The money is in the list. I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Email marketing and email list building has cemented its position as a powerful tool in the business arsenal. After all, it’s one of the only ways to build a direct channel of communication to potential customers. Social media platforms can ban you, but nobody can take away your email list.
Before you immerse yourself in the intricacies of workflows and automations, let’s explore three critical facets essential for any business venturing into email marketing.
The Basics: Building A Quality List
Starting a successful email marketing campaign truly hinges on first crafting a high-quality list of subscribers. There are many ways to artificially pump your numbers (and ego) to make it look like you have more engaged subscribers than you actually do. But this is one of those cases where quality > quantity.
In order to get the most from your email list, you need to use best practices for email list hygiene by manually unsubscribing unengaged people from your list.
Why? Because this way you will not run into deliverability issues, won’t trigger any spam filters and hopefully all your emails will land right in the subscribers inbox tab.
Creating a substantial list is about more than just accumulating contacts—it’s about fostering a list of individuals who are genuinely engaged and interested in your offerings.
Now the question of how to manage your list. There are heaps of tools out there ready to lend a hand. Platforms like MailChimp or MailerLite are all geared up to make the list-building gig a breeze, helping you to shape a list that vibes with what your brand is all about.
And remember, keeping up with the various rules and guidelines governing email marketing is crucial. Compliance with regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act in the US and the GDPR in Europe is not only legally mandatory but also serves to cultivate a trusting and respectful relationship with your audience.
Pop-Ups Can Be Your Friends
When appropriately employed, pop-ups can transition from being those annoying little boxes to valuable assets in your email marketing toolkit.
Pop-ups aren’t just randomly timed interruptions in the user’s browsing experience. When deployed correctly, they serve to capture the attention of visitors at moments where their interest is piqued. This could be when they first land on your site, or perhaps when they’ve spent a considerable time exploring your content. Leveraging the potential of pop-ups starts with understanding the psychology of your audience’s browsing habits.
I’m sure while browsing the web, you’ve come across various forms of pop-ups, including entry pop-ups that greet users as they land on your page, and exit pop-ups which aim to retain users just as they are about to leave. Then there are timed pop-ups that appear after a user has spent a predetermined time on the site. These varied timings allow you to catch users at different phases of their browsing journey, giving you more chances to convert a casual browser into a subscriber.
In addition to timing, the content of the pop-up plays a vital role in engaging the user. Whether it’s a teaser for a valuable ebook, a discount code, or an invitation to subscribe to your newsletter, the message needs to be concise, yet powerful. It should create a sense of value, urging the user to take positive action.
Things like “Subscribe now”, “Stay in the loop”, “Be the first to know about our updates” or “Join our newsletter” are too vague and generic. They fail to convey your value proposition. Why should the person volunteer their email address to this form?
Not to forget, the design aesthetics of the pop-up also hold substantial weight. Aligning the pop-up design with your brand’s theme while making it visually appealing can have a pronounced effect on the conversion rate.
With a significant chunk of users browsing through mobile devices, ensuring your pop-ups are mobile-friendly is a non-negotiable aspect. A pop-up that is not optimized for mobile can disrupt the user experience, thereby reducing the likelihood of conversion. Testing pop-ups across various devices and making necessary adjustments should be an integral part of your strategy.
Remember, the objective is to create a win-win situation where the user gains value while your email list grows in quantity without sacrificing quality.
Ecommerce Store Integrations
Integrating your ecommerce store with your email marketing platform is often a straightforward process, with many platforms offering native integrations or plugins that facilitate this connection. Tools like MailChimp, for example, offer integrations with a plethora of ecommerce platforms, like Shopify, making it simpler to merge your online store data with your email marketing efforts.
But why do you need an integration anyway?
Without such integration, you’d be stuck manually updating lists in email marketing tools and in your ecommerce platform.
A proper ecommerce store integration allows for the effortless transfer and synchronization of data. Which in turn can be a starting point for better, more personalized marketing campaigns.
With a proper integration, you can finally run data-rich automations. Like an automated welcome series, that can help nurture new leads and gently guide them down the sales funnel. At the same time cart abandonment reminders can serve as little nudges, encouraging customers to complete their purchases.
Conclusion
The money is in the list, but embarking on the email marketing path means more than just sending out batches of emails and hoping for the best. It’s a process. Building a genuine and engaged email list takes time. So it’s best to focus on nurturing a list that not only aligns with your brand, but is genuinely keen on your offerings.
And I hope to get an email from you one day!
