Grow Your Email List With These 9 Tips

Cole Dunlop
January 20, 2016

Each morning as we sip our coffee we sift through our inbox. It used to be the newspaper, but now we’re prone to everything digital and with the help of mobile we can literally check our email from anywhere. Having that capability is reason alone to want to grow email subscribers and reach a larger audience through email marketing. Combine a large list of subscribers with effective content and you’re looking to increase conversions.

When done correctly email marketing has huge opportunities for conversions, whether it be event sign ups, online sales, or increasing foot traffic. The ROI for email marketing averages 4,300% for businesses in the U.S. and is claimed to be one of the most effective marketing tactics for awareness, acquisition, conversion, and retention.

Take advantage of the many opportunities that come with email marketing by first building a solid list of relevant contacts, and continuously adding new subscribers with these tips:

1. Dig Through Existing Databases

Use the resources you already have to grow an email list by adding email addresses from customer contact information you’ve received in the past. An existing customer database can be a goldmine for email marketing. Start with the basics and use pre-existing customers to began building an email list.

2. Reach Out to New Affiliates

Help the email list continue to grow by working with affiliates. Working with affiliates is like sharing databases and can be beneficial to both parties. Not only will you receive leads based on your demographic by working with affiliates, but your email list can grow tremendously to an audience you wouldn’t have had access to before.

There are affiliates available for every type of industry. Use the tips below to help find the right affiliate for your company:

Google Search For Affiliates: The quickest way to find a solid list of affiliates related to a specific industry is by simply searching for them online. Do thorough background research and compile a list of different affiliates before reaching out.
Add a Page For Affiliates: Adding a page made just for affiliates on a website not only tells people that you work with affiliates, but that the business is available for new partnerships.
Network Between Affiliates: After building a solid relationship with a few different affiliates, try reaching out to them for new partnership recommendations. The more affiliates you work with, the more lead lists and emails you can access.

3. Include a Link on Email Signatures

A simpler way to increase email subscribers is by adding a “Subscribe” link on email signatures. Make the extra line mandatory for everyone in the office so each email that is sent out gives people the opportunity to subscribe. The more people who have the subscribe link on their signatures, the more exposure and chance of new subscribers.

4. Add an Opt-In Form to the Website

Whether you use a popup box or a neat little form at the top of your website, every website should have an opt-in form to collect emails with. Each time a person fills out an opt-in form you’re not only receiving another email subscriber, but also gathering lead information.

In order for someone to want to fill out the form or popup box, you’ll need to define a clear call to action. Promote an offer in the call to action or give an enticing reason why your email newsletter is valuable to a specific demographic. These are a few of the many different call to actions you can include:

“Subscribe now and receive exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox.”
“Sign up for our newsletter and be entered to win in our monthly drawing.”
“Become a real fan by subscribing to our newsletter and unlock exclusive specials and updates.”
“Discover our next location by subscribing to our newsletter.”
“Want our next webinar delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our webinar newsletter.”
“Sign up today and receive exclusive updates about our next webinar.”

5. Use Old Fashioned Pen and Paper

Do you have a storefront or multiple locations? If so, you can easily leave a notebook or notepad on the front desk and encourage people to leave their email address to sign up for the newsletter, which of course offers exclusive specials, updates, and deals. This is a much softer approach and can have greater success with specific industries such as the health, boutique, and food industries.

6. Host a Webinar

Webinars are a great way to drive traffic and collect new subscribers. Promote the webinar on Facebook by Boosting Posts and on each social media channel. Make sure the webinar topic is something your demographic would actually be interested in, such as a common inquiry or FAQ’s customers have. Use the webinar to explain a process and make it educational. The more exciting and informational the webinar topic is, the greater the chance of webinar sign ups and new subscribers.

When designing a cover photo for social media, designate a specific section of the graphic to include how to sign up for a “Monthly Newsletter”. Add a caption to include a subscription call to action, including what the benefits of signing up are. If you use a different graphic for the Twitter cover photo than the LinkedIn and Facebook cover, use a different call to action to match the different graphics.

Social media contests are a great way to collect email addresses. Using third party apps or landing pages, create a contest that requires users to fill out a form. Requiring a form fill-out will force users to provide their most up-to-date email address. Not all email addresses associated with social media accounts are active or used regularly. That’s why it’s important to require email address as required part of the entry for a social media contest.

Don’t ever underestimate the power of social media. Simply posting a snippet of an email newsletter on social media will give a preview to users of what they can expect by subscribing. For the best results, you’ll want to give followers an incentive to subscribe by tweeting and posting special offers for subscribing and what’s in it for them. Use a shortened link, relevant hashtags, and reach out to groups on social media to reach a larger audience.

These are just a few of the many ways you can grow your email list. Do you have special tips and tricks for how to receive new subscribers? Leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!

** Remember to always ask permission and provide an optional box to check when collecting and using email addresses for newsletters.