimpleHustles.com, the business email can be mape@simplehustles.com and not a generic one like simplehustles@gmail.com.
The second one doesn`t engender trust since it is unrelated to the referred business. The business is simplehustles.com and not gmail.com.
You can get a free professional email address if you register for a paid plan when creating your website.
However, if you run out of cash, you can create a free website, and pay for the business email address separately.
Business email address costs vary from one email provider to the other, but with $13.2 you can get one at GetResponse.
Read this GetResponse review. It covers all of the features you need for your business.
Compose Compelling Emails
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| Image by Mohamed_hassan: Pixabay |
Emails could be trustworthy, but if they aren`t attention-grabbing, still, the recipients will not open them. To write appealing emails,
Make Your Subject Line Click-Worthy
An email can be worth clicking on only if it relates to the recipient’s needs, and that shows in the subject line. That`s because it is the first part people see before opening your emails.
For example, sending an email with SEO Tips as the subject line to social media marketing subscribers won`t generate open rates.
Additionally, you should be precise and use actionable words in your subject lines.
A subject line that says, Email Marketing Hacks, won`t be more effective than one saying, Email Marketing Tips to Increase Subscribers.
The latter explains what benefits one can get from opening an email. Meanwhile, the first one is generic; it doesn`t explain the email hacks` importance.
Ensure Emails are Scannable
Online content is more readable if it`s broken into small sections. Huge walls of text are tiresome to read and can make your readers leave your emails before finishing reading them.
When the paragraphs are short, readers can easily read and understand.
Effective paragraphs should be 1 to 3 sentences.
Include one idea per paragraph, and create short, active sentences.
Short sentences are faster to read and easier to understand than long, complex ones.
Here is an example:
Preparing tea is easy. You only need to mix tea leaves with milk. Then boil it for twenty minutes.
This paragraph contains short and logically connected sentences, making it easy to understand.
Here is an example of a long, complex, and ununderstandable paragraph:
I had a fierce dog that barked at any visitor and made people afraid of visiting us, so we killed it and now people can come and play football with us without fear of being bitten.
This paragraph is too long and hard to follow. It talks about a dog, then jumps on to playing football without a clear transition, losing its focus.
Also, use bold and italics to emphasize words that the readers must know.
Bold phrases or words that need more emphasis than italics.
Here is an example of bold in a sentence:
For your emails to be readable, create short paragraphs with brief sentences.
The bolded phrase catches the readers` attention and stands as the most important part of the sentence; thus, they can`t skip it.
Use italics for quotes, cites, dialogue, thoughtful conversations, and weaker emphasized words than bold.
Italics are perfect in a sentence like
To get online jobs, you need to be a proficient writer.
The italicized word stands out so it can`t be skipped. However, it`s weakly emphasized because it`s not a must that you be a proficient writer to get online jobs.
Items are also readable when arranged logically. To do that, use numbered lists for sequential items and unnumbered lists (bullets) for items that don`t follow a specific order.
Craft an Intriguing Call to Action
Without telling your clients what to do after reading your emails, it`s impossible to entice them to perform your preferred action.
To benefit from your emails, urge readers to take your desired action, which can be
- Buying your products or services
- Subscribing to your email list
- Downloading your e-book
- Reading your blog posts
- Sharing your content on social media
To make the call to action effective, use actionable, intriguing language and be brief.
This implies being specific in the action you want people to take. Readers should know the value they`ll get after taking the action. That`s how they`ll be enticed to act.
An example of a compelling call to action is,
Download the free e-book to learn how to make $10,000 monthly, blogging.
What makes this call to action effective is it doesn`t just tell people to download a free e-book. It shows them what they`ll get for doing so—earning $10,000 monthly.
Add Social Share Buttons to Your Emails
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| Social media buttons: geralt: Pixabay |
It`s effective to ask your subscribers to share your content on social media if the emails are integrated with social media buttons. They can click on the buttons and be quickly redirected to their social media profiles.
Having your content shared on social media avails it to many people. This enables you to entice them to buy products and services and subscribe to your email list.
To make your social sharing buttons successful, include a call to action telling people to share the content on social media. Also, ensure to create call-to-action button sizes that are visible.
Too small social media buttons might not be visible to the audience, hence not persuasive.
You can integrate social media buttons into your emails by using software such as
Create an Opt-In Form
Some people will land on your website and not read your content to the end, which might make them not reach the call to action.
In that case, an opt-in form can help urge them to take your desired action.
You can create a permanent opt-in form that people see when they land on the site. Alternatively, you can create one that pops up to ask for their emails when leaving the web page or after scrolling for some time.
To make your opt-in form successful, create a benefit-driven call to action that`s specific about what value readers can get.
Also, use colors that make it stand out from the page background and place it in a section where it`s easily visible. You can place it at the top or on the sides of the website.
This can help convince people without reading your content.
To create opt-in forms, you can use tools like
Give Discounts and Exclusive Offers
Offers help clients save money. You can use them to convince people to subscribe to your email list.
However, ensure the offer is relevant to the audience and can benefit them.
For instance, if you offer social media marketing services, you can offer a free Instagram marketing e-book. For people to be able to download it, they`ll be required to submit their emails.
Besides, you can create a course that goes for say $100 and offer a 50% discount. People will submit their emails so they can get the discount.
Promote Your Business on Social Media
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| Social Media by PhotoMIX-Company: Pixabay |
Social media will benefit you according to how you use it. Not only is it for entertainment, but you can also use it to market your business.
Create various social media accounts under your business name to showcase your products and services.
Then create content related to your business and post your products` photos for people to see.
When people are pleased, they can buy the products or services and subscribe to your email list.
Besides, you can join social media groups and like pages related to your niche. On these pages, post content and interact with fellow business people.
That helps build relationships, making it easy to drive traffic to your website and convince them to perform your call to action.
Additionally, you can create social media contests and offer gifts to the winners. For people to opt into the contest, they`ll be required to subscribe to your email list.
To create social media contests, you can use tools such as
Social media contests can involve many things, e.g.,
- Asking people trivia or guessing questions
- Starting a short poem competition
- Starting the best photo contest
- Doing a caption contest
Also, you can create landing pages to entice your social media followers to buy your goods or subscribe to your email list.
For landing pages to be fruitful, create a value-focused headline and a brief intriguing copy. Then offer a giveaway relevant to your audience and add a clear, compelling call to action.
To create landing pages, you can use software like
Grow Your Email List and Create a Successful Online Business
Provided that you offer quality services, building an email list isn`t difficult.
Ensure to create a professional website and email. Then provide valuable content and offer discounts on your products and services.
Plus, create social media pages and join relevant groups where you can share your content and start various contests.
Moreover, market your business consistently and ensure to provide relevant content that solves clients` problems.
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