Email Marketing & AutomationMarketing Infographics

The 5 Essential Steps of Building a Profitable Email List

A robust email list is like having a treasure trove of potential customers at your fingertips. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to expand your existing list, effective email list building is key. At Martech Zone, at one time, we had over 30,000 subscribers to our email newsletter. However, upon deeper review, we noticed that most of that list hadn’t interacted with an article in months.

Rather than continuing to email subscribers who may not have even existed, we purged unengaged subscribers from the list and paired it down to only those interested. The impact on our site traffic and engagement was negligible, while there was quite a bit of savings with our email service provider (ESP).

Whenever I see email marketers boast about their list size, I often ask them what their email engagement is… and I often get a blank stare. By blasting your subscribers who are uninterested, you’re not helping your brand at all. You’ll likely be hurting your inbox placement and increasing your spam complaints by not being more efficient and effective with your email list building.

Essential Steps To Building a Profitable Email List

  1. Identify Your Subscriber’s Needs: Before building your email list, you must understand what your target audience wants. What problems must they solve, and how can your business address them? It’s crucial to create an initial opt-in gift that offers a simple solution to a problem your subscribers are currently facing.
  2. Create a Simple Opt-In Page: Your opt-in page is where potential subscribers will decide whether to join your list. Please keep it clean and straightforward. It should include a compelling headline, a brief description of your offer, and an opt-in form for visitors to submit their information.
  3. Develop a Subscription Form: Your email marketing software will allow you to create a subscription form where people can enter their email addresses and any other data you wish to collect. To ensure that you’re attracting genuine subscribers, require a valid email address for them to receive their opt-in gift.

TIP: Be sure to incorporate event tracking in your analytics platform so that you can monitor how well each of your email subscription forms are performing.

  1. Test Your Opt-In Process: Testing is crucial to ensure your opt-in process works smoothly. Go through the entire process yourself, from opting in to receiving the freebie and being added to your email list. Test in different web browsers and email clients to ensure compatibility. If you have a
    CRM or marketing automation platform, be sure to test the integrations to make sure the data is being populated correctly.

TIP: Send an autoresponder to your email subscribers when they first opt-in. Thank them for subscribing, and provide them with information on what they can expect from you and how often. If you’ve enticed them with an offer, be sure to include how they can take advantage in that email.

  1. Drive Traffic and Track Conversions: Once your opt-in process is up and running smoothly, it’s time to drive traffic to your opt-in page. Track conversions to determine how effective your efforts are. These numbers will help you calculate the cost of acquiring new subscribers.

Remember that the key to success in email list building is delivering high value immediately, setting clear expectations, and maintaining a great user experience. You need to stay in touch with your subscribers regularly, offering a variety of content such as information, opinions, special offers, and updates.

Building a profitable email list starts with that crucial first impression. Make it count by delivering on your promises, and you’ll have a list of engaged subscribers who can become valuable customers.

Remember, the size of your list matters less than the quality of your subscribers and the value you provide. Focus on building strong relationships with your email list, which will become a powerful asset for your business.

Email List Building Tips Infographic
Source: EmailDelivered

Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is CMO of OpenINSIGHTS and the founder of the Martech Zone. Douglas has helped dozens of successful MarTech startups, has assisted in the due diligence of over $5 bil in Martech acquisitions and investments, and continues to assist companies in implementing and automating their sales and marketing strategies. Douglas is an internationally recognized digital transformation and MarTech expert and speaker. Douglas is also a published author of a Dummie's guide and a business leadership book.

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