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What is an Email List?
An email list is a valuable asset to the successful marketing of your business. As you do business with your customers, you start building an email list by incorporating sign-up forms on your website and social media platforms. Over time, you end up with a hopefully large list of customers and prospects that you can send a marketing email to with the click of a button.
There are spam laws that must be followed, so you always want to make sure you are making your customer(s) subscribe to the list themselves whenever possible or that you have their desire to be added to your list in some form of written proof. You also have to make sure with every marketing/sales email you send, you are giving them the option to unsubscribe.
The percentage of marketing emails that get opened varies slightly per industry, and is nearly impossible to track these days due to mobile device privacy laws. However, a good range to aim for is a 17-28% open rate. I know, at first glance this percentage seems low. If you have 100 subscribers, only 32 of them are opening it?
But, if you have 1,000 subscribers, that means 170-280 of them are opening it, and if you have 5,000 subscribers, 850-1400 of them are opening it. You get the idea. If you do a cost analysis, you will find that the cost per person reached makes email marketing a very affordable marketing tactic.
Why You Should Have an Email List
1. It builds community.
Having an email list of your customers and prospects gives you a chance to build a community with them. It gets you in front of your audience on a regular basis and lets you connect with them. Think about the last five marketing emails you received. Which ones did you delete without reading, which did you only read the first paragraph of, and which did you read all the way through? Take a closer look at the email that you read all the way through. Did you read that one fully because it was more personal and kept your attention?
2. It allows you to grow traffic.
Whether you are trying to get more of your customers to your website, or your social media accounts, or both – you can use your email marketing campaigns to grow your traffic. Put valuable content on your website, and then you can link to it from your email newsletter. Talk about the services you have to offer in your newsletter, and link to your Services page on your website. Do the same thing with the promotion of your social media accounts – use your marketing email to encourage readers to follow and share your page, etc.
3. It has a broader reach than social media.
Think about the last post you put up on your Facebook page. How much engagement did you have? Did anyone like, comment, or share it? Do you worry that you posted on the wrong day or at a bad time? Depending on the content you posted and when you posted it, it’s possible that it wasn’t seen by a large percentage of your audience. While not everyone opens marketing emails that you send, you are still getting that email in the inbox of every single person on your list – instead of taking a chance they will see your social media post on the scroll. The best way to make sales is to get and stay in front of your audience, and their inbox is a lot more visible than their chance of seeing your post in their social media feed.
4. It is an inexpensive way to reach a lot of relevant people.
Most email provider pricing plans are based upon the number of subscribers that you have. So, as you grow your email list, the cost of the service will increase slightly. But, if you look at it on a per-person reach – it’s a very inexpensive marketing option for your business.
5. The subscriber data is yours.
With an email subscription list, you OWN your list. It lives inside your marketing email provider account. But, you have the ability to export it whenever you would like. If your provider were to shut down next week, you would have the latest export of your customer data. (Speaking of that, make sure you take regular backup exports from your account so you have them in your possession. You never know!)
It’s different on social media platforms. The users on social media are customers of THAT platform. Sure they are your customers too, but if Facebook were to shut down tomorrow, all of your Facebook followers are gone. How would you reach them? You may personally know a few of them, you may be able to find a few of them … but many of them would be gone. An email list makes sure that if all else fails, you at least have the email addresses of your customers and prospects.
How to Build your List
- Incorporate opt-in forms on your website and social media account(s)
- Mention your email newsletter on your social media accounts and encourage people to subscribe
- Offer a freebie in exchange for their subscription. Think printable guides, coupon codes, discount offers, etc.
Tips for Effective Email Campaigns
- Be consistent. If you are going to do an email newsletter, decide which frequency will work best for you and your team – and stick to it. Twice a month? Monthly? Every other month? Discuss a schedule that works for you, and stick to it.
- The subject matters. For many recipients, the subject of your email might be the only part of it that they read. If the subject doesn’t catch their attention, they are more likely to click “Delete” than they are to click “Open.”
- Offer valuable content. Everyone gets so many emails in their inbox each day. What can you do to make your email stand out? This is also important to consider when planning your frequency schedule. If you don’t think you have enough interesting information to share in a newsletter that sends twice a month, maybe you should send it monthly.
- Don’t send too many emails. There are varying opinions on this, actually, but as a consumer, I’m very quick to unsubscribe if a company bombards my inbox. There may be some cases where more frequent emails are appropriate, but make sure you consider your audience and plan the campaigns carefully. You don’t want to go to all the work of getting subscribers, to turn around and scare them off by sending too many emails.
Get Started with Mailerlite Today!
For my business, I use and recommend MailerLite. For users with less than 1,000 subscribers, the starter account is free. After that, the monthly cost starts at $15 per month and increases incrementally as your list grows. Their system is easy to use, allows for multiple campaigns and options, and offers a variety of tracking and features.
