Regarding e-commerce, having a strong email list is a proven effective tool in connecting with current and potential customers. Email is personal and accessed daily by most people – thanks to the rise in smartphone usage over the years – and when used in a direct and targeted fashion, it is a great way to drive traffic to your website and business. While this sounds pretty straightforward, it may not come as easily to some e-commerce owners.
We’re here to help, though!
In this guide, we’ve broken down the basics for growing an effective email list for your business using 5 tips. Whether you’re just starting out or simply looking to expand your email list further, the following tips are proven to help:
- Incentivize
- Gated Content
- Promote Via Social Platforms
- Using The Right Words
- Quizzes
Let’s dive right in so you can start growing your email list!
Incentivize
Incentivizing is one of, if not the most, effective ways to grow your email list. Basically, incentivizing is simply rewarding people for subscribing. There are a multitude of ways to achieve this, with offering discounts, hosting giveaways, encouraging referral programs, and trading content for sign-ups being the main ones.
Have you ever browsed a website and seen a discount offer that sounded like “Get 20% off your first order! Provide your email to receive your discount code!”? This effective example of a discount-based incentive entices people to provide their email in exchange for a discount. View other discount pop-up examples HERE.
Similarly, you could ask current subscribers to take part in a referral program by encouraging them to get friends to subscribe in exchange for discounts or other rewards.
Also, consider hosting a giveaway to keep your customers excited and encourage them to sign up and spread the word about your business for a shot at winning a free gift.
Gated Content
Another way to incentivize customers to become part of your mailing list is in exchange for content and downloads – otherwise known as “gated content.”
Does your athletic wear brand have a weekend workout plan you could put behind a sign-up form? Or maybe you are a course creator and have a mini-lesson you can offer?
Find that introductory piece of content to entice your traffic to submit their email address to obtain. After that email is captured, having customized welcome flows to fit how they came into your system is one way to keep their engagement after sign-up!
Promote Via Social Platforms
Many e-commerce brands prioritize growing their social following over their email list when they first get started. Luckily, you can get those two audiences aligned through a few strategies.
A few ways to use your social media to its full potential are:
- Create a landing page where your followers can sign up and link it in your bio with highlighted benefits of joining. To learn how to make a landing page that converts leads CLICK HERE.
- Create engaging and valuable content for your viewers such as webinars, hangouts, and beneficial free information that falls under your brand category, and invite leads to sign up so they never miss new content.
- Partnering with similar yet not-directly-competing brands to collaborate on giveaways, promotions, sales, and other valuable content encourages similar client bases to sign up, allowing you and your brand partners to share your audiences and new targetted prospects.
- When you have a product launch or sale approaching, do a social post to invite your followers to be the first to know once it goes live. This can be a great way to get highly engaged social followers onto your email list.
Use The Right Words
Using the right language could make or break your chance to engage with your customers. Acknowledge the fact that a customer is leaving your website and try to persuade them with a pop-up that employs language to make them hesitate and think again about investing.
Think of phrases like “Wait” “Before You Leave” “Don’t Miss Your Chance” or something similar as a final engagement attempt. Employing enticing language is a great way to boost your sign-up rate.
Image via optinmonster
Using a Quiz
This next one can be a game-changer for your website. Implementing quizzes into your lead acquisition is a great way to get data on the traffic visiting your site and an easy way to grow your email list.
Imagine when a new visitor lands on your website and explores a few products but isn’t sure if it is right for them. A pop-up or even a sticky banner on the website then invites them to find out what product is right for them!
They then take this quick quiz to learn more about themselves and your products! Using apps like TypeForm or OutGrow allows you to create paths based on their answers. To see their final result, all they have to do is enter their email address.
Depending on the app, you can showcase product recommendations based on their answers as well!
And there you have it – our top 5 tried and true ways to grow an email list! It can be a little intimidating getting started, but with the right tools and know-how, you’ll be well on your way to generating valuable and trusted subscribers.
If you need help implementing the strategies above or generating a successful E-commerce strategy, check out Spark Bridge Digital to request a free audit. Our top-rated email marketing experts would love to help!
