list growth Archives - Fluttermail

November 22, 2016

3 Things You Shouldn’t Do When Growing Your List

How you can’t grow your mailing list

Your email marketing list is important to help you grow your business but you need to be managing it the right way.

Did you know that the average unsubscribe rate for a mailing list is approximately 0.53% or one out of every 200 subscribers?

Losing subscribers is not always bad; especially if they no longer have an interest in your brand’s message. Losing old subscribers means you can spend more of your time and money focusing on those who could potentially be converted into customers.

In fact, every so often, you should be removing subscribers from your mailing list who aren’t interacting with campaigns. Go through your list at least once a month. Send a re-engagement email to accounts that have been inactive for six months, if they don’t respond to the re-engagement email within two weeks at most, remove them from your mailing list.

Despite your best efforts to re-engage disinterested subscribers, the bottom line is that you will lose some and without the right action, you might even end up with a diminishing list. What you need to do is grow your mailing list.

Not All Growth Is Equal

Most businesses with email marketing campaigns understand the need to grow their lists, for example with whitepapers, online seminars, trade shows etc.

However, there are some methods to grow a mailing list, known as black-hat techniques that you should avoid. While they may get some results, their true value and legality are often questionable.

So here are three things you should never do when you are growing your mailing list.

1. Buy A Mailing List

This is a quick way to gain loads of new contacts and start promoting your business, yet it is also a quick way to get your mail server blacklisted and your reputation ruined. Some of the other reasons why you shouldn’t buy a mailing list include:

Poor results – a bought list has very low returns compared to an organically grown list.
Loss of reputation – your company is seen as a spammer, and this can damage your long-term prospects.
Fines – Most countries have laws stating that you must have permission from the receiver when sending an email. Without it, you could face a fine.

Don’t be caught out by sellers who state that their lists are clean, carefully selected for your business or any other promise. A bought list breaks laws and terms of service with most email marketing software providers.

While it takes longer to grow a mailing list without buying one, it is worth the effort.

2. Neglect To Fulfil On Promises

If you’ve promised all new subscribers get 20% off their first order with you, don’t go back on that promise. It’s unprofessional, and your audience will abandon you very quickly. They might also post negative reviews about your business practices on third party websites which can damage your long-term prospects.

If you want to offer a deal for those subscribing to your mailing list, then thoroughly consider what you can afford and are willing to offer. Don’t price yourself out of business, but it does still need to be enticing to the customer. One option might be free delivery or a free gift with their first purchase – something that adds value to the order rather than takes it away.

3. Don’t Be Too Generic With Your Targeting

You might think that numbers matter on a mailing list, but in truth, they don’t matter as much as you think. You could have thousands of contacts, but if none of them has the resources, need or authorization to buy your products then those contacts are useless.

Instead, look to attract valuable contacts who are more likely to convert. Everyone else is just a distraction.

Are You Growing Your Mailing List Right?

Your mailing list is valuable. It is part of your sales process, and it can earn you a fortune if you create the right campaign and attract the right contacts to your list. If you don’t, it can be a waste of time and money. Therefore, don’t fall into bad habits and ensure you have a priceless mailing list.

How do you grow your mailing list? Do you ever audit your approaches?

Let us know in the comments below.

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April 12, 2016

How To Get More Email Sign Ups By Making It Easier

A giveaway could be the key to easily sign up new members to your email list

Your email marketing list should not look the same after a year. Old contacts will unsubscribe, others will become dead, and some will need to be removed to keep your list clean. The problem is, if you constantly have people exit your list, there will be a time when it will become very sparse.

To combat diminishing list numbers, you need to consider how to attract more subscribers to your list. Your task would be smoother if you made it easier for your potential subscribers as this will decrease abandonment. So how can you make it easier to subscribe to your mailing list?

1. Place A Sign Up Box On Your Facebook Page

Facebook Fan pages can be used as a portal to your list subscription. Many apps can be installed or used on Facebook that directly link to email marketing software. All a new subscriber has to do, is click on the button and enter in their details.

By placing the subscription link on social media, you have the opportunity to really entice audiences by building trust through social media content, making it easier to fully convert them in the long run.

2. Pop-up Subscription Boxes On The Website

Who wants to have the trouble of finding the signup box on your website? After reading your blog, whitepaper or about us page, a visitor will want to sign up for your mailing list or leave – whichever is easier for them and often, just leaving is easier.

So why not place a popup on your website that displays when the visitor is about to leave the site? This popup will prompt the visitor to subscribe to your email list and fill in the required fields there and then. This can then populate your list.

Ensure you are tailoring your popup box to match your brand image, so it integrates seamlessly with your website.

3. Run A Giveaway

This is one of the most widely used tactics for collecting email addresses. A giveaway is fairly useful. Not only does it provide the prospect with something tangible for their details, but it can also help you segment the incoming emails into what interests them. For instance, if they’ve downloaded the children’s toys catalogue, you know that you should be sending them emails about children toys and not living room furniture.

Giveaways can also be an excellent way to gain more exposure for your brand. You could have a raffle and offer a limited number of prizes. By using gamification techniques, you can attract subscribers to your mailing list by asking them to share details about the raffle in exchange for an extra ticket for themselves.

4. Top Or Side Bar

Don’t hide your signup box. Make it stand out on your homepage so that visitors are drawn to it. The best location for the signup box would be in the top left corner as this is where the eye is naturally drawn to and has the greater reader engagement. However, this is a prime location, and therefore, you might need that for another piece of content.

If that is the case, place the signup element in the menu bar at the top or in the sidebar, close to the top of the page. If it is above the fold, then more people will see the subscription tool and use it.

Conclusion

Your email list will lose some subscribers over time, so it is important to replenish them with new subscribers. It should be easy for the target audience to see the signup for your mailing list and take action. Otherwise, list growth will be slow or even negative.

Where do you have your signup forms? Do you use social media sign up forms?