List building is the process of collecting email addresses from website visitors or users. This is done to grow the subscriber database and make future business communications with prospective or existing clients easier.
Building an email list from scratch is a critical strategy for marketers. According to statistics, 59 percent of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchasing decisions in either a positive or negative way. According to 80 percent of business professionals, email marketing improves customer retention.
With a return on investment of $40 for every $1 spent, email marketing continues to have the highest ROI of any marketing channel. Other channels do not even approach these heights.
Creating a strong email list from scratch may appear to be an impossible task. We'll go over some high-quality strategies for building an email list from scratch in this section. Above all, these strategies are designed to cultivate a loyal email subscriber base, allowing you to use your emails to attract better long-term customers.
How To Build An Email List From Scratch:
1. Make Use Of Embedded Signup Forms:
One of the most traditional methods of acquiring email subscribers is through embedded signup forms. Static embedded forms should be placed in high traffic areas such as headers, footers, sidebars, and splash pages.
Embedded forms have the advantage of being unobtrusive. They serve as a gentle reminder to visitors that they only have the option of signing up. As a result, they are most effective when combined with the more proactive and dynamic list-building strategies discussed below.
2. Utilize Pop-Ups And Overlays:
According to studies, pop-ups have an average conversion rate of 3.9 percent, with the top 10% converting at around 9.8 percent. While these figures are appealing on their own, you should exercise caution when using pop-ups and adhere to Google's interstitial ad guidelines. If you don't, you'll be fined.
From Google's perspective, the guidelines outline the 'correct' use of pop-ups. The following are the main points:
- Displaying a popup that covers the main content immediately after a user arrives at the page from a search or while scrolling through the page is not recommended.
- Do not display a standalone interstitial that the user must close before accessing the content.
- Use a page layout in which the content above the fold appears to be a standalone interstitial, but the original content is in lined beneath the fold.
However, Google stated that when used correctly, the penalty would not apply to these types of interstitials. Here are a few examples of appropriate usage:
- Interstitials that are required by law to appear. As an example, consider cookie usage or age verification.
- On sites where the content is not publicly searchable, logging in is required. Take, for example, paywalled content.
- Banners that take up a reasonable amount of screen space and are easily dismissed.
After learning what NOT to do when deploying pop-ups on your website, let's look at some of the most common types of pop-ups and overlays used by eCommerce businesses to significantly grow their email lists.
3. Pop-Ups That Welcome You:
Welcome pop-ups are commonly used to greet site visitors within the first 15 seconds of their arrival on the landing page. To avoid being dismissed as intrusive, a welcome pop-up must have a strong call-to-action. A best practice is to offer a discount, a sales notification, more information about your USPs, or some other form of value exchange in exchange for the visitor's email address.
To reduce intrusion, welcome pop-ups should be kept as simple as possible. Most only have one field for you to enter your email address. Overly complicated forms with multiple fields and poor copy are less likely to convert.
Timing is crucial in this case, and you must find a time that is specific to the page where you are implementing this pop-up. By calculating the average time a user spends on that page, you can use Google Analytics to determine the best time to implement a welcome pop-up.
If you're doing this on the homepage – a page that visitors are expected to leave quickly as they navigate deeper into your website – you might want to serve it right away. If your new visitor arrives on a product listing page where they are expected to stay longer, you can set the welcome pop-up to appear after 7 seconds or when they have scrolled 30% of the way down the page.
4. Exit Intent Pop-Ups:
A well-crafted exit intent pop-up, according to Conversion Sciences, can save 10-15% of potentially lost visitors. To serve these pop-ups, exit-intent technology is used, which monitors user interaction with a website page and can detect when someone is about to leave.
Exit intent pop-ups work on the premise that capturing a visitor's attention and providing a compelling reason for them to stay on the page or submit information reduces the likelihood of them exiting or bouncing. Offers and discounts are effective, but depending on their niche, eCommerce owners can offer much more.
A financial services provider, for example, could list convincing benefits that make them the go-to choice, a retailer selling hiking gear could offer a guide to the best new trails, and a travel agent could show social proof of how many trips they booked in the previous 24 hours.
5. A Distinct Landing Page:
You can also build an email list outside of your home page. When running marketing and advertising campaigns, focus on specific funnels to generate sales or subscribers.
You could, for example, offer a limited-time, big sale or free shipping. Instead of sending them to your homepage (where they might become confused), send them to a landing page.
Because it is designed for high conversions by focusing on a single product, this landing page will have far fewer elements than your store pages. To receive that product or offer, your visitors will need to subscribe to your email list.
With enough testing, you'll be able to improve your landing page's conversion rates, build your email list, and increase your sales.
6. Lead Magnets Are Extremely Powerful:
People are generally wary of new stores and are hesitant to purchase anything for the first time.
As a result, the average conversion rate for many ecommerce stores is around 3%, implying that 97 percent of visitors will leave your store and the vast majority will never return. To avoid this, use a lead magnet to convert your visitors into subscribers for free.
A lead magnet is a valuable resource that your visitors desire, such as a PDF guide, ebook, gift guide, stock images, and so on, and it is one of the most effective ways to build an email list.
In order to obtain that resource, they will need to sign up for your newsletter and email campaigns.
7. Effective Giveaways:
Another excellent strategy that you should consider is the use of powerful giveaways, particularly on the social media channels that your target audience prefers.
This will almost certainly occur on Facebook or Instagram, not only because they are popular, but also because the advertising costs are extremely low. Giveaway strategies have proven to be effective for a wide range of businesses.
Just keep in mind, as I mentioned with the lead magnet, that the prize you'll be giving away is specifically aimed at your target audience.
If you want dog lovers, give them something that only dog lovers will appreciate. Don't hand out an iPad or a set of Bose headphones.
Make it as specific as possible so that your entrants are also qualified leads, which is what the giveaway is all about.
8. Referral Programs:
Through giveaways, referral programs are an excellent way to grow your email list. It's a strategy that has propelled Starbucks, Dropbox, and McDonald's to the top of their respective industries.
Referral programs essentially pay your subscribers to share your offers with their friends, family, and coworkers, allowing you to grow your email list.
There are free ways to get referrals that do not necessitate bribing your contacts. Here are a few examples:
- Include the ability to forward or share your newsletters or welcome emails with others,
- as well as the same option at the end of your lead magnets (videos, PDFs, cheat sheets, etc.)
They're adequate, but not particularly enticing. Rather, offer something of value in exchange for a referral. This can include anything from free shipping to a $50 coupon or discount, a 25% discount, or even a free gift.
Conclusion:
To summarize, even in 2021, email list building remains at the top of the most popular and effective marketing strategies. When it comes to engaging customers on a personal level, email marketing is unrivaled. Remember to pick and double-check the landing page you use to collect email addresses, as well as the method you use to build your email list.
Don't be afraid to experiment with a test-and-learn approach. These eight strategies should provide you with a good starting point for effectively building your email list from scratch and reaching out to your target audience. The generation of leads is only the beginning.
Once you've obtained their email address and expanded your subscriber base, you'll need an effective email marketing strategy to keep them engaged and as paying customers.
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