Your Email List: Foundation for Successful Online Business

Build your list to boost your business

As a business owner, you must always look for ways to grow and expand your customer base. One effective strategy that you can use is building your own list.

What Is List Building?

In simple terms, List-Building is the process of collecting details like name, contact information, profession etc. of people who might be interested in purchasing your products. You can then use the list to market specific products that would most appeal to the individuals on the list. For example, if you have a list of ladies who love baking then you can inform them about offers regarding baking products instead of telling them about hiking gear.

Before internet, list building was the cornerstone for direct-mail marketing and businesses utilized the lists purchased through "list-brokers" for sending promotional mailings.

In the digital world, anyone can build their own list by collecting email addresses or other details (with permission) using automated tools and then running campaigns to reach the right audience for their products and services.

Importance Of List Building

If you want to increase the sales of your products and services then you must first build your list of prospects.

Better Engagement Through Personalized Approach

Do you pay any attention to the bill-board postings or the advertisements in the newspaper? Chances are you don't.

However, let's say you like tea and someone comes knocking on your door and mentions about a new organic blend - chances are you would be interested to know more.

The same way, by building your list with details you can personalize your content or promotions to get the attention of right audience making them more effective.

Increase Sales With Targeted Marketing

According to study, email marketing has the highest ROI of all digital marketing channels, including social media.

When you reach out to the masses in general then you are wasting a lot of time, effort and money on those who are absolutely not interested in your business. A young college student might be more interested in latest fashion apparel than a old retired professor.

By tailoring your marketing efforts to the specific interests and problems of a target audience you can significantly increase your sales.

Protection From Third-Party Changes

When you build an "opt-in" list, you are specifically getting permission from the individuals to send them information about your products and services. And you own this list and can use it to build relationship with the individuals turning them into repeat buyers.

On the other hand, you have no control with platforms like Google, Facebook, Amazon who can change their policies and algorithms anytime impacting your reach and sales.

How To Build Your Email List

Couple decades ago, people did not mind much about giving their email addresses but today most people are wary of sharing their regular email address for fear of misuse.

Moreover, several regulations have been introduced over the years to prevent spams and protect individuals.

So it is advisable to build your own list instead of using any shady practices like buying a list for your marketing as that can be detrimental to your business.

Here are some effective strategies to help you grow your email list organically -

Offer Incentives

One of the best ways to entice people to join your list is by offering something of value in exchange for their email address. This could be a free eBook, video tutorial, discount coupons, templates - or anything that is relevant to your audience. For example, Neil Patel offers free tools like Ubersuggest to encourage visitors to join his list. AppSumo provides subscribers with exclusive deals and discounts on the products.

Use Opt-In Forms

Opt-in forms are forms that appear on your website or social media pages, asking visitors to enter their email address to join your list.

By using effective headlines with clear "call to action" (CTA) buttons at strategic points during the user visit - like during exit - you can encourage people to sign-up with ease.

Leverage Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be a great way to reach new potential customers and drive traffic to your opt-in forms. And make it easy for people to share your content with their contacts.

There are several tools available like MailChimp, HubSpot, OptinMonster, that offer Free plans to help you get started on building your list. But as your business grows you will probably need a paid plan to manage your growing audience.

Final Thoughts

The success of any business depends on its customers and email list is effective way to reach the right audience.

Your email list enables you to engage with your customers in a personalized way and promote only relevant products and services thereby increasing your sales and profits.