An engaged email list is the fastest way to create a steady flow of new customers.
List-building is something often overlooked by businesses who get distracted by social media, SEO and other marketing strategies. While the other strategies are good for some of the needs your business may have, the money is, and always has been, in your email list. It presents the best long-term strategy for making sales because it is full of people who have said, “I want to hear from you.”
Your email list represents the warmest leads you have. Failure to nurture them will cool them off.
Think of it this way:
If it costs you $75 to get a new customer and the potential lifetime value of that customer is $2,000, why would you not keep in contact with that person to maximize your return on the $75 investment?
Put another way… if it costs you $2 to collect that person’s email address and, through that, you both reduce your cost to acquire a customer as well as increase the lifetime value, how much profit are you missing out on if you don’t build and nurture your list?
The question them becomes how do you grow your list, especially if you’re starting from scratch?Here are eight ways to do it for low cost or even free.
Call to Action Button, Link or Form
Make sure you have some sort of a call to action at the bottom of every blog post. This can build your list effortlessly by allowing people to opt-in to hear what you have to say.
Free Call or Webinar
Hosting a webinar, free call or tele-class can help position you as the expert in your industry.
Make sure that you choose a topic that your target market is struggling with. Use your expertise to help show them how to overcome the problem. This shows your potential customers that you know what you’re talking about.
Run a Free Challenge on Social Media
Running free challenges can be one of the best ways to grow your list by hundreds of people at a time.
Build a challenge anywhere from 5 to 10 days and make it results-oriented for your prospects. You want them to get a small win and complete the challenge to get them excited about future opportunities that may come up. This also gives them a better idea of what your company is all about.
Lead Magnets
A lead magnet is something you offer people in exchange for their email address. “Sign up to receive my newsletter” doesn’t work.
A good lead magnet should give people a taste of what you have to offer and a reason to give you their email address.
It should address their biggest struggle and solve at least one problem. Use the “would you pay for it?” test. Would you pay for the content in your freebie? If yes, you’re good to go. If not, go back to the drawing board.
Host a Giveaway
Everybody loves something for free. Choose a prize that makes sense for both your business and your target market.
It needs to be relevant, not random. You want it to be enticing enough to your prospects that they will give you their email in return for a chance to win.
Guest Posting
Contributing articles to someone else’s blog gives you the opportunity to leverage their audience. You may be exposed to hundreds or even thousands of people who would never know about you otherwise.
Interest List or VIP Teaser
Do you have an idea for a new product or service, but it’s not quite ready yet? Ask people to sign up for the early bird specials or special offers by getting on your interest list.
Quiz/Assessment
People love quizzes and polls. A quiz is a great way to assess where prospects are.
Done correctly, you can also segment your list to for areas of interest. This can help with future sales conversions.
Built Your List?
Do you have your list started and not sure where to go next? Take a look at our email marketing strategy.
