How to Build an E-mail List

One of the most converting ways to market to your target audience is through e-mail marketing. By creating an e-mail list, you can bypass search engine algorithms, social media newsfeed filters, and other things that can prevent your message from being seen by your audience. Instead, you’ll get a direct line to their inbox! If you’re ready to build an e-mail list, or simply increase the one you’ve got, here are some good strategies.

Place Your Opt-In Forms in High Traffic Areas

The first thing you need to do is make sure that everyone who comes to your website will be able to easily subscribe at any stage of their visit. Here are some popular places to put your opt-in form.

• Website Headers – This will reach new visitors wherever they enter your website.

• Sidebars – If your blog has a sidebar, this is another good place that will be seen by most of the visitors coming to your website to see your content.

• Post Footers – When you create quality content, people will want to subscribe to get more of that content. Once they finish reading a blog post, have an opt-in form waiting for them.

• Website Footers – If someone does decide to look at your website from top to bottom, having an opt-in form there might seal the deal.

• About Pages – A great about page will likely turn a regular visitor into a potential customer. Get them on your list by including an opt-in form on this page.

• Newsletter Pages – If you have a page dedicated to building your list, you can use it in your regular e-mail signatures, paid advertising campaigns, and other areas to encourage more subscribers.

Integrate Your Mailing List with Other Platforms

The nice part about most e-mail marketing services is that you can encourage sign ups using more than just the traditional opt-in forms. Find ways to integrate your mailing list into the following places.

• Facebook Pages – Most e-mail marketing services offer a quick app or code you can use to add your signup form to your Facebook page. This is a good way to convert your fans into more dedicated subscribers.

• Shopping Carts – Many shopping cart and e-commerce solutions can integrate with popular e-mail marketing services to add an e-mail list opt-in option when people checkout. This means you can turn what could have been one-time customers into regulars.

• Advertising – While these are currently in beta, both Google AdWords and Twitter are working on allowing advertising options which allow people to sign up for your mailing list directly from the Google search results page and tweets, respectively.

Offer Specials to Subscribers

In addition to good placement of opt-in forms, offering specials to those signing up for your mailing list is a great way to increase signups. Depending on your industry and business type, you may find that you can offer free content downloads (e-books, whitepapers, case studies), discounts, free samples, member’s only sales, and other incentives to encourage more people to sign up for your mailing list. You may want to experiment with different types of specials to see which resonate with your audience best and not only increases signups, but increases converting subscribers.

Measure the Results

If you use Constant Contact, MailChimp, or SendGrid, you can connect them to your SumAll account to see how your e-mail open rates and engagement affects other areas of your online marketing and business.

This will take you beyond the usual mailing list service stats to show you an overall change in engagement, reach, and ROI. If you haven’t already, signup for a free trial of SumAll today to see all of your online marketing campaigns in action!

What strategies do you use to build an email list for you business? Please share in the comments!

Kristi Hines is a freelance writer, professional blogger, and social media enthusiast. You can follow her on Twitter and Google+.