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Why is List Building and Email Marketing so important?
Email Marketing and List Building go together like bread and butter or tea and sugar. It is like any typical dynamic duo that you know. They are perfect for each other and complement each other’s features positively. This is one of the oldest practices in the Internet Marketing Sector. It is because they are truly a key to obscene profit if done well. This is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Think about all the products you’ve bought from an email. If you can think of just one product you bought through an email from a marketer then you’ve proven the effect of email marketing and list-building. There are so many merits that prove their worth together. Read carefully to understand why you need to get in on the action if you already haven’t. If you have it’s great to truly understand why you are doing it so you can be properly motivated and positively prepared to enjoy success.
Strategies to create an effective contact list
- Provide a link on your website through which people can sign up for an e-mail from you.
- Produce great content that requires people to share an e-mail address to access it.
- Ask attendees of seminars/webinars to provide an email address where you can send your presentations.
- Add contacts you meet at networking events and conferences.
- Add contacts who sign up for company events and activities to your e-mail database.
- Include a signup button that gathers e-mail addresses on your social media platforms.
- Come up with a contest in exchange for e-mail addresses.
- Include a pop-up on your website that invites people to join your list.
Why is list building advantageous to your Online Marketing Efforts?
Simple business principles dictate the more people you can get to the more business and traffic your business has access to. Once you have these targeted clients and potential prospects on your list you can have access to them upon will. You can build relationships and generate money by sending ads, discounts, and incentives, and keeping them informed of what is happening around your business. This literarily leads to more sales and better customer relationships.
“The money is in the list”. This is one of the truest sayings in Internet Marketing. Think about it and what else pays you to develop it? While you’re building your list you can be making money at any time. You can start with just one person, build a valuable relationship and scale your efforts easily. It’s also fantastic that nowadays with the help of technology, the whole process can be automated and made as simple as a few clicks in the morning. There are so many solutions out there to solve many email marketing problems that you would have to be lazy to not do it.
Features of Email Marketing
Let us also not forget one of the most beautiful features of email marketing: the minimal cost required to run it successfully. Email marketing is basically the cheapest marketing and campaigning format available to a business. You can get started for basically $20, a pizza box, or a nice dinner at a nice restaurant. Apart from its cheap costs, it requires very little investment in time to set up and run.
Today, you can even outsource your effort easily and successfully to a virtual assistant. If by now you have not realized the power of emails and lists to build a successful business you will never appreciate its power. This is okay because all the profits you will be missing out on can easily be put to use by the smart marketers who are already tapping into this source.
Integrating Email with Mobile Devices Responsiveness
According to studies, 70% of users read their emails through their mobile devices and check them more than three times a day. In relation to this, research also shows that more than 60% of web page views were done through users’ mobile devices. With these statistics, it’s enough to consider that reaching consumers through their mobile devices and ensuring your emails are optimized for mobile devices, is crucial. It is obvious that it is much easier to explore the internet on someone’s phone rather than on their personal computer.
It is important that your website should have mobile device optimization. The experience of a user on your website using their mobile can cause a great impact on their impression and interest. We do not like users to unsubscribe and report our content as spam.
Below is a checklist if your email is mobile responsive:
- Adding alt text
- Evenly proportioned text in combination with images
- Avoid using multiple-column layouts, unless created with a responsive template
- Make sure you have properly sized images
- Use buttons instead of inline CTAs
Importance of Building an Email List
Email marketing on average sees a 4300 percent return on investment (ROI) for businesses in the USA. Email subscribers who joined your email list from your website and verified their identity by clicking are extremely interested in what you have to offer. This is why they are more likely to convert into paying customers. That is why an email list gets 10 times higher conversions than social media campaigns.
Below are the reasons why email is a very powerful communication channel:
1. Email is Direct and Personal
The email automatically lets you land into a user’s inbox. The ranking system limits our reach and is not required.
2. Email always has a Purpose
To get updates from you, a user fills out a form to signup for your email list and confirm their email address. Someone doing this much work is obviously interested in hearing from you, and they are much more receptive to your message.
3. Email is Targeted
As we mentioned earlier, the user has already shown interest in your product or content. Since you already know what they like, you can deliver them highly relevant offers to get better results. This is called segmentation, and we will cover that later in the article.
4. You Own Your Email List
You do not own Facebook, Twitter, or Google. Your social media campaigns and SEO efforts can go to waste when these platforms change their policies. On the other hand, you own your email list, and it is not influenced by the decisions of other businesses.
5. Email is One-on-One
People read emails in the privacy of their inboxes. The message is not on a public timeline or newsfeed. They can ask you questions directly in private with confidence. This helps build trust and connection.
6. More People Use Email Several Times a Day
You may have heard that Facebook has 1.4 billion and Twitter has 100 million daily active users. What you may not have heard, is the number of people using Email every day. Every internet user has at least one email account. Recent research conducted by Radicati found that there are 3.8 billion active email accounts. That’s half the population of Earth.
This is precisely why every smart business in the world has an email list. Big brands learned this lesson a long time ago, and that’s why they spend thousands of dollars on social media campaigns to get people to sign up for their email lists. They understand that email marketing is the best long-term investment with a much higher return because people will continue to get their message at a very low cost for a longer period of time.
Summary
Email marketing is a crucial strategy for businesses looking to connect with and engage their target audience effectively. With the growing reliance on digital communication, email has become a primary platform for businesses to reach out to potential customers. However, a successful email marketing campaign is dependent on having a solid and quality email list. List building is the process of gathering and growing an email database of interested individuals who have willingly opted in to receive communications from your business.
This process is essential as it allows businesses to cultivate a targeted and engaged audience, increasing the chances of converting prospects into customers. Furthermore, having a well-segmented email list enables businesses to personalize their messages, providing relevant and valuable content to each recipient.
By implementing effective list-building strategies, businesses can build trust and credibility with their subscribers, establishing a strong relationship that can drive sales and long-term success. Therefore, investing time and effort into email marketing and list building is crucial for businesses to maximize their online presence and effectively reach their target audience.
FAQs:
1. What is email marketing and why is it important for my business?
Email marketing is the practice of sending targeted messages and promotional content to a group of individuals via email. It is important for your business because it is an effective and cost-efficient way to communicate with your audience, build relationships, and drive conversions. With email marketing, you can reach your customers directly in their inboxes, deliver personalized content, and track the performance of your campaigns.
2. How does list building tie into email marketing?
List building is the process of growing your email subscriber list by capturing the contact information of individuals who are interested in your products or services. It ties into email marketing because, without a quality list of subscribers, you won’t have anyone to send your emails to. Building a strong and engaged email list is crucial for the success of your email marketing campaigns.
3. What are the benefits of building an email list for my business?
Building an email list has several benefits for your business. Firstly, it allows you to have direct and consistent communication with your audience. You can send targeted messages, promotions, and updates to your subscribers, ensuring that your brand stays top of mind. Additionally, an email list gives you ownership over your audience, unlike social media platforms where you rely on algorithms and changes in policies. Lastly, email marketing has one of the highest ROI compared to other marketing channels, making it a valuable asset for any business.
4. How can I start building an email list?
There are several strategies you can use to start building an email list. One common method is to offer a lead magnet, such as a free e-book, checklist, or webinar, in exchange for your visitor’s email addresses. You can also create opt-in forms on your website, blog, or social media platforms to encourage visitors to subscribe to your email list. Additionally, running contests or giveaways that require participants to provide their email addresses can also help you grow your list.
5. What type of content should I send to my email subscribers?
The type of content you send to your email subscribers will depend on your business and your audience’s interests. You can send newsletters with industry updates, product announcements, and helpful tips. You can also send promotional emails showcasing your latest offers or discounts. Personalized content, such as birthday emails or exclusive deals for loyal customers, can also resonate well with your subscribers. The key is to provide value, be relevant, and engage with your audience.