If you are looking to begin email marketing campaigns, the first step is to build your mailing list. This process however can be tedious, as you don’t want to miss any potential customers receiving your newsletter. With this step-by-step guide from Rise’s team of experts, you’ll be producing high-quality email campaigns in no time.
Step 1: Choose an Email Marketing Platform
The goal of email marketing is to automatically send advertisements, communications, and special offers to your clientele directly through their inbox, gaining useful data at the same time. To do this, you have to choose the right platform to send emails and receive data back. There are many online services that help with automation and data collection, like Mailchimp,Constant Contact, and more. However, here at Rise, we recommend Klaviyo. Klaviyo is known for its simplicity and high quality automation tools.
When it comes to picking the right platform for your business, look for ones that offer:
- Automation: Allows you to automatically send emails like welcome messages, abandoned cart reminders, or remarketing campaigns without lifting a finger.
- Templates: Pre-designed email layouts that help you create beautiful emails quickly, even if you’re not a designer.
- Analytics: Track open rates, click-through rates, and conversions so you can understand what’s working and what’s not.
- Integrations: Connects easily with your website, eCommerce platform, or social media accounts.
A platform that has all of the above features is a great pick and can do pretty much anything related to email marketing.
Step 2: Add Sign-Up Forms to Strategic Places
Having a great email marketing platform is only the beginning. You need a way for people to actually join your list. Strategic placement of sign-up forms is a great method of streamlining this process. The goal is to make it as easy and convenient as possible for your audience to find and fill out your form, no matter where they interact with your brand.
The three main places this happens are on your website, on your social media, and in-person. Utilize homepage pop-ups and order discounts for those who visit your website and supply their email. This increases the chance of a conversion, and gets the customer’s email so they receive your newsletter. Social media posts can direct potential customers to your page. Complement this with a link in your bio that takes people to a sign up form, along with an enticing string of text that drives clicks. In-person events can also be used to gain more opt-ins through QR codes, paper forms, and rewards accounts linked to POS systems. In-person opt-ins typically hold the most weight as they guarantee the email is linked to a real person who likes your business enough to shop there.
Step 3: Create a Clear, Valuable Opt-In Offer
Actually acquiring your potential customer’s email address is the primary hurdle to building a mailing list. This is obviously optional, but can drive growth and make conversions that otherwise wouldn’t have occurred. Offering a lead magnet to new customers who sign up can help procure more email addresses and increase the likelihood of closing a sale.
A lead magnet is a free item or incentive that is rewarded to new/potential customers who sign up to your mailing list. The best lead magnets are simple, useful, and directly aligned with what your target audience cares about some effective lead magnets include:
- Discount codes (e.g., 10% off your first order)
- Free downloadable guides or eBooks
- Giveaways or contests
- Access to otherwise locked content
- Free bonus gift with order
A good lead magnet is one that is highly relevant to your audience/business and makes them feel fairly rewarded for joining your mailing list.
Step 4: Promote Your Email List
Email marketing is highly regarded for its seamless integration into other marketing channels. If you already have a good social media presence and want to begin including email, utilize your account to direct traffic towards your mailing list. Mentioning opt-in opportunities in company videos, packaging, and promotional materials consistently reintroduces the idea of signing up to your clientele. The aforementioned lead magnet is only effective if people actually see it. So utilizing paid and free channels that mention your promotion for new opt-ins will entice potential customers. You can also consider running a simple ad campaign to expedite this process if email marketing has had a high return on investment.
Step 5: Set Expectations and Start Sending
Welcome new customers with friendly automated emails that give them a glimpse into what your newsletter will provide. This is also a chance to present your company in a way that excites new customers. Let your new subscribers know what they can expect from your emails and why they should continue to open them. Emails that pile up and collect dust in someone’s inbox don’t do anything to help drive business. This is why brand loyalty is so important, it keeps customers coming back even when there is no promotion. Emphasizing brand value is an effective method of keeping customers interested and opening new emails. Additionally, making sure new content is sent on a regular basis is key to keeping your customers interested. If no new emails are sent, your brand presence in their mind will fade.
Quality Over Quantity
Email lists can be purchased from data mining companies online, however we highly recommend you avoid this practice. Purchased email lists have questionable ethics and no guarantee that the addresses are even active. This results in low engagement and the potential for spam reports. If your company gets labeled as spam by Gmail or Outlook, you run the risk of losing the ability to send advertisements directly to inboxes.
Rather, focus on the quality of your list. It is better to have 100 active members, than 1000 inactive ones. Try to build trust and relevance with a small number of customers, then expand to more. This means focusing your emails on value and quality, rather than reaching a deadline. While discounts and promotions are always appreciated, you can also provide knowledge about your industry that interests your customers. If people are regularly checking their emails for your content, and they are automated to send regularly, the work is pretty much done for you. Additionally, utilize metrics provided to you to see who is completely ignoring your emails, who is engaging with them, and which factors get the most clicks (promo codes, new product releases, exciting graphics).
Stay Consistent
As previously mentioned, consistency is key. It is difficult enough to get consumers interested in your brand, so don’t lose that momentum by not following your mailing schedule or sending low quality content. If you are finding the task of building and automating your mailing list daunting, contact our team of experts at Rise Marketing Group for a free consultation today! We are specialists in email marketing and can work with any platform.
