Tips to Maintain Email List Hygiene for Optimum Delivery

Email Marketing Expert

Posted By Peyton Fox | October 23rd, 2023

Building and nurturing an email list is a fundamental strategy for businesses and marketers. An email list not only allows you to connect with your audience directly but also paves the way for effective email marketing campaigns. 

In this post, we’ll take you through the essential steps to create an email list from scratch and unlock its potential for your business

What Is A Email List?

An email list is a curated collection of email addresses belonging to individuals who have willingly provided their contact information and expressed an interest in receiving updates, content, or promotional materials from a particular business or organization. It serves as a direct and permission-based communication channel between a brand and its audience.

Email lists are incredibly valuable assets for several reasons. Firstly, they offer a means to establish a direct and personal connection with your target audience, allowing you to engage with them on a one-to-one level. Secondly, email lists enable businesses to maintain ongoing relationships with customers, which can lead to increased brand loyalty and repeat business. Additionally, they provide a platform for delivering targeted and relevant content, promotions, and announcements, increasing the chances of conversion. Finally, email lists offer a level of control and independence, as you’re not reliant on third-party algorithms or platforms to reach your audience, making it a powerful tool for long-term marketing success.

What Are Your Email List Goals?

Creating email list goals is a critical step in harnessing the potential of your email marketing efforts. These goals should align with your broader business objectives. Common email list goals include lead generation, where you aim to capture and nurture potential customers’ email addresses. For existing customers, goals might revolve around enhancing customer retention, delivering personalized recommendations, or increasing sales through targeted promotions.

Another goal could be audience engagement, measured by open rates and click-through rates, which signifies the effectiveness of your content. Regardless of the specific goals, they should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) and regularly reviewed to ensure they contribute to your business growth and marketing strategy

Create Compelling Sign-Up Forms

Opt-in forms become your invaluable ally when it comes to gathering subscriber information on your website. Three primary form types can be employed, either individually or in combination: popups, flyouts, or embedded forms.

Utilizing popup forms is a compelling strategy to bolster your email list. These forms appear on webpages after a set duration or when a visitor scrolls to a specific section of the page. Popups require visitors to take action before leaving the site, whether that means subscribing to your email list, exiting the screen, or performing another task.

For example → Quill Fine Jewelry’s popup specifically targets new site users, and it’s effective. They aim to establish a relationship with their shoppers from the get-go with their  “Join our Community” headline. Additionally, the use of soft pastel colors in the popup aligns perfectly with their web design, making it feel like a natural extension of their site.

Flyout forms also contribute to customer engagement and email list growth. Similar to popups, they emerge after a specified time or when a visitor scrolls to a particular point on the page. However, flyouts differ by appearing from the page’s bottom, top, margin, or corner. 

Example → Aerie’s flyout resembles what you might see on a popup, but on the page it’s smaller and comes out from the side of the page. 

The focal point on the flyout is the 10% discount Aerie is offering to subscribers. The large font size is intentionally attention-grabbing.

Embedded forms, on the other hand, are designed to capture email addresses and typically reside in your site’s header or footer. They often feature just one field where potential subscribers can enter their email addresses. Given that popups and flyouts offer more space for additional information, like first names or phone numbers, embedded forms are more concise. 

Example → Curiada placed their embedded form in the footer of their site.

Their “New bottles, new brands, new cocktails, new recipes. Plus on-the-list-only offers” copy is exclusive and light-hearted. For a brand that’s focused on delivering fun cocktail recipes and exclusive spirits, they know how to craft signup copy to match.

Utilize a branded signup form on your website to make a lasting impression

Before diving into the realm of signup forms, consider a few crucial factors. 

  • Prioritize an eye-catching form design that seamlessly integrates with your website’s overall look and feel. Your site serves as a reflection of your brand, conveying its story through elements like colors, images, fonts, and tone. When a signup form deviates from this cohesive design, it can disrupt the user experience. For instance, if your site boasts vibrant, child-like aesthetics but presents a formal or mismatched popup, it can deter visitors.

 

  • The power of form copy cannot be underestimated; it must captivate your audience’s interest. Craft your signup form with enticing copy that offers something valuable in exchange for their information, whether it’s a sneak peek at your newsletter content or exclusive discounts.

 

  • Consider how the functionality of your signup forms impacts user experience. Excessive interruptions like popups and flyouts can frustrate shoppers, potentially deterring purchases. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ensure your forms enhance, rather than hinder, their browsing experience.

 

  • Employ a double opt-in method to confirm new subscribers. While it may seem that obtaining a subscriber’s information and subscription status is straightforward, issues like misspelled email addresses or fake submissions can undermine the validity of your email list. To avoid this, implement a double opt-in process, requiring subscribers to confirm their information after submitting it. This step not only validates their intent to receive communications from your brand but also prevents inaccurate or fraudulent email addresses from causing deliverability problems.

 

  • Consider implementing top email automations for list growth, such as welcome email series, browse abandonment emails, and winback campaigns, to further engage and retain your subscribers.

Conclusion

Creating an email list from scratch can be a game-changer for your business, enabling you to connect with your audience on a deeper level and drive meaningful results. 

By following these steps and staying committed to providing value to your subscribers, you’ll be on your way to building a thriving email list that fuels your business growth.

Schedule Your Call

In our meeting together, we will run through your current email marketing setup, the hurdles you are facing, and more. At the end of our call, I’ll be able to detail how my team and I could help.

When booking, you’ll see a few questions that must be answered prior to our call. We are very selective about what brands and clients we work with to ensure we can succeed with your email marketing.