If you’re familiar with online marketing, you’ll regularly hear thought leaders and industry experts say that ‘the money is in the list’. And if you’re serious about using the web to build your business, email marketing is something that you should consider.
In many ways, SEO services and email marketing are a match made in heaven. For those who are making efforts to drive their websites up to the top of search engine results pages, an email subscription list is the next sensible step. After all, it’s likely that searchers will stumble upon your site but might not be ready yet to make a purchase. If you can capture their email addresses and build a relationship with them, you’ll be in the front of their minds when the time comes that they are ready to buy.
Setting up a subscription list doesn’t have to be rocket science. By following these guidelines, you could find that your list of qualified leads grows steadily each and every day.
Use a Reputable Email Provider:
When it comes to email marketing, sending messages from your personal or even your business account simply won’t do. Not only does it look unprofessional, but it doesn’t give you the same amount of options when it comes personalising the look of your message, or measuring the impact of your campaigns. A reputable provider such as Aweber or MailChimp will allow you to create highly personalised emails with your business branding, and you’ll be able to keep a record of how many of your messages are opened, whether the links are clicked, and much more. They’ll also help to ensure that you’re complying with email marketing laws in your country. For example, the Data Protection Act in the UK requires you to keep all of the email addresses that you collect in a secure database. When they’re stored with your email marketing provider, you needn’t worry about breaking the law.
Give People an Incentive to Sign Up:
These days, people are very protective of their email addresses. Due to the increasing amounts of junk mail we receive on a daily basis, collecting contact details from your prospective customers could be easier said than done. To encourage people to sign up to your list, you need to offer them some kind of incentive. One example of this could be a free report that helps your target market to overcome a problem they have. So, imagine that you’re an HR consultant and you help small and medium sized businesses to comply with employment legislation. You might decide to offer a free report that tells businesses what they need to do when it comes to employing a new member of staff. You’ll be showing off your expertise, and providing high value for those who sign up. Similarly, you might decide to offer money off vouchers or a free webinar. Whatever you go for, make sure that it’s tailored to your ideal customer group.
Develop a Calendar of Content:
Getting people to join your list is only the first hurdle. Once they’ve signed up, you want to keep them and impress them with your knowledge and product or service offerings. Without a structured plan, this is almost impossible. Sending constant sales messages is unlikely to be successful, so you should try to develop content ideas that deal with their problems and queries. The main aim of email marketing is to build a relationship – not just sell, sell, sell. Your calendar will be a work in progress and should be flexible to allow for topical and newsworthy discussions, but having the bare bones in place is highly advisable. Don’t forget that you aren’t just limited to text. You could incorporate webinars, videos and images, to name but a few.
Email marketing can be a brilliant way to boost your business. It does require an investment of time and expertise, but if you get it right, the benefits can be endless. By starting with these steps, you’ll be getting off to a great start.
Do you use email marketing for your business? What lessons have you learned along the way?
