Businesses of any size can use email marketing effectively to develop strong leads, build relationships, and inexpensively get their message out. Yet many people are unsure how to collect email addresses. It can be a slow process, and you need to focus on quality, not just quantity.
By making your business readily available to the world, you can begin to build your email list by collecting addresses using the following methods:
1. Your company website: At the very least, use your website to collect email addresses. If you're not promoting your email list on your website, you're not using your website well enough. Add a sign-up form on every page of your website and make it quick and easy for potential customers to fill it out. Get only the info you need up front and ask for further details later.
2. Current email lists: Using current email lists to build your own email list is an essential part of your growth. If your current recipients see something of value to them, they may think their friends will benefit as well. Allowing them to pass your email along may easily add more to your list.
3. Contests: Register participants address and announce the winner through your next newsletter or email campaign.
4. In-store sign-up: When checking out or browsing around a store, allow people to sign up for your email list by way of sign-up forms. I am sure you have been asked for your address a few times when shopping at your favourite store.
5. Coupons & discounts: Offer special incentives through email only and allow them to pass it along to friends.
6. Advertisements & direct mail: Never pass up the opportunity to inform readers about your email community. Direct them to your website or have them send an email to you requesting their addition.
7. Business cards: On the back of your business card, promote your website and the opportunity to receive informative emails or newsletters.
8. Trade shows & networking events: Offer collateral material that requests them to sign-up on their own.
9. Seminars: Give seminars on your area of expertise and have people sign-up to your mailing list for future seminars, discounted rates, and other announcements.
10. Social Media: Use social sites like Twitter and Facebook to direct customers to your website or landing page where they can fill out a sign-up form. For example, host your own group on Facebook and invite people to it. Then post new links often. From time to time, post a link to sign up for your newsletter or service.
By no means are these the only 10 ways that work. Be creative with these ideas, mix and match, or come up with your own ways to collect emails.
Whatever route you choose to take, remember, you should always build your own opt-in list from scratch and never buy or rent a list from an outside source. That will only lead to more headaches down the road that will cost your business a lot of time and money.
Have a suggestion for your fellow readers on collecting email addresses? Let us know @simplycast.
