How To Build An Email List Fast! 17 Proven Steps For Success
How to build an email list fast is a question that most business owners ask at some point. After all, email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach out to customers and promote your business or brand.
As a small business owner, you know how important it is to have a loyal customer base. And one of the best ways to build loyalty is through email marketing. It allows you to send personalized messages to your customers and keep them updated on your latest products, services, and promotions. Best of all, it’s a very cost-effective way to reach out to your target audience.
Why Email Marketing For Small Businesses Is Critical!
There are several reasons why email marketing is critical for small businesses. First, it’s an excellent way to build relationships with your customers. When you send regular updates, they begin to see you as a trusted source of information. This is important because people are more likely to buy from companies that they know and trust.
Another reason email marketing is important for small businesses is that it allows you to stay ‘top of mind’ with your customers. With so many businesses competing for attention, it’s easy for customers to forget about you. But if you stay in touch through email, you’ll always be one of the first companies they think of when they need your products or services.
Finally, email marketing is a great way to boost sales. Every time you send out an email campaign, you’re giving your customers a gentle reminder that you exist and that you have something they need. This can be enough to persuade them to make a purchase, especially if you include a special offer or discount code in your email.
17 Proven Steps For Building An Email List Fast!
Now that you know why email marketing is so important for small businesses, let’s take a look at several ways you can grow an email list fast. These seventeen steps will help you get started quickly and efficiently:
1. Identify Your Target Audience
The first step in building any successful email list is to identify your target audience. This can be tricky if you’re starting from scratch, but it’s essential to get right. After all, you can’t build an email list of people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer.
One way to narrow down your target audience is to think about who your ideal customer or client is. What are their demographics? What do they like and dislike? Where are they hanging out online? What kind of websites do they visit? What kind of social media platforms do they use? And most importantly, what problems are they having and how do you help to solve them?
Once you have a good understanding of your target audience, you can start to think about how to reach them. Answering these questions will help you determine the best way to reach your target audience and start building your email list.
2. Choose A Reliable Email Marketing Service
There are dozens of email marketing services out there, and it can be tempting to choose the first one you come across or the cheapest option. However, not all email marketing services are created equal.
Some are more reliable than others and offer more features for a small business. It’s important to take the time to research your options before you commit to one. Most email service providers will even offer a free trial so that you can test out their features before you commit to a paid plan.
Here are a few of the most popular email service providers in no particular order:
Although there are a lot of differences in providers, there are also a lot of similarities. Most email marketing software will allow you to do things like creating and sending email campaigns, segmenting your list, automating your emails, and tracking your results.
At the end of the day, you want to choose a service that will be easy for you to use, fits within your email marketing budget, and is reliable.
3. Create An Opt-in Form and Place It On Your Website
Once you’ve chosen an email marketing service, it’s time to set up an opt-in form on your website. This is how people will subscribe to your email list. An opt-in form is a simple form that asks for names and email addresses. It’s used to sign people up for your email list.
There are a few different ways you can create an opt-in form. If you’re using a WordPress website, there are plugins that will allow you to create forms and place them on your site.
Image source: Aweber
Another option is to use an email marketing service that provides opt-in forms. MailChimp, for example, has a feature called ” signup forms” that allows you to create and customize your forms. Once you’ve created your form, you need to decide where to place it on your website.
A good rule of thumb is to put it in a prominent location, such as above the fold (this is the area of the website that can be seen without scrolling) so that people will see it as soon as they visit your site.
4. Offer An Incentive For Signing Up To Your List
You can entice people to sign up for your email list with an exclusive discount code, a free shipping offer, a new client special, or a special opportunity to join a private VIP club or group.
The incentive you offer will depend on your business and what you think your target audience would be interested in. However, it’s important to make sure that the incentive is something that they can’t get elsewhere.
If you’re having trouble coming up with an incentive, think about it from the customer’s point of view. What would make you want to sign up for an email list from a company like yours? When you really start digging deep you should be able to come up with a few good ideas.
5. Create A Valuable Lead Magnet
A lead magnet is a freebie that you offer in exchange for your website visitor’s email addresses. Here are just a few examples of different types of lead magnets:
Cheatsheet or checklist
Ebook
Webinar
Bonus guides
List of valuable resources
A PDF of a blog post or a content upgrade
Mini-course
And more!
The key is to make sure that your lead magnet is something that your prospects will find valuable. It should be something that solves a problem or meets a need that they have.
Another idea for a freebie is to offer access to exclusive content, a free consultation, or a discount on your services. Something that provides real value and is relevant to your business is always going to be the most successful.
You can use your signup form to promote your lead magnet. For example, you could say something like, “Sign up for our email list and get our free guide to XYZ.”
6. Use Your Email Signature To Promote Your Email List
Your email signature is a great way to promote your email list and get new subscribers. Every time you send an email, your signature will be there, so it’s a perfect opportunity to get more people to sign up for your list.
There are a few different ways you can promote your email list in your signature. You could include a call-to-action, such as “Sign up for our email list to get exclusive offers and discounts.”
Another option is to include a link to your signup form or lead magnet in your email signature. For example, you could say something like, “Get our free guide to XYZ today and learn how to XYZ.”
7. Promote Your Email List On Instagram
Instagram is a great place to promote your email list because it’s a visual platform. You can use photos and videos to promote the lead magnet that we discussed earlier. The should be an ongoing promo and you should develop content to promote it at least several times a month.
One way to do this is to create an Instagram story and include a call-to-action that leads to your sign-up page. You can also post a photo or video and be sure to include a call to action in your caption that leads people to the link in your bio or your DM.
Another popular way to promote your email list on Instagram is to run a contest or giveaway. This is an excellent way to get people to sign up for your list because most people are always interested in winning free prizes. Just make sure that your prize is related to the services or products you offer. Giving away a general prize like an iPad or a gift card is not going to attract your target audience.
8. Offer A Free Consultation or Free Quote
Providing a free consultation or free quote to prospective customers and clients will help you to get more email subscribers quickly. A ‘free consultation or free estimate’ offer can also help your business in other ways such as building trust and credibility, generating new leads, and most importantly, closing sales.
In this example, we use a button to lead people to a booking page that gathers email subscribers and leads.
When you offer a free consultation, be sure to include a call-to-action that leads people to your sign-up page. You can also promote your free consultation or estimate on social media and in your email signature.
It’s important however to set a time and stick to it. If you are providing a ‘free 20-minute consultation’, make sure that you stick to 20 minutes. I have seen business owners get sucked into spending an hour or more with someone without realizing it, and this can really cut into your productivity.
9. Speak At Events and Conferences
Here’s another tip, if you want to get more email subscribers fast, start speaking at local events and conferences. This is a very good way to get in front of a large number of people who might be interested in what you have to offer.
When you speak at an event, be sure to include a call-to-action in your presentation that leads people to your sign-up page. You can also promote your email list on your conference materials such as your business card and PowerPoint slides.
10. Use Qr Codes at In-Person Events or At The Office
QR codes are becoming more and more popular, so take advantage of this technology to promote your email list. You can use QR codes in a variety of ways such as on your business cards, and on social media. You can also use them to promote giveaways, put them on flyers, and posters, at your front desk, and even on t-shirts.
When people scan your QR code, they should be taken to your sign-up page. You can also include a call-to-action with your QR code such as “Scan here to sign up for our email list and get exclusive offers.”
11. Build A Welcome Mat On Your Website
A welcome mat is a full-screen takeover opt-in on your website that you can use to promote your email list. It’s a powerful way to get visitors to sign up for your list, especially if you are offering something of value such as a lead magnet or free consultation.
When creating your welcome mat, be sure to include a strong call to action and make it easy for people to sign up for your list. The last thing you want is for someone to be interested in what you’re offering but not sign up because the process is too complicated.
Also, be sure to make sure that visitors can easily close the welcome mat and get to your content. There’s nothing worse than having an intrusive signup form that people can’t get rid of.
12. Use Pop-Ups On Your Website
Pop-ups are one of the most widely used and effective ways to build an email list. They are small opt-in forms that appear on your website when someone visits. You can use pop-ups to promote a freebie, a free consultation, or just to get people to sign up for your email list.
When using pop-ups on your website, be sure to make them targeted and relevant to your audience. You also want to make sure that they are not intrusive and that visitors can easily close them if they’re not interested. It always makes for a poor user experience when you have a pop-up that is difficult to close.
13. Create A Slide-In or Sidebar Opt-In Form On Your Website
If you have a blog, then you should definitely have an opt-in form in your sidebar. This is one of the best places to put an opt-in form because it’s highly visible and people are used to seeing them there.
You can also create a slide-in opt-in form that appears after a certain period of time when someone scrolls down your page. This is a great way to get people’s attention and get them to sign up for your mailing list.
14. Add An Email Signup Form To The Top Bar On Your Website
Another way to get people to sign up for your email list is to add an email signup form to the top bar on your website. The top bar is the horizontal bar that appears at the top of most websites above the header. This is prime real estate to put an opt-in form because it’s highly visible and people are used to seeing them there.
You can also make the top bar sticky so that even when people are scrolling down your page, they still see it. This is a great way to increase signups because people are constantly seeing it and it’s hard to miss.
15. Use Targeted Ads To Promote Your Email List
With targeted ads, you can easily and quickly increase your email subscribers. The key is to create an ad that is relevant to your target audience, has an attention-grabbing message, and includes a strong call to action.
You can use targeted ads on social media with Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, or Twitter Ads. Google Ads are another alternative depending on your budget, offer, and target audience.
When using paid ads, you want to make sure that you are driving traffic to a landing page and not your homepage. The goal is to get people to sign up for your email list and take advantage of your freebie, offer or other lead magnet and not just browse your business website.
16. Create A Quiz On Your Website
Quizzes are a fun and interactive way to increase your email subscribers. They are also a great way to segment your list so that you can send targeted emails later on. There are a number of different types of quizzes that you can create, such as a personality quiz, a knowledge quiz, or even a fun trivia quiz.
When creating your quiz, be sure to make it relevant to your target audience and make sure that the results are targeted as well. For example, if you have a dental blog, you could create a quiz about oral hygiene, and specialized procedures like veneers or teeth whitening and target future emails to people who have already shown interest in those topics.
17. Utilize Your Social Media DM’s
It all goes down in the DM! Utilizing your social media DM’s to grow your email list is a great way to get more personal with your audience and build rapport. You can do this by running a contest or giveaway, offering exclusive content, or exclusive access to your products or services.
Make sure to let your audience know that they can gain access to your offer by DM’ing you and make it easy for them to do so by asking them to use a short word or phrase in the DM. This is an awesome way to increase signups and grow your email list in no time.
Conclusion
Learning how to build an email list is critical for any business owner. A targeted email list that you regularly communicate with will provide you with a targeted group of people who already trust you. They are also more likely to believe in your product or service. You can always encourage repeat sales in your business by providing valuable content and special offers.
By using the 17 proven steps for success in this article, you can easily and quickly grow your email list so that you can start building trust, nurturing relationships with your subscribers, and most importantly, driving more sales and conversions.
Don’t wait any longer, put these steps into action and start growing your email list today! Don’t have time to grow an email list on your own or create the lead magnets, landing pages, and email content? Contact Your Marketing Lady today and I’d be happy to help!
