- Chris R.
- No Comments
- Published: October 17, 2018
- Modified: November 10, 2020
“MoolahNinjas main goal is to help our readers improve their financial lives. We partner with other companies that share that same vision. Some of these links in this post may be from our partners. This is how we make money.”
In this article, you’ll learn how to expand your email marketing efforts quickly and effectively so you can have your own money machine.
Email: Is It Effective or Is It Spam?
At any time of day you might receive emails from a clothing brand, grocery store, inspirational speaker or more in your inbox. While they are traditional, email lists can be the most powerful tool for maintaining customer loyalty. But, emails can also drive customers away if they are not done properly. Some of them will have useful information and are worth opening, while others are simply just fluff.
At a consumer level, we know that receiving spam is the last thing we want to see in our inboxes. Some might even use email service providers to mark emails as spam, or even block people from sending them things! So if you want to build your own email marketing machine, the secret is to find ways to make your emails useful and to showcase those features to potential guests!
Whether or not you’re just starting out and are looking for effective ways to grow your email marketing efforts or just want to increase your reach, you can use this tool to really build your business!
3 Reasons Why You NEED an Email List
A. Regular Updates / Press Release / Newsletter
If you have a regular press release that you want to use to keep your audience up to date with the latest news, sending a general email can tackle this need. This can be a weekly, monthly or bi-monthly email that is sent out to a full database list providing information or updated offers. This is also known as a newsletter.
B. Offers
For many businesses, an email list is another way to reinforce and push out new offers, available both online and offline. While app and text notifications are also readily available and effective for many, having an email list can be an extra step to ensure everyone who wants to keep in touch with your business is receiving your information.
Some businesses may also provide announcements and offers exclusively through their email lists ahead of the crowd. It’s an interesting method to push those who are on the edge of subscribing to your email list to do so. By receiving updates ahead of time, they can also take advantage of your offers before they are announced to the public! And if you’re looking to provide an exclusive edge to your business, this is an effective method to get there.
C. Sale Announcements
For many big name retailers, email marketing is another way to send out sale or promotion announcements and reminders. Whether this is a semi-annual clearance sale or a promotion of the week, a summary email just giving a general audience what is available for a given time is sent out on a regular basis so people can continue to look out for what they are interested in.
9 Steps to Successful Email Marketing
Not very many people are going to want to open an impersonal email from any business let alone subscribe to an email list. So, figuring out how to build your email marketing processes may involve different strategies to interest people to sign up. Some simple ideas for expanding your email marketing can involve exclusive offers or information, advance notices, and maybe a few freebies!
When figuring out your email marketing, the bottom line is to offer something special to guests. Maybe even a personal email from you can do the trick!
If you want to learn how to grow your email marketing from your website’s landing page, there are several different options to choose from. Some can be more effective than others, but let’s not exclude any since there is still a chance to that the more informational methods of email marketing can be a better fit compared to others.
Let’s review all 9 steps for improving your email marketing:
1. Use offers directed towards your current email list
One of the best email marketing tools is to advertise online offers for those who register for your email list on your page. Regardless of whether or not your email list receives offers ahead of the curve or not, the idea of having offers sent directly to them can be enticing for some. This is especially effective for those who wish to shop or use your services on a regular basis.
Examples of this could include statements like, “Register now and receive online offers direct to your inbox!”
2. Give exclusive information...but only if someone is signed up to your list
Having a website can be an excellent way for growing your email marketing reach. You can use your website as a teaser or sample of what guests can have or experience. Then, when they register their email information, they can receive exclusive information that isn’t released to the public.
What can this entail? Almost anything! You can have your PhD dissertation brief available online. However, if they want to see the full thesis, then “Please register your email”. Or, you can include some of your Pinterest or Instagram posts, but they can’t access the full details until they sign up for an account with you.
By having some information available for the public but restricted to exclusive access, this method of email marketing is an effective way of weeding out “non-buyers”. There are those who might just be casual searchers, versus people who are genuinely interested in your website content and eventually buying from you!
3. Personalize the information or offers to get sign ups
This can be a perfect method for email marketing if you provide personalized services. Fitness, nutrition, style, self-improvement and several other types of websites can use this method.
How does it work? Say someone is interested in losing 5 pounds but wants to know how many calories they burn on a daily basis. You can create a questionnaire for guests to fill out, but to see their results, they need to register their information for access.
While this may not be an enticing offer for every body, there are still going to be many who take you up on this. There are thousands of people who are looking to find personalized solutions and if you can meet that need, you create customer loyalty. Those who do sign up are more likely to stay subscribed to your email lists and even buy a few things if they are interested in what you have to offer!
4. Give exclusive offers and / or coupons
As mentioned above, exclusive coupons and offers are a unique method for email marketing. Guests who are loyal to your brand and new guests who are interested in what you do may find this as a great way to feel both special and ahead of the game.
By offering exclusive discounts and coupons to everyone once in a while, many folks will be interested in keeping brand loyalty to your name. You don’t have to go out of your way to break your bank to provide opportunities like these. It might simply be, “You have early access to our semi annual sale! Buy now before the secret is out in 24 hours!”
Not only does this give your email readers advanced notice, but also a call to action and sense of urgency since they are now the first to know about this offer.
5. Give free content
This is especially beneficial for those who are reliant on subscriptions and internet traffic. If you run online courses, fitness or nutrition programs and other similar options, you can use this strategy for building your email marketing systems.
If someone was to click on your ad or go to your website, you can post a short introduction note or even a video. This can give an overall idea of what the goals of the subscription are and what customers are to expect.
Then, you state that they can access the first program, ebook, video, free trial or something else for free if they sign up for your email list.
Many who might be interested will find a freebie as a good way to decide if what you are offering is worth a subscription. On the other side, this is also how to grow your email marketing efforts by giving something in exchange.
6. Use paid ads
Don’t shy away from using paid ads to drive traffic to your opt-in landing page. Tools like Google Ads and the like can strategically place your ads within relevant searches to increase your landing page’s visibility and be a great method for email marketing. Paid ads can capture the audience you are looking for and ensure that they end up on your website!
7. Answer forum questions and become a respected expert
Something a little more time consuming but useful for gaining visibility for your landing page is to answer relevant questions on forums like Quora, LinkedIn Groups, Facebook Groups and even Twitter. Make sure to add a link to your post so that anyone who finds your answer helpful can follow up by going straight to your landing page.
8. Use your social media pages
If you have a Facebook or Google+ page for your website, use it to your advantage! Post on a regular basis, add original content to keep your page fresh and dynamic and incorporate a sign up button to make it easy for visitors to register for your email list straight from Facebook! Social media is a powerful tool for growing your business today, so don’t forget to use it!
9. Make things shareable
Don’t forget that if you want to learn how to grow your email marketing efforts, some of your best ways to advertise are referrals from happy customers. If you write articles, post videos or sell products, post photos or add a “share” button to make it easy for anyone to send to someone else!
Location, Location, Location - Places to Put Email Capture Boxes
Now that you know what you can do to grow your email list, you’ve got to think about placement. You have to make sure visitors interact with this information somehow, and eventually provide their email in a form that your online services can register. These are known as email capture boxes, or opt-in boxes.
When it comes to online marketing, there are many options for how to add opt-in windows, bars and pop-ups. But the last thing you want on your page for it to be obnoxiously crowded with requests to sign up for this or that.
Here are some options for locations. An email capture box:
Exit popup – Appears when a user is about to close the window.
Scroll bar – Appears when a user scrolls down a certain percentage of the page.
Sidebar form – Is placed on the right side of the web page.
Whether you are just starting at zero or building on to your existing mailing list, there are many ways for you to effectively grow your business through email lists. If it’s just for expanding your reach or making money blogging, knowing how to effectively deploy email marketing by utilizing all the strategies available to you can yield excellent results. And most importantly, it can be fun!
