The last two years have made it more apparent why you need an email list now, not later. With the global pandemic, cyber-attacks of major companies, and social media giants being inaccessible for hours needing to have alternative ways to access your clients and supporters has become painfully obvious.
Social media is great (when it’s working), but it’s only part of a healthy marketing strategy. Along with using Facebook and Instagram for your business, you also need to be using email marketing.
Why you need an email list, now!
Your business’ email list is yours and not someone else’s. The content that you create and share on social media to grow your followers and supporters can disappear in the blink of an eye.
Similarly, things can happen in the traditional brick-and-mortar business model. In Donald Miller’s book “Business Made Simple” he talks about how many businesses had to close their doors early on in the pandemic.
The ones that survived did so because they were able to pivot. They were able to pivot because they had an existing sales funnel with their customers’ emails and contact information. They could communicate about closures, updates, and reopenings while those without emails could not.
This specific example mostly involves brick and mortar businesses, but it relates to online businesses as well. Online businesses are affected more by things like social media outages, account shut-downs, and loss of data.
How do you get started building your email list?
Now that we have covered why you need an email list, you need to build it. Start by collecting email addresses using a simple signup form that you can share on your website, social media, business cards, etc. I have a great post with some other tips, too, 5 Tips to Getting Started with Email Marketing.
- Pick a platform
- Create a signup form
- Send emails to your list
- Create a lead magnet
- Don’t overthink it!
Once you get started you will find it easier and easier to acquire email addresses. Need some ideas of how to do it without alienating potential leads? Check out my post about growing your list without a side of spam!
The next part is keeping your list engaged. Growing and nurturing an email list allows you to always have warm leads to sell to in your business. Send out engaging content that appeals to your ideal client on a consistent basis.
Just a few key things to consider
Use an email address from a domain you own rather than a free service like yahoo or Gmail. This improves deliverability for all of your emails.
It is required by law that all marketing emails include a physical business address to appear on all emails. If you don’t have an address you are okay with showing publicly, you can get one through services like Anytime Mailbox. Just google “virtual mailing address” to find other services like this.
Back up and download your list so that you can always have it. Just like the issues that cyber-attacks and social media outages presented to why you need an email list, your email service provider can also face those issues. Keep your list somewhere secure though, remember, this is someone’s personal information.
Want more help?
If you have any questions about email marketing shoot me an email or comment below. Not lacking creativity or inspiration, just lacking time? Then let’s talk about me handling your email marketing!
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