From the dawn of the internet, building an email list has proven to be a vitally important way to stay in touch with your customers, clients, and prospects. You can count on your email list as a steady stream of income provided you build a targeted list and keep your offers relevant to your audience. However, many entrepreneurs struggle with just HOW to get people to subscribe to their email list.
It’s wishful thinking that your website visitors will remember your URL once they leave your site and definitely NOT how to market your business! How frequently have you walked into a room and forgotten why? (Especially if you’re over forty. LOL) With all of the internet’s distractions, do NOT rely on people to remember you.
Instead, give those web visitors a reason to leave their email addresses with you to stay in touch. Once they grant you permission to contact them again, you can customize your offers and make more sales. The more you stay in touch with your email list, the more your audience will know, like, and trust you, thereby increasing your sales and overall revenue.
Step 1: Sign Up for an Email Marketing Provider
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can use your current email program. Services such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail aren’t a professional look and those platforms won’t allow you to email many hundreds or thousands of people at once; instead, you’ll become known as a spammer and your email account may become disabled.
Research email providers that allow tagging and look at their autoresponder options. Tagging is a simple way to segment your list based upon their interests in your business. If you offer an array of services or programs, you can tag customers based on what they purchased OR which opt-in they claimed.
An autoresponder allows you to schedule prewritten emails to be delivered at certain intervals. This option is especially useful if you want to offer an e-course or if you offer evergreen information to your audience.
Choosing the right provider for your business is one of the most important decision you make when starting or building your business. If you currently have a virtual assistant, consult with her as she has probably worked with several different systems. This blog, How to Pick the Right Email Marketing Service for Your Business, will provide guidance. If you’d like further guidance, I offer consultation sessions.
Step 2: Brainstorm Your Opt-In Offer
After you’re signed up for an email marketing service, it’s time to brainstorm your opt-in offer. What value can you offer people before they hand over their email address? Take some time to think this offer through because simply saying, “Sign up for my newsletter” or “Get my updates” are not enough to warrant interest in joining your list. You need to attract the RIGHT people to your list, so customize your offer to the type of person you want to serve.
Most importantly, think about how you can solve a specific problem with a short piece of content and provide your ideal clients with a quick win. These offers can be in the form of an eBook, an audio, a checklist, or templates. More important than your format is the solution you’re offering. Identify your audience’s struggle, supply 3-5 tips for resolving that struggle, and you’ll attract subscribers who are hungry for more answers as well as interested in your offers.
Keep in mind, you’re not giving away all of your trade secrets. Your 3-5 tips are simply a glimpse of what you have to offer. It’s a way to bring new people into your circle of influence and funnel then woo them into your programs or into your private coaching calendar with your expertise.
