When properly cultivated, email marketing can generate a high return on investment for your company.  In order to do so, you want to be sure to build and maintain an engaged subscriber list as sending emails that never get opened is not going to benefit your business. In this blog, we share a few things to consider in order to create email marketing lists that grow your business.

Attracting subscribers

Attracting the right subscribers is the most important part of growing your email list.  Blogging and social media are two great ways to attract potential customers to your website.. By building an online presence where your prospective subscribers are actively engaged, you will effectively reach more people interested in what you’re saying and they will go to your website to see more.

Once you have reached your targeted audience with blogs and social media, you must invite people to subscribe to your email list. You can add subscribe links on your social media channels or on your website. By placing these forms in a highly visible area, such as your homepage or in a header/footer on your website, they will have higher engagement rates.

Building your list

You can attract hundreds or thousands of subscribers but they will mean hardly anything if they aren’t one of your buyer personas. Check out this HubSpot blog to see what a buyer persona is. When attracting subscribers, it’s important to use different channels but more importantly, you must use a form that identifies what they are. For example, if you’re a realtor, your subscribe form should identify if they are a first-time buyer, seller, etc. That way, when you begin marketing to them, you can send them relevant information that will keep them engaged.

Another way to build your list is to create premium offers like white papers or e-books. Once subscribers provide the information requested, they will receive the content you have promised them.  This is a very effective way to build your list.

Updating and maintaining your list

You’ll want to be sure to keep your list up-to-date and manage your bounces (read MailChimp’s blog to learn more) and unsubscribe requests on a regular basis. Without a good maintenance plan in place you risk low engagement and possibly compliance issues; which can affect your ability to send emails and potentially compromise your account.

We recommend that you maintain permission from your subscribers, by actively sending and engaging with them. Placing a little reminder in the footer of your email that helps your subscribers remember how you got their email address is helpful as well. In the event you get reported for spamming, it serves as “evidence” to how this subscriber came to your list.

Re-engaging Inactive Subscribers

When subscribers become inactive, we recommend that you implement a re-engagement strategy. It’s easier to re-engage subscribers who are already interested in your business than it would be to enlist new subscribers. The first step is to identify inactive subscribers; that would be the ones that don’t open your emails often. It’s possible to win them back by targeting the subject matter of emails that have been opened in the past and peaking their interest once more.

Another way to re-engage inactive subscribers is to create polls and surveys, offering a gift or promotional codes when they complete it. With the right question’s being asked, you can gain some great insight to your clientele and their needs.  Contests and giveaways are also a good way to generate interest.

The most important thing to remember is that creating relevant and quality content for your subscribers is a quick and cost-effective way to build your database of prospects. By keeping these items in mind and continuing the content creation process, you will be sure to have a quality subscriber list that continues to grow your business.

Take these points into consideration, and you’ll be well on your way. And a little added tip, don’t buy lists! Buying has changed and buying lists is out! To learn how buying has changed and why your marketing should too, read our latest blog.