Emails can be an extremely valuable asset to your brand and business. But what about those myths that email is dying? Well, I’ve been hearing that myth since I started my career in marketing more than a decade ago. And guess what, email’s still here and still going strong.
There are roughly 3.8 billion Internet users who have at least one email address. To put that into context, that’s something close to 92% of all Internet users who have access to and use email.
According to a study by McKinsey & Company, email marketing is up to forty times more successful than social media marketing–giving you more return on the time you invest in your communications. It’s an effective way to share important updates, news and events, as well as drive traffic to your blogs and content. In the wake of COVID-19, and shelter-in-place orders, the amount of time people are spending online is only increasing.
So with all that potential and equitable reach to your audience, how do you grow your email lists?
The strategy here is twofold. One, be clear on why they should subscribe and what value they’ll get from joining. Two, make it easy to sign up. People rarely go hunting for email lists to subscribe to.
Offer free downloads/resources with sign-ups
People don’t want junk mail — they need to know that they’re getting valuable content in exchange for their email address.
Get creative and think about resources, downloads, and events that are related to you and your brand or business. If you’re a picture book author, you might offer a free teacher’s or caregivers guide for your book as an incentive for subscribing to your email list. Or, if you write for adults, each month you might raffle off a virtual meet and greet for all new email subscribers.
Add a pop-up to your website
I know, it sounds so 1990. But when placed and used correctly it can be incredibly effective. You can often set parameters around when and where you’d like the banner to appear.
If the pop-up banner enhances your user’s experience, rather than distracts for it, the user will likely engage. You may consider only sharing the pop-up banner to users who’ve previously visited your site, or after the user has been on the page for a minute.
Don’t over do it or you’ll run the risk of annoying the user. You’ll also want to check settings that instruct the pop-up to reappear only after two weeks or 30 days if the user dismisses the banner.
Add an opt-in on all your forms
Never miss the opportunity for someone to subscribe to your email. Again, it’s all about making it easy. If they’re already reaching out to you via another form on your website, ask if they’d like to subscribe to your email list, too.
A single checkbox and you’ve killed two birds with one stone.
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