Some of the things that you can implement when using this powerful tool to grow your business are the following:
Personalize your emails
It goes without saying that first impressions matter, and this is triple important for emails. Quick question: What would you do if you subscribed to a company’s email newsletter only to find out that their emails are kind of boring? Simple fonts, no backgrounds, no signatures, and so on. What will happen is that you will ignore them, and eventually they’ll automatically end up in your spam folder. This is exactly what would happen to your emails if you don't pay special attention to your email’s presentation. Of course, you need to be careful and limit personalization to the subject line and the first line of the message, or your email may seem forced or fake. Also, don’t overshoot its design, just use something related to what you do as a business or professional.
Use blogging and Landing pages
Your mailing list will go as far as the means you use to market will take it. This means that you can’t just use a corner of your website to show a sign up form and call it a day. What you really want is to get traffic, and put your mailing list out there.
You can do that by having a blog dedicated to content outside your website, with carefully structured information that can be used to get traffic from wherever you can and then insert a landing page with a call to action to join your mailing list.
Make good use of Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are teasers or incentives that you offer in a call to action to motivate your prospects to join your mailing list. The trick behind a lead magnet is giving away something that can only be obtained by joining your mailing list.
For example, giving away a free eBook, tips, or pieces of content that is not going to be published on the website and is exclusive, can be wonderful lead magnets.
Even if your prospects only sign up for the promise of a one-time free piece of content, they will be on your mailing list. From then on, it's up to you to keep them engaged.
Use 100% effort when creating your emails’ content
If a personalization is the appetizer, then quality content is the full meal. You already sent emails, but what you really want is for your customer to read them and make use of its contents. Creating quality content for your emails guarantees that your customers will be waiting for the upcoming email. Build up anticipation by creating special content from time to time, hosting contests, sending gifts to random customers, anything to keep them on edge!
Allow guest posting
Guest posting is a great way to make your prospects and repeated customers perceive you as a reliable source of information. By allowing guest posting and announcing it on your newsletter, you can have people wanting to read something from a different perspective. It will also generate traffic by means of word of mouth. If somebody on your mailing list sees a guest post from somebody that knows someone is going to enjoy, they will forward that email to that person, so you’ll probably add someone to your mailing list!
Use paid list building services if you can afford them.
While it is true that you can use some free services to manage your mailing list, it is also true that their usefulness will get limited as your mailing list grows. Not only will you be limited to a low number of subscribers, but your options to refine your list will be limited, as well. That’s why we recommend using paid services to manage your mailing lists and to assist you in expanding it. In any case, you have to remember that the costs of email marketing are the lowest among marketing methods, and it also offers the biggest return of investment!
Give away stuff to your subscribers, so they reciprocate.
There’s a simple yet all too often overlooked rule for email marketing, and it is simply about not offering something for your customer to buy during their first week on your mailing list. Instead, give them something like a gift card, or a free eBook.
By giving them something that they don’t have to pay for, you are in fact building up loyalty. This way, you’re teaching customers that you trust them by giving them a gift, and at the same time you’ll be teaching them to trust you back.
Study your customers, so you can properly target them.
You can use multiple ways to study your customer base and prospects. You can do it by using metrics, by visiting the kind of websites they visit, or by the kind of products and services that they buy, but you have to do it. This will be helpful, because if you know your customers, you don’t have to offer them everything you sell. You only have to target them and give them what you know they want. Email each of your customer segments with what they’re looking for, and they'll stick with you.
Work on follow-up emails.
You need to have a follow up email ready to be sent once somebody signs up for your mailing list. It is as simple as sending out an email welcoming a new subscriber and taking them to a start page with instructions and information about what he or she can do now that they’re signed in!
Run periodic maintenance checks on your Mailing List.
You need to run a periodic maintenance check on your mailing list to know where your resources are going. It is just not worth it to have users getting your emails in their spam folders, or have dead addresses on your list. Make sure you do this clean up from time to time.
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