How to Grow Your Email Marketing List

What business—whether belonging to an entrepreneur or to a large corporation—does not want to grow its email marketing list? The more engaged subscribers you have, after all, does directly lead to increased sales.

The key word, however, is the word “engaged.” Your subscribers have to want your email newsletter, look forward to it, and recognize that they are not being spammed—that they did indeed sign up to receive email from you. And purchasing email lists can backfire, resulting in unsubscribes, and even worse—spam complaints.

With email providers blacklisting companies with as little as two spam complaints, you want to make sure you grow your list the right way. Read on for tips to help you grow your email marketing with ready to shop online, happy subscribers.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Add an email subscription link to every page of your website.
   
   Don’t miss any online opportunity to capture email addresses. This method is free and entirely under your control. No excuses!
   
   Be sure to tell customers what they get out of the deal and place the link in a prominent spot on the page. Since the latest studies show that online readers tend to read in a “Z” pattern, consider placing it in the top left or right corner of the page.

2. Make the sign-up form easy to use.
   
   No need to collect the subscribers’ family history and credit report here. Require the minimum amount of demographic information. Email survey tools and Web analytics solutions can help you fill in the blanks later. Websites with simple “submit your email address” forms on each page tend to get the most conversions.

3. Offer an incentive.
   
   Incentives can be coupons, white papers, or even a chance to win a prize. Choose your incentive wisely. The idea is to attract subscribers and then keep them. There’s always the danger that subscribers will just sign up to receive the free item and then immediately unsubscribe—so be careful!

4. Go off-line.
   
   Don’t forget your off-line points of sale such as conventions, sales presentations, or store-fronts. Print sign-up forms and supply each of these places. And even the old fish-bowl method has been known to work. Customers usually enjoy throwing their business cards in fish bowls if a prize is involved. Just make sure they understand they are opting in to receive email promotions from you.

5. Encourage sharing.
   
   Use social forwarding tools to encourage your current subscribers to forward their emails to friends and to share on their social networks. Viral marketing can take off putting your company in the social spotlight!

6. Produce great content.
   
   Remember that old adage, "Content is king!" and make your email newsletter worthwhile. Mix promotional news along with articles and other types of content that gives your subscribers what they want and keeps them comng back—and spreading the word!

Resources

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[lighthouse1958]

on 8/1/2009 This is a well written article and alot of good information. Thanks for shareing all of them with us. 5*

[scentbygod]

on 7/27/2009 Great advice...5*