Email marketing is an effective tool for growing an eCommerce business. Do you want to benefit from using it? Build a killer email list – turn your website visitors and social media followers into email subscribers – it will be your first step to success. Do you want to know how to grow email list fast and effectively?
Here are six ways you can choose, depending on the niche you work in and your marketing goals.
Create a signup form
The first thing you should do is to add a signup form to your website. You can locate the form wherever you want. However, experts recommend placing it in the footer.
Here is an example of the signup form located in the footer. The phrase “get special offers & more” works as a call to action. It encourages users to click the button in order to get something valuable in return. If you want to grab users’ attention, you should use a similar catchy phrase to advertise your offer.
Well, this way is not the most effective one to grow email list. But still, you should have such a signup form on your site. Why? It will help you to acquire some qualified leads – only those people who truly want to receive your newsletters and special offers will use this form.
Use popups
Another simple yet effective way to build an email list is to use popups. All you need to do is to give your website visitors a compelling reason to subscribe – you can offer them a coupon, free shipping, a little gift, or another kind of reward that fits your marketing strategy.
The only drawback of popups is that they can irritate users. And in some cases, the use of popups can bring more harm than good.
Popup windows that cover the entire screen scare away prospective customers. It results in an increase in the bounce rate and a dramatic Google ranking drop.
If you want to get the most out of using popups, do the following:
- Provide an easy way out. Make sure that users don’t face any difficulties with closing a popup window.
- Don’t spam. Customize your popups in a way that they will not appear too often and annoy users.
- Write a catchy ad copy. Convince users that the offered email subscription is a worthy deal.
Invite your social media followers to opt-in
Your social media followers are your loyal target audience. They have positive attitudes toward your brand and have an interest in your products.
Invite them to subscribe to your newsletters by placing an active link in the bio. Direct them to your website and explain what they will get from you if they provide their emails.
Have you just started your eCommerce business and don’t have a solid social media presence? Collaborate with macro- and micro-influencers in your niche. Ask them to advertise your products and invite people to sign up for your emails.
Run a social media contest or giveaway
People do love online challenges, contests and freebies. So why don’t you use that to your advantage? Launch a social media contest to increase your social media following and build an email list:
- Choose a prize that your target audience finds valuable. For instance, if you sell cosmetics, offer a makeup gift set. Or, if you sell tours to the Maldives, offer a free diving lesson.
- Provide clear guidelines. Make it clear to the participants what steps they should take to get a chance to win a prize (follow you on Facebook, sign up for a mailing list, comment on your recent Instagram post, etc.).
- Collaborate with other eCommerce brands to increase reach and engagement. The more different prizes you will offer, the more people will agree to participate.
Assure users that they can unsubscribe at any time
Modern users receive more emails than they can read. And that’s one of the reasons why people don’t want to provide you with their contact data. They don’t want to allow you to bombard them with relevant and not-that-relevant emails.
To increase signups, you should assure users that they can unsubscribe from your mailing list at any time. You should give them the feeling that they control the situation. Knowing that they have “unsubscribe options”, people will be more likely to opt-in.
Choose a reliable email marketing platform that will allow users to manage their subscription preferences, such as choosing what type of content they want to receive from you (sales, tips, reviews, etc.). It will help you to build trust with your target audience and grow email list successfully. Remember to regularly verify email addresses on your email list using a reliable bulk email verifier to avoid sending emails to addresses that are no longer active or have changed.
Use lead magnets
Gifts, coupon codes, and free shipping are not the only things that attract users. Modern shoppers also value high-quality, relevant content. They are interested in getting how-to guides, checklists, and templates.
And what does it mean to you? It means you can create and use lead magnets to grow email list.
What type of content your target audience is looking for? What issues are your prospective customers currently experiencing? Try to answer these questions and leverage eCommerce copywriting in your strategy.
Design lead magnets that will attract users. It can be anything from cheatsheets and resource lists to workbooks and eBooks.
What are the key features of a good lead magnet?
- It solves a real problem and adds real value to the users.
- It’s instantly accessible and promises a quick result.
- It demonstrates your expertise and proficiency.
- It’s specific and “easy to digest.”
Basic principles of how to grow email list
No matter what ways you will use to achieve your goals, there are a few basic principles that you should follow.
1. Know your target audience and its preferences
Email list building is all about “exchanging” users’ emails for something valuable. Different users have different values. Therefore, you should find out what things hold value to your customers in the first place. You need also to clean your email list timely and update it.
Imagine you sell affordable sportswear. If you offer your website visitors $15 off on the first order, they will more likely to signup. Such a discount has value to them.
Now imagine that you sell fancy, custom-made watches priced $3,000 and higher. Will a $15 discount motivate your website visitors to opt-in? Nope. People who can afford such pricy accessorize don’t see any value in $15. If you want to grab their attention, you can offer them a luxurious gift box for watches or something similar.
2. Edit and proofread your copies
No one will opt-in for your emails if you make a typo or spelling error in the signup form. Seriously. If you want people to trust your website and your eCommerce brand, you should proofread and edit every sentence.
The best way to ensure that your copies are 100% grammatically correct is to use editing tools. Since most people can’t spot their own mistakes, it’s a wise idea to get some outside help to boost the effectiveness of proofreading.
3. Use call to actions
Whether you use standard signup forms, popups, or lead magnets, you should create a compelling call to action. You should find the right words that appeal to your target audience and resonate with your eCommerce brand.
Also, you should pay attention to the design of a CTA button. The best colors to use are green, blue, black, and orange. Red and electric colors are better to avoid – they may irritate users. What about fonts, they must be readable and look simple. Use a font generator to test different font styles.
4. Be honest
Don’t make a promise if you are not sure whether you can keep it. Don’t write that you will provide subscribers with useful content if you don’t intend to do so.
Use email marketing to build a trustful relationship with your customers. Create automated workflows, high-quality content and provide other benefits you have promised to deliver.
Wrapping it up
Now you know how to grow email list, so don’t hesitate to take the first step. Boost your email marketing efforts and take your eCommerce business to a brand new level.