How to build a mailing list? Building a mailing list
Building a mailing list is the foundation of effective email marketing and a key part of promoting and growing a company. Running marketing activities becomes remarkably easier when you have an engaged contact database. However, poor email list quality only drives up bounce rates and wastes your investment. In this article, we'll take a detailed look at the process of building a high-quality email list, focusing on strategies for acquiring new subscribers who will not only join your email campaigns but also actively support your company's growth.
What is a mailing list?
It's a collection of email addresses gathered by a company or an individual from their customers, prospects, or website visitors. These addresses are used to send targeted, personalised emails directly to recipients' inboxes.
With the right approach, you can:
- build relationships with your audience,
- increase customer engagement,
- increase sales or conversion rates.
Why is it worth building a mailing list?
If you're just starting your e-commerce journey, building a mailing list is far more important than it might seem. Here are the main benefits of building your own mailing list:
- Direct, personalised communication: having an email list gives you a direct route to your audience. Emails land straight in inboxes, which creates a more personal connection.
- Greater engagement: you can reach people who are genuinely interested, since they voluntarily shared their contact details.
- Better targeting: you can split your audience into smaller segments, allowing for more direct communication and content tailored to their needs and interests.
- A list you own: you're not dependent on Facebook, Twitter, or Google. Your social media or SEO efforts can be disrupted when these platforms change their rules. Your email list, however, belongs to you, and you can manage it regardless of other companies' decisions.
Building an email list
1. Before you start building your mailing list, remember to make a good first impression, find common ground, and offer something that will help build that relationship. Take a look at this simple formula:
- find out what your audience really wants,
- create offers that interest them and speak to their needs,
- make the sign-up process simple and intuitive,
- regularly deliver valuable content that's relevant to your subscribers.
2. The next step is choosing a platform that meets your needs. There are now many tools on the market at varying levels of sophistication. Make sure the platform you choose offers:
- easy creation and customisation of forms and, optionally, landing pages;
- tracking the effectiveness of every form based on clicks, sign-ups, and other relevant data;
- segmenting subscribers by various criteria and behaviours;
- sending automated emails to different audience groups;
- easy integration with other marketing tools, making it easier to build your list across different communication channels.
3. To start building your database, you'll need a place where people can leave their email address. This can be done using:
- a sign-up form, which should be added as a permanent element of your site, for example in the footer;
- pop-ups, which appear when a visitor meets certain conditions, for example visiting at least 2 subpages or attempting to leave the site.
Pop-ups typically see higher sign-up rates than standard forms, but we recommend using both together. Also remember not to ask for too much information. Sign-up forms should be short, since your goal is to encourage people to sign up by making it quick and easy.
4. You need to offer something in return, because building a mailing list is a two-way exchange. Users won't leave their email address for free. You need to offer a so-called lead magnet that will attract them and encourage them to sign up. This could be:
- a discount code for their next purchase,
- free delivery,
- an e-book,
- a webinar sign-up,
- the promise of updates on new products or other exclusive offers.
Summary
Contrary to appearances, building a list isn't limited to newsletter sign-ups. Keep in mind that you also need to maintain the email addresses you've acquired, since every one of these people can directly boost profits through their own purchases or by recommending the newsletter to others. This matters because keeping users engaged, and adapting content through segmentation and performance analysis, helps maintain their interest and increases the chances of conversion.
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