Having a good email list is a key element to running a successful email marketing campaign. While you can choose to buy an email list, doing so may end up costing you more money than you generate through lead conversions. In order to maximize your return on investment, you need to build an opt-in email list of interested and active clients. The guide below explains how to do just that.
What Is An Opt-In Email List?
The term “opt-in” refers to any process online in which a customer chooses to participate. This could be signing up for a newsletter, registering for a webinar, requesting a free quote for services, etc. In all of these scenarios, a client is willingly giving you his or her email address in an attempt to get information in return. The “opting” usually comes in the form of a box that clients can choose to check or uncheck before officially submitting their information. Examples:
- Yes, I want to receive a free copy of “The Ultimate Guide To Facebook Marketing”
- Sign me up for the Cheaply Weekly newsletter!
- I would like to get email alerts about upcoming specials and promotional offers
- Please send monthly coupons to my email address!
How you word your opt-in email prompt will depend on the nature of your campaign, but no matter what, your clients will choose whether or not they want to receive emails from your business in the future.
Why Opt-In Email Lists Are So Powerful
The main reason why opt-in email lists are the best option for email marketing is because they keep you in contact with clients who actually want to hear from you. With purchased or rented email lists, there is no guarantee that the people you are emailing will have an interest in your products or services. They may not even be interested in your niche whatsoever. With the opt-in option though, your clients say whether or not they want more of what you have to offer. You already have a connection with them that you can build on, no matter how small it may seem at first.
How To Build Your Opt-In Email List
There are a number of ways to generate an opt-in email list, depending on the type of business you run and the goals you are trying to accomplish with your email marketing. Listed below are some tested and proven methods for building an opt-in email list.
Give People A Reason To Opt-In
Every opt-in promotion you run is like a petition. You need to give people a reason to sign up. Get creative with your offers, and find ones that best complement your business and your expertise. Some examples of opt-in opportunities include:
- Weekly Newsletters Including Local And Industry News
- Coupons, Special Offers, And Other Money-Saving Promotions
- Free eBooks And Multi-Part Guides
- Industry-Specific Tools, Like A Loan Interest Calculator
- Personality Tests, IQ Tests, Love Interest Tests, Etc. (Hint: People love to learn more about themselves)
- Templates Related To Your Business (Resume Templates, Free Website Templates, Etc.)
- Webinars
- Blog Post Notifications
The list goes on and on, and you may use more than one opt-in option to create your email list. Just make sure you have a way to associate specific email addresses with the promotion they signed up for so you do not overwhelm your clients with unwanted information.
Market Your Tools And Promotions
Once you have eBooks, newsletters, and other tools in place for people to register for, you can start promoting your new assets through various marketing channels. Most businesses will use social media to do this, advertising their “new offers” on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and more. If you have a strong following on social networks, this can certainly be a great way to get people to opt-in. If your presence is stronger on pay-per-click adds or other forms of digital marketing, you may focus your efforts there instead. For instance, you may not have many followers on Facebook, but you may have a ton of people who read your business blog. At that point, you’ll get the biggest return from your blog, not social media.
Making The Most Of Your Opt-In Email List
Don’t let a good opt-in email list go to waste. When you have a database of solid leads, use it to its fullest potential. That doesn’t mean you should send out emails every day, nor does it mean that you should sell your email list to other businesses. Rather, you should focus on creating high-quality content for your email marketing campaigns that enhances your brand online. People are naturally inclined to share helpful content with one another. If you provide the right information to the right people, they will do the rest of the work for you. As long as you continue to make the most of your opt-in email list, you should see huge success from email marketing.
