Quick and Easy List Building

Transcription

1 Quick and Easy List Building A short guide by MailWheel 1

2 Discover What s Inside In this short guide we will give you an insight into one of the most important procedures in marketing campaign building - creating an list. Deliverability of your s, marketing efficiency - everything depends on the quality of your list. Eventually this will have a long-term impact on the status of your company compared to its competitors and, of course, your profits. This guide will provide you with best practices that will help you take advantage of your list and make your marketing campaign as effective as possible. Whether you are a beginner or a guru of marketing, this short and simple guide will be of great use to you. «It s a very safe bet that will beat all your other» marketing methods in terms of return on investment. Arthur Middleton Hughes Harward Business Review, Aug 21,2012 What will you find in this guide: 10 Simple Tips to Build an Awesome List Typical Mistakes in List Building Checklist Hello! 2

3 10 Simple Tips to Build an Awesome List 1 Pay attention to the content The s you are sending to your subscribers is #1 tool for building your list. The more engaging and attractive your content is, the more likely recipients will forward your s to their co-workers, friends and family members. Moreover, as the content gets better, the subscribers will get more interested in your product/service and look forward to your future s. So,before launching your campaign, make a quick-check of your content using these 5 basic elements. 3

4 2 Sign-up forms: the simpler the better Your sign-ups will multiply if you place a clear and straightforward sign-up form on your website. This method is not only effective, but also very easy. When creating a sign-up form, just stick to this simple rule: The easier it is to fill-in the form the more likely it is that the customer will spend their time on it. And here are some more tips on how to make your sign-up form noticeable and attractive, so that customers will leave you their s in no time: 4

5 3 Make a Compelling Offer In order for people to hand over their addresses to you, you re going to have to offer them something enticing in return. Think like a marketing expert. It could be a free Guide or Whitepaper, access to a Webinar, or the promise of discounts that requires visitors to provide their in order to get it. Whatever you choose, just make sure it s something people will consider valuable to them! Also, you can encourage people to share the subscription on social networks in exchange for coupons and store credits for bringing in a new paying customer. 4 Introduce subscriber only content Premium content, exclusive subscriber membership program - whatever you call it - it s a great tool to engage more subscribers and to draw attention to your product/service. Your subscriber only content may include whitepapers, industry reports and other insider information, as well as exclusive access to webinars. The thing to remember is that people want to know that they are getting something of value, something that they would otherwise not if they didn t provide their contact info. So it better be good! This method will help you accomplish two things: 1. Grow your list 2. Get info on the subscribers that are most interested in your product/service. 5

6 5 Use Social Media As the world becomes increasingly engaged in social media activities, you cannot simply pass them by when building your list. Use all the sources at hand: launch a Twitter campaign, create a group on Facebook, etc. Within your posts, include links to your website and blog or to a landing page where interested readers can subscribe for s. Also, try to engage with other users by commenting on their blogs and posts. However, social media should not be used only as a promotional tool. Be sure you vary the content so that followers look forward to your future posts. Example: Every time someone follows you on a social network prompt them to join your list. 6 Create multiple subscription types If you send targeted content to specific groups of your subscribers try to make your subscriptions as varied as possible. recipients tend to click on s that have been targeted at them more often, so if you create multiple subscription types, you ll increase the chance that visitors will subscribe to one of them. You can also add a link to your employees signatures that leads people to a landing page where they can sign up for your mailing list. 6

7 7 Promote an online contest Everyone loves to get something for free. Hold a free giveaway, and have participants sign up using their contact information. (Remember to promote your contest on social networks and encourage the participants to share it with their friends!) It will increase social engagement, brand awareness and,of course, help to build your list! 8 Host free in person workshops and meetups Despite the numerous online techniques to build your list don t forget that we still live in the physical world and you can always ask for s in person. Start a local meet up in your field, talk at a large conference or create a free workshop to collect s. If you talk at a large meetup, offer people a bonus resource aligned with your talk. At the end of the presentation you can have a link to your landing page. It s a great way to grow your list as well as to build a personal relationship with the customer. 7

8 9 Use Point of sale/ Call center Point of Sale and call center data can be one of the best ways to collect contact information. You already know the customers are interested in what you have to offer. At the point of sale, whether it is online when making a purchase or in-store on customer receipts, make sure there is a link to a page where they can sign up to receive s from you. If you are operating a call center or have any interaction with customers over the phone, no matter what the reason for a call is, take the time to encourage the customer to subscribe to your list if they have not already done so. 10 Try direct mail Even though direct mail seems to be so old-fashioned right now, a greeting postcard never hurt anyone. If you have the physical addresses of your prospective customers, try and send them some direct mail to encourage them to sign up and receive s from you. It can be a postcard with a link to a landing page with more information on the topic. You could also send them something of value, like a coupon or a store credit, that can be registered online using an address and used afterwards. 8

9 Typical Mistakes in List Building When growing an list it s important not only to get as many s as possible using any tools at hand but also to keep the existing subscribers satisfied and look forward to future s from you. Otherwise, no matter how many s you ve got, the customers will be willing to unsubscribe and your campaign will be ineffective.that is why we strongly recommend avoiding the following mistakes: Mistake #1: ing irregularly You may start your campaign with great intentions, planning to send brand new newsletters every two weeks, but as months go by without any s from you can become confusing and quite possibly annoying to your subscribers. Quick fix: Work out a mailing schedule and stick to it. Weekly, every other week, or monthly- anything that suits you best. If you decide to increase or decrease the number of s, do so gradually (don t suddenly jump from ing weekly to ing daily). Mistake #2: Buying/renting an list When starting a new campaign at a certain point everybody is tempted by a simple opportunity not to bother oneself with acquiring s and just buy a ready-made list from a third party. Don t fall into 9

10 this trap!buying an list will have far more outreaching consequences than you can imagine: your s will get into spam-folders most of the time (as people on your list did not agree to receive s from you),the budget and the reputation of your company will be harmed. Quick fix: There is no need to hurry to acquire a large list.take one step at a time using the tips mentioned above and gradually the number of your subscribers will grow, and these will be your customers- people interested in your product/service. Mistake #3: Not paying attention to the preheader Some clients, like Gmail or Yahoo, show a short preview of s alongside the subject line. Unfortunately, many companies ignore this resulting in texts like Problems viewing this ? or even worse, Use this area to offer a short teaser of your s content appearing as the preheader. Quick fix: Make sure the text at the start of your completes the subject line.in the plain text version of there probably won t be a problem, but if you are using templates we strongly recommend you to be careful and update your s each time. Mistake #4: Getting upset by unsubscribers Every time you send out an to a list, some of your readers will unsubscribe. While this is obviously frustrating, there is no need to panic. 10

11 In fact,all people at a certain point clear out their inboxes and get rid of information they don t need it s nothing personal. Quick fix: Try to look on the bright side: If someone unsubscribes, they were probably never going to order or buy anything from you in the first place and now there is a smaller burden on your budget as you don t have to pay for them to be on your list! Mistake #5: Never getting your s tested Your service provider should allow you to split-test your s by sending out slightly different versions of s to different segments of your list. Use this option as often as possible! If you never test your , you ll never know if any small changes could have resulted in a much more effective campaign. Quick fix: It s better to test s that go out repeatedly, rather than all at once e.g., if you have an autoresponder series that begins whenever there is a sign up for your newsletter. Any promotional s are also great ones to test, as a small increase in open rate or click-through rate can have a significant impact on your profit. 11

12 Checklist And one last thing. If you are a beginner, this guide could be too much information to absorb at once. So before building your list, take a look at this checklist to make sure you have everything under control. Great content Simple sign-up forms Compelling offer Introduce subscriber only content Use social media Multiple subscription types Promote online contest Point of sale/ call center Arrange free workshops and meetups Try direct mail ing irregularly Buying/renting an list Not paying attention to the preheader Getting upset by unsubscribers Never testing s 12

13 About MailWheel MailWheel provides the most effective way to send s to your customers. Designer templates and useful tools are always at hand to help you create unique and efficient campaigns. Using our Inbox Viewer, you can create s that will be correctly displayed anywhere. Drag&drop builder with its unique designs and flexible layouts will make your campaign building easy and fun. MailWheel Spam Doctor will make sure your s don t get caught up in spam folders. Customization, segmentation, A/B testing- you name it. We keep an eye on all these features while you stay focused on your business. Please visit for more information Get Started With MailWheel Learn more about us More tips about marketing on MailWheel Blog Sign up by DigitalContact 13