Did you know that you are 6 times more likely to get a click-through from an email campaign than from a tweet? Almost everyone in the world utilises email marketing in their company. And who can blame them? Clearly, email marketing is a high-impact, low-cost way of delivering marketing messages to your current customers or prospects. But that’s only if you have a super email list with all your ideal customers on it. It’s quite easy to build up an email list of “spammy” emails with users who have no genuine interest in your company. If you want to build your email list with the right customers, then carry on reading. We have 7 great ways to build your email lists with your ideal customers, that will guarantee a return on your investment.

1. Have a signup form on your website

Let’s start with the obvious one! If you want to build your email list, you’ll need a sign-up form somewhere on your website. Preferably placed somewhere your visitors can see clearly but isn’t distracting them from your content. Therefore try avoiding annoying sign-up pop-ups or a large sign-up box in the middle of your page. The best place for your form is either in the footer, header or as a sidebar widget. Another good idea is to have a separate signup form for your website and blog. This way you know that blog signups are interested in your blog posts and website signups are interested in your services. You could even include a call to action at the end of your blog posts to encourage your readers to register.

2. Offer a discount on your services

Want people to sign up? Give them a reason to! The best ways to build your email lists with your ideal customers is by offering a discount on our services for signing up. For example, if your online clothing retailer you could say get 20% off all Jackets when you signup and give your new subscribers a coupon code in the email. This way you know your subscribers are genuine as they are interested in saving money on your services.

3. Host a webinar

Webinars are extremely popular these days. More and more people want to increase their knowledge in a specific area and prosper in their careers. Make use of this growing trend by organising your own webinar and ask participants to register before they can attend. This is a brilliant way to create a responsive email list of relevant prospects. But, make sure your webinar has a catchy title and solves a common problem your customers might be facing.

4. Create free resources

Now this one can get a little “spammy” if done wrong. The right way to give free resources is by making sure the resources you give are completely relevant to your buyer personas. This will require a little research into what problems your buyer personas might be facing and how your resource can help them. The resources you create also need be high-quality. This way you can establish yourself as a leader in your industry. There’s nothing worse than using low-quality resources to scare off email prospects.

5. Encourage forwarding

You can encourage your current subscribers to forward your emails by including social sharing buttons and an “email to a friend” button in your emails. This way if your content is really inspiring your subscribers might even share it with their network, friends and colleagues. You could even include a “subscribe” button or CTA at the bottom of your emails to make it easier for them to opt-in.

6. Invite people to “Join the Club”

Sometimes wording makes a huge difference. Instead of asking site visitors to “sign to our newsletter”, try being more creative. You could ask visitors to join your exclusive Birthday club, where they could enter their name, email and birthday. You reward them by offering a special offer or freebie when they sign up and then follow up with an exclusive offer on their birthday. This makes the whole process of signing up more fun for the subscriber and makes them feel part of a community.

7. Networking

The old-fashioned way of building your emails is by attending networking events in your area. This is a great opportunity to meet new contacts in your industry and get some business cards. After the event, you can send your new connections an email to let them know more about yourself and continue nurturing.

Bottom Line: Ways to Build Your Email Lists

Email marketing is one the few most effective ways to nurture your contacts. The 7 ways to build your email lists mentioned in this article aim to get you high-quality prospects. Many of these ideas are not difficult to implement and can be done by businesses of all sizes. The key is knowing your buyer persona, so you can get relevant email list subscribers and not “spammy” ones. Share your thoughts in the comments below or with us on our Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn page.

If you’d like to explore more ways to grow your email list with your ideal client book a 30 minute call with our marketing expert.