In the glam of Instagram and LinkedIn, emails may look stale. But email marketing remains just as critical for effective communication, conversion, and brand building. Just ask any digital marketing agency in Canada.
Did you know every $1 spent on email generates $42? There's a reason why 4 out of 5 marketers say they would rather give up social media than email marketing.
The challenge, however, is the dynamics of email marketing have changed now. While people would happily open and read emails a decade back, that’s not the case today. In fact, many people are even apprehensive to give businesses their email addresses.
This has made building an email list difficult. And even if you have captured people’s email addresses, keeping them engaged and ensuring a high email open rate is another obstacle on the way. If you’re working with any of the top digital marketing agencies in Australia, they will take care of it. However, in case you’re going the DIY way, let’s discuss how you can build an email list and drive maximum conversion from your email marketing efforts.
5 Tips to Build an Email List
1. Have multiple opt-in forms
Remember, just having one opt-in form in the first fold of the page won’t work. You need to have multiple opt-in forms throughout the page, with different copies and CTA buttons. For example, you can have a hellobar, opt-in option at the end of the blog posts, in the sidebar, between the blog posts. You want to make it clear to the visitors that you want their email addresses.
2. Create more than one squeeze pages
For better results, it’s best to have dedicated squeeze pages to collect emails. Ideally, you want more such landing pages. Why? Because even within your target audience, there are multiple segments and each of these segments have their own distinct needs, requirements, and preferences. So, having more squeeze pages to capture email addresses allows you the opportunity to personalize the content and target different segments. And a higher level of personalization results in better conversion.
3. Offer lead magnets
Offering lead magnets significantly boosts the chances of conversion. So, offering something for free or exclusive to entice people to give you their email addresses; an ebook, discounts, training, consultation, and more.
Here’s a tip: Have more than one lead magnet. The more you have, tailored to your target segments, the more conversion you will see. So, if you have multiple squeeze pages that are created for different segments, have an individual lead magnet for each.
4. Don’t discount the paid campaigns
Many businesses don’t consider paid campaigns to build an email list. Sure, spending on ads can be costly and people giving you their contact details don’t guarantee financial returns. But if your average customer spend (ACS) is high and if you have a well-defined lead nurturing strategy (which also means you have products ready to sell), spending on paid campaigns to build an email list isn’t a bad idea. It’s a very effective route, and in the long run, it assures great ROI.
5. Set the expectations right
Of course, if you tell people they’re going to get an 80% discount on the product if they give their email address, they would do it. But can you fulfill that claim? The point is never to create unrealistic expectations for people to get their email addresses. This will usually end in a poor open rate and a higher unsubscription rate. So, from the start, make it clear what people can expect once they join your email list.
6. How to Increase Email Open Rate and Conversion?
Once you have an email list, time to communicate with those people. Now, low open rate, which subsequently means poor conversion, is a big challenge for marketers today. This is why many brands, instead of going the DIY-way, choose to hire digital marketing agencies in Australia.
The key here is to create compelling email copies that recipients find interesting and relevant.
Here are five tips to increase email open rate and conversion:
7. Write “great” subject lines
This goes without saying. It’s the most important thing in email marketing at large. Unless people open their emails, all your efforts will go in vain. And the subject line is the critical piece that can get them to open their emails.
Short subject lines with numbers, special characters, and emojis work better.
Here are a few tips on how to write excellent email subject lines.
8. Keep the emails short
People don’t have time to read long, never-ending emails. This is especially true if the brand identity of the sender isn’t prevalent.
So, keep the emails short and to the point. Avoid explaining things in detail.
Make the emails as compact and valuable as possible.
9. Adopt an informal, conversational tone
Replace your “Respected Sir” with “hey [name]”.
Drop that formal tone from your emails. Take an informal approach to make the emails sound conversational, like you’re talking to a friend.
Be selective of the choice of your words and formatting.
Conversational emails enjoy higher clicks.
10. Offer multiple CTA options
Offer people multiple options in terms of what they should or can do next. Don’t force them to take any specific action. Instead, you want them to provide a choice of what action they want to take next.
So, throughout the email, include 2-3 links aka CTA (and not one), and let people choose which one they want to click on.
More choices increase the chance of higher CTR.
11. Personalize the emails
If you have collected email addresses from multiple squeeze pages or through multiple lead magnets, you will already have email segmentations. (If not, you can segment your email list into different categories.)
Email segmentation based on people’s interests, demographics, psychographics, pain points, and other factors will help you personalize your email. For instance, a 32-year old mother would have different sets of needs and thereby expectations from your emails than a 44-year old man. So, tailor your emails based on who you’re sending them to.
Final Words
Email marketing isn’t as easy as it once was. As mentioned, low email open rate and poor CTR are big challenges everyone is facing. But given how high its ROI can be, these are challenges worth spending resources on.
So, take your first step today. Create a strategy to build an email list. For help, connect with a good digital marketing agency Canada.
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