Every business needs to take their email list seriously

Every single one of your current and future customers has an email address. It is a direct line into their day. Email is one of the most personal and economical ways to stay in touch.

In fact, email statistics show that email marketing performs better than social media, PPC, content marketing, offline direct marketing, online display advertising, mobile marketing, and affiliate marketing. So where do you begin?

You Need An Email Service Provider

An email service provider is a company that gives you tools to send marketing email. Here are some of the most important criteria for choosing an ESP that is right for your business:

1. Deliverability. You need to make sure your emails make it to your inboxes. Otherwise, the rest of your work is wasted if the email remains undelivered. The most reputable ESPs hover around 99% deliverability.
2. Setup. Setting up your ESP account should be a painless process. Whether you’re uploading a list or designing your first email, you shouldn’t need hours to make it happen. The best ESPs are user-friendly and intuitive.
3. Easy to use. Managing your email campaigns should be easy. If you find it difficult to navigate an ESP, it will only get more complicated as you develop your email program.
4. Reporting. Reports should be beautiful and straightforward. Make sure to look for analytics integrations and see what reports your ESP offers before signing up.
5. Support. An ESP should be easy enough to use without any support, but there will be times when you need a hand. It’s important to know that someone will be there for you.

Key factors to consider are optimal deliverability, Setup, user-friendly interfaces, Reporting features, and reliable customer support. Individuals specializing in email marketing can streamline their workflow by choosing an ESP that excels in these areas. This means they can automate many routine tasks, reducing the time and effort needed to manage campaigns. This helps create engaging, mobile-friendly emails, boosting audience engagement and growing email lists.

If you want to build a massive email list, find a great ESP to host your list and make it easy to design and send emails that are beautiful and mobile-friendly.

You Need To Send Amazing Emails

It goes without saying that to build an email list, you need to send emails that people care about. Without awesome content, you can use all of the list-building tactics in the world, but nobody will want your emails. How can you develop great content?

1. Do the research. Subscribe to competitors to see what types of emails they send. Make a list of content categories and brainstorm the types of emails you want to send. Use competitor emails as inspiration but seek to create a program that is truly original.
2. Create an email content calendar. Once you determine content categories, create an email content calendar with specific email topics and dates for delivery. Sending frequency should be consistent but test multiple delivery dates and times, content types, and designs to find what works best.
3. Design a branded email template. Use your email editor to design a beautiful template that reflects the look and feel of your brand – in minutes. You can easily replicate each newsletter and create variations for testing.

Here are a few email content tips to help you…

• Make emails easy to share. You can add social sharing buttons.
• Share your best content. Whether its your latest blog post or ebook, make sure to share your best performing content via email.
• Curate. Shine the spotlight on someone else. Promote content from industry leaders and let them know you will be sharing it in your newsletter.
• Ask your audience what they want. Instead of just trying to read the minds of your customers, ask them what they want. Who doesn’t want to have their voice heard or their questions answered?
• Tie in current events. Try to find ways to integrate important holidays and major events within your email content.
• Experiment with subject lines. Check out our post on email marketing statistics to find a few subject line tricks that might work for you. Take some inspiration from subject lines that get opened more often.
• Give extra value. I’ll cover this more extensively under the “Incentives” category in the deck below but the idea here is to run subscriber-only contests or give them something they can’t get anywhere else.

Once you have your email plan ready to go, it’s time to start building your list…

OPT-IN FORMS

1. Sidebar. Add opt-in form to your sidebar.** **Add a subscription form to the sidebar of your blog with WordPress plugin or develop a custom opt-in form.
2. Hello Bar. Add a Hello Bar to the top of your website. You can encourage email signups directly in the Hello Bar or drive traffic to a subscription landing page.
3. Main Menu Page. Add an “Updates” or “Subscription” page to the main menu of your site. This should link to a page dedicated to your email subscription. Highlight the most important benefits of your email newsletter.
4. Custom. Create a custom opt-in form on your homepage. This is important if your primary goal is to convert visitors to email subscribers. Great for bloggers.
5. Popups. Annoy people with popups. There is evidence to support that popups work but it is up to you to decide if the conversions are worth the interruptions.
6. Blog Footer. Create a custom opt-in form for the footer of your blog posts. See the bottom of this post for an example.
7. Opt-ins Everywhere. Flood your site with opt-in forms. Ok, maybe not flooded, but consider adding an opt-in form to every page of your site. Visitors should always have an easy entry point.
8. Brilliant Copywriting. Write amazing copy for your opt-in forms. Grab attention with the headline, nudge with the body, and trigger with the call-to-action. Communicate the incentives.
9. Something Extra. Add something extra to your opt-in forms. Including a dollar value of your incentive or a testimonial or adding social proof can spice things up.
10. The Simple Ask. Don’t ask for too much information before opt-in. Generally, all you want to ask for is an email address. The more you ask, the less visitors convert.
11. Special Promotions. Customize opt-in forms for special promotions. Are you anticipating a traffic surge from a new campaign or guest post? Tailor your forms to the guest audience.
12. Optimization. Optimize opt-in forms to improve conversion rates. Test small changes to your opt-in forms such as location, design, copy, call-to-action, and more. Something as small as changing the voice from first to third person can have a major impact.
13. Interactive. Develop a super unique opt-in form. Want to really stand out? Create an interactive signup form or video game that prompts signups. This can quickly turn into PR opportunities.

Learn more: 16 Opt-in Tricks To Grow Your Email List

INCENTIVES

1. eBook. Create an ebook on a popular industry topic. Combine your most popular blog posts or choose a topic based on industry demand.
2. Email Course. Create an email course. This series of emails should educate your audience on an in-demand industry topic. Use autoresponders to schedule emails.
3. Webinars. Run recurring webinars. Live video conferences can educate your audience and encourage them to sign up for emails.
4. Contests. Run recurring giveaways or contests. Select a product or service to give away every so often and announce winners via email.
5. Special Club. Create a club for subscribers. Brand your email subscription as a special club and offer a variety of incentives.
6. Audio Gift. Record an audio. Take one of your ebooks or popular blog posts and record an audio version. Give this away as a free gift with a subscription.
7. Discount. Offer a discount. Select a special deal or discount on a product or service for new email subscribers. Deliver the deal in the welcome email and set up a reminder email for subscribers who don’t make a purchase.
8. Free Trial. Offer a free trial. In exchange for an email and other information, give people an opportunity to try your product or service for free for a select time period.
9. Free Samples. Offer free samples. Do you have product or services that you can afford to give away for free? Offer to send free samples to people who sign up for your emails.
10. Video Gift. Give people a valuable video. Create a screencast video for your audience and teach them new important insights. Or create a tutorial video and learn new skills in a step-by-step way as you would practically do.
11. Unique Tool. Develop an online tool. Companies like Hubspot offer online tools that require an email subscription, or Neil Patel, who believes tools can be a better investment than content, offer tools for free without requiring subscription.

Learn more: 10 Powerful Opt-in Incentives That Will Get You More Email Subscribers

SUBSCRIPTION CONFIRMATION

• Confirmation Page. Create a custom email subscription confirmation page that welcomes new subscribers into your email community.
• Gratitude. On the confirmation page, show gratitude to new subscribers by offering them a genuine thanks and links to free content they might find valuable.
• SPAM Avoidance. On the same page, request subscribers to add your email address to their contact list to avoid SPAM filtering.
• Sharability. Near the bottom of your confirmation page, add social media links and encourage subscribers to share your subscription with friends.
• Confirmation Email. Create a custom confirmation email that redirects subscribers to your confirmation page after they confirm their subscription.

• Welcome Email. Create a custom welcome email that effectively delivers on the opt-in gifts you promised in your opt-in forms.
• Double Opt-In: Consider a double opt-in process for new subscribers. This sends a confirmation email with a link that users must click to verify their subscription. This extra step helps to ensure the validity of your email list and reduces the chances of spam complaints.
• Welcome Email Series: Design a welcome email series that is automatically sent to new subscribers after they confirm their email. This series can span a few days or weeks, introduce your brand, highlight your most popular content, and offer additional incentives for engagement.
• Personalize the Experience: If possible, personalize the confirmation page and welcome emails with the subscriber’s name. This small touch adds a professional feel and increases the chances of a new subscriber sticking around.
• Set Expectations: Briefly mention the frequency of your emails and the types of content subscribers can expect to receive. This transparency helps manage expectations and reduces the likelihood of unsubscribes.

JUMP-STARTING

1. Friends & Family. Tell your friends and family about your email subscription. People closest to you are likely to help you in the beginning, and you never know who they know.
2. Reengagement. Reengage your old email list. Send an email to subscribers from your old opt-in list inviting them to join your new one.
3. Old Contacts. Send individual emails to old business contacts. Even if you haven’t stayed in touch with all of your connections, they might be interested in your emails.
4. LinkedIn Connections. Find connections on LinkedIn that work in industries relevant to your email subscription. Send each potential subscriber a unique private message.
5. LinkedIn Groups. Introduce your email subscription to targeted LinkedIn Groups. You want to have a presence before promoting your emails so get active early.
6. Public Announcement. Make a public announcement on all of your social media accounts to encourage your fans, followers, and connections to sign up for emails. Tailor the post to each audience.
7. In-House Promotion. Develop a system for in-house promotion. Encourage your team, but do not require, to reach out to family & friends and promote your subscription on social media accounts.
8. Craigslist. Promote your subscription on Craigslist with an ad that highlights the benefits of your subscription. This works best if building a list for a local event or product launch.
9. Email Signature. Add a note and a link to your email subscription in your email signature. It looks professional and gives everyone you email a chance to sign up.

OFFLINE MARKETING

1. Paper Sheet. Add a paper sheet at your business where visitors can sign up. Make sure to highlight the incentives of subscribing and place the sheet where people can see it.
2. Conversation. Ask people to sign up for your emails in conversation. This works particularly well for B2B. After a meeting with a prospective client, tell them about your newsletter and ask them if they want you to add them.
3. Phone calls. Turn phone calls into subscribers. If someone calls you trying to pitch you on their business or you have a call with a prospect or customer, give them a chance to subscribe to your emails. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
4. Signage. Use your outdoor or window signage to promote your emails. Let passerby know about the benefits of your emails and give them an easy URL or QR code to easily find your subscription form.
5. Print Materials Add-On. Promote your email subscription on all print materials. This works best when you offer irresistible opt-in incentives.
6. Dedicated Print Materials. Create postcards or other print materials dedicated to your email subscription. This works great if you have a special club for subscribers or run recurring contests.
7. Trade Shows Display. When you have a booth at a trade show, give people an opportunity to sign up for emails. A contest can be encouraging, but make sure people know what they are signing up for.
8. Hosting. Organize industry events. Put together a one-time or recurring Meetup, seminar, blogger dinner, or hackathon, and collect emails at each event.
9. Industry Events. Attend key industry events such as marketing conferences. Bring your email subscription print materials with you to the next event you go to. Beyond making connections, you might attract new subscribers.
10. Direct Mail. Include email marketing in your direct mail campaigns. Request an email address or include a URL and QR code to your subscription page. Encourage direct mail recipients to go paperless.
11. Phone Line. Does your business have a phone line? Replace that dreadful elevator music with recordings about your website and email sign up. Even your answering machine can help you get the word out!

ADVERTISING

• Website Advertising. Advertise your subscription on a site with similar audiences. Getting featured isn’t easy, and advertising placement can get you powerful results.
• Google Advertising. Run an AdWords campaign. Make sure you already offer compelling opt-in incentive and have a landing page for your subscription to direct ad clicks to.
• Social Media Advertising. Run social media ads. Promote your email subscription on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, with highly targeted social advertising. Drive traffic to a subscription landing page.
• Retargeting Ads: Use retargeting ad campaigns to capture website visitors who haven’t subscribed yet. These ads can follow website visitors across the internet, reminding them about your email list and the valuable content they’ll receive. To follow, you can then also use email retargeting to turn subscribers into customers.

• Influencer Marketing: Partner with relevant influencers in your niche. They can promote your email list to their audience through social media posts, blog mentions, or even video content. This leverages their established trust and reaches a highly targeted audience.
• Offline Advertising: Don’t neglect traditional methods. Consider including a call to action for your email list on business cards, brochures, or even physical store signage. This captures leads who might not be actively searching online.
• Collaborations: Partner with complementary businesses and offer a joint incentive for subscribing to both email lists. This expands your reach to a new audience while providing additional value to your existing subscribers.

E-COMMERCE

1. Checkout. Place an opt-in form on your checkout page. Checkout is a great time to convert one-time customers into email subscribers. Offering a product discount on a future purchase is a great opt-in incentive.
2. Email Receipts. Offer an opt-in option on email receipts. Some people are weary of subscribing during checkout, so make sure you reinforce your subscription benefits and offer an opt-in option directly in email receipts. This could be the reinforcement they need.
3. Abandoned Cart. Send abandoned cart emails. When someone leaves your site with products in their cart, it’s important to send an email reminder. Once they come back and complete a purchase, they should have an option to subscribe for email on checkout and in their receipt.
4. Special Offer. Offer a product discount in exchange for subscription. This is a great incentive to encourage visitors to sign up for emails. Who wouldn’t sign up for emails if it saves them 10% on their first purchase?
5. Recurring Deals. Run recurring deals only available to email subscribers. Give people a reason to sign up for deals. This keeps retention up and gives visitors incentive to sign up.

RETENTION

1. Goodbye? Offer an option for subscribers to tell you why they are leaving when they unsubscribe. This helps gives you ideas on how to improve your campaigns.
2. Come Back! After subscribers unsubscribe, give them an option to sign back up. This seems contradictory, but you’d be surprised at how quickly you can turn them around with a special deal or a funny photo.
3. See You Soon. When you have to take a break, whether it’s for a vacation or family situation, let your audience know. This builds trust and makes sure they don’t forget about you.
4. Inner Circle. Develop an inner circle. Do you have a few subscribers that seem to really love your emails? Give these fans an option to become a part of a more exclusive subscription and offer them special deals.
5. Spotlight. Feature subscribers. Ask your subscribers to offer their tips or ideas and feature a new subscriber in every issue. This gives subscribers an opportunity to become a part of your team, on a deeper level.
6. Suggestions? Ask for suggestions. Don’t be afraid to ask subscribers what they want to see or hear about in your emails. This can help you tailor your content before subscribers do that awful thing they should never do and unsubscribe!

TWITTER

1. Check This Out. Tweet a link to your subscription form and tell followers why they should sign up.
2. Coming Soon. Tweet about upcoming deals or content available only to email subscribers. Tell your Twitter followers to sign up for emails to get access to the deal or content before you send your email.
3. Bio Link. Include a link to your email subscription in your Twitter bio. Use a URL shortening service like bit.ly to avoid taking up too many characters.
4. Content. Make sure you have opt-in forms on every page you link to on Twitter. When you promote a new blog post or eBook with a tweet, visitors should be able to easily subscribe.
5. Direct Messages. Send a welcome direct message (DM) to new followers and include a link to your email subscription. Some people hate automated DMs, so consider personalizing them to each follower. You can also link to specific content that might interest them.
6. Email Tweet Links. Include “tweet this” links in your emails. You can use a service like Click To Tweet to add links to your emails that encourage subscribers to share your emails on Twitter.
7. Embedded Tweets. Include tweets in your emails. You can use content from Twitter in your newsletter, and when you do, reach out to those Twitter users and let them know that they were featured. You might want to request permission before using their tweets.
8. Incentive Promo. Develop a Twitter campaign to promote one of your eBooks or email courses. As long as you have your opt-in process optimized, driving traffic to your content is always a great way to build your list.
9. Miss It? Send a “did you miss our newsletter” tweet. No one enjoys feeling left out, especially if other people that follow him or her received something that they didn’t.
10. Thank you. Thank people or send retweets to people who are tweeting about your business, newsletter or emails. This adds exposure to those who may have missed your tweets about your emails.
11. #Hashtag. Join discussions and mention your site. You can target your audience by observing hashtags and joining appropriate discussions. Once followers begin reading and retweeting, it’s easier to grab their interest in your newsletter signups.

FACEBOOK

1. Subscription Tab. Add a subscription tab to your Facebook page. Design a beautiful call-to-action image for the tab and link it to your subscription page. Or use Facebook Email Sign Up to create one in minutes.
2. Content Tab. Create tab for gated content in your Facebook page. You can build a custom tab that houses your free ebooks, email courses, or other content that requires email signup to access.
3. Contest. Run a contest on Facebook that collects emails for entry. Learn how to do this in my recent post on how to integrate email and social media.
4. Cover Talk. Add a call-to-action in your Facebook page cover. Include a message that encourages people to sign up for emails in your cover.
5. Pay To Play. Run a Facebook ad or create a promoted post that highlights your subscription. You can use Facebook ads analytics to monitor your campaign’s effectiveness.

Instagram

Use the power of visuals to capture attention and grow your email list directly through Instagram. Here are some creative ways to utilize this platform:

• Compelling Bio: Craft a captivating bio that highlights the benefits of joining your email list. Include a link to your signup form using a link-in-bio service like Linktree or Later.
• Strategic Stories: Utilize Instagram Stories to showcase behind-the-scenes glimpses, sneak peeks at upcoming content, or exclusive offers available only to email subscribers. Add a swipe-up link directing viewers to your signup form.
• Engaging Posts: Create visually appealing Instagram posts that tease valuable content offered through your emails. Use clear calls to action, like “Sign up for our emails to learn more!” and include a link in the caption or with a sticker directing them to your signup form.
• Contests & Giveaways: Host engaging contests or giveaways on Instagram with email signup as the entry method. This incentivizes subscriptions while promoting brand awareness.
• Instagram Live: Host live sessions on Instagram Live and offer exclusive content or answer follower questions. Encourage viewers to subscribe to your emails for future live stream notifications and additional insights.
• Influencer Collaborations: Partner with relevant Instagram influencers to promote your email list to their audience. Leverage their visual storytelling and established reach to attract new subscribers.
• Shoppable Posts: If you have an Instagram shop, leverage shoppable posts to showcase products and offer exclusive discounts or early access to new arrivals for email subscribers.
• Instagram Ads: Run targeted Instagram ad campaigns promoting your email list and the valuable content subscribers can expect. Utilize audience targeting options to reach users most likely to be interested in your offerings.

TikTok

The fast-paced and engaging nature of TikTok makes it a great platform to capture attention and drive traffic to your email list signup. Here’s how to use it for email growth:

• Short & Sweet Lead Magnets: Offer quick and valuable downloadable content (like checklists, cheat sheets, or short tutorials) in exchange for email signup. Promote these lead magnets within your TikToks using text overlays or voiceovers.
• Hashtag Challenges: Create or participate in trending hashtag challenges related to your niche. Incorporate a call to action within the video, encouraging viewers to subscribe to your email list for exclusive tips, behind-the-scenes content, or bonus entries in the challenge.
• “Link in Bio” Optimization: Since TikTok limits clickable links within videos, optimize your profile bio with a clear call to action and a link to your email signup form using a link-in-bio service.

• Engaging Tutorials & Tips: Create valuable and informative TikToks showcasing tutorials, tips, or cool skills related to your niche. Tease exclusive content or in-depth guides available through email signup at the end of the video, with a call to action to subscribe.
• Storytelling & Cliffhangers: Utilize creative storytelling and cliffhangers within your TikToks. End the video with a call to action, prompting viewers to subscribe to your email list for the full story, resolution, or additional insights.
• Duet & Stitch Features: Utilize features like Duets and Stitches to engage with popular TikToks in your niche. Add your own commentary or insights, and end with a call to action for viewers to subscribe to your email for more in-depth content.
• Live Q&A Sessions: Host live Q&A sessions on TikTok Live. Offer exclusive access to future live streams or bonus content for those who subscribe to your email list.
• Influencer Collaborations: Team up with relevant TikTok influencers to promote your email list to their audience. Leverage their creativity and established reach to attract new subscribers.

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTINUED

1. YouTube. Promote your emails in YouTube videos. At the end of videos, encourage viewers to sign up for emails. Include an ending slide with a visible URL for your subscription page. This also works well with explainer videos you may use on your own site but have a copy on youtube. In video descriptions, you can add a link to your subscription page or a piece of related content.
2. Communities. Share your email subscription in a community. Just like any other social network, online communities can live everywhere,
3. Pinterest. Promote on Pinterest. Create “Pins” that link to blog posts and especially content on your site that requires email signups, like eBooks or email courses.
4. Leaders. Learn from the best. Want to know how to use social media to better reach new eyeballs? Take a peek at what other prominent bloggers and other thought leaders are doing in your space to build their email audience via social.
5. Talk To Audience. Engage your audience while you create your emails. When you’re working on a newsletter design or content for your next send, don’t hesitate to tweet about why you like working on it and why you find it interesting.
6. Something New. Get out of your Twitter and Facebook comfort zone, and jump into the world of Pinterest TikTok. The more platforms you’re on, the more opportunity you have to reach new users.
7. Follow Us. Encourage users to follow you on different platforms. If someone already follows you on one social network, give them an option to connect with you on another channel and you build a deeper connection. The deeper the connection, the more the chances they have to find your content and eventually subscribe.
8. Become The Solution. Were you hoping to find a way to integrate your social media with your email acquisition but found the options available lacking? Create a better way! There’s no better way to become an authority than creating the next great tool.
9. Buttons. Make your content easy to share on social media. Add social media buttons at the bottom or on the side of your blog posts and emails to encourage readers to share your content with one click.
10. Content. Create posts that highlight specific incentives that you use to promote your email list. Promote each incentive separately on all social channels.

OTHER ONLINE TACTICS

1. Guest Blogging. Email marketing is a powerful tool for bloggers. Guest blog on industry sites that target an audience likely interested in your emails. Make sure to link to your email subscription page in your author bio. You can also link to your emails in the post, but only if it is genuinely relevant.
2. Partner Up! Team up with a partner or affiliate site and run joint promotions. Hosting a webinar with a partner site or running a collaborative blog series can help you attract a valuable audience, or people who instantly trust you, to your site and your emails.
3. Blog Link. Mention your email subscription in the context of your article. Try to tastefully slip in a hyperlink to your email signup. It makes for a good article.
4. Industry Talk. Engage on industry sites. Is there a blog that you read regularly? If you have true value to add, leave a comment. People will recognize your tips and click on you, finding your website, and eventually will find your email. Don’t comment just to comment. There is enough noise already online.
5. Interviews. Unless someone wants to interview you for a site that goes against your beliefs, do the interview. Showcase your expertise and make sure to drop your URL and tell the audience about your emails. Embrace your inner celebrity!
6. Outside The Box. Contribute outside of your niche. Take your expertise to a leading site in another industry, create a guest post that benefits that audience, and watch your list grow. This is a great way to reach new markets and try new guest blogging tactics.
7. Start A Conversation. Content marketing expert Andy Crestodina wrote a great article on how to start a conversation online. A new connection can often lead to a new email subscriber, directly or indirectly.
8. Speak Up. Turn any interaction into an opportunity. Anytime someone engages with your site by posting a comment or doing anything interactive, try to get a prompt in front of them to get them on your email list.
9. Be The Answer. Actively seek out questions on discussion boards, like Quora, on topics related to your industry. Provide detailed, thorough responses for people. This establishes your expertise and will ultimately drive traffic to your site and help you grow your list.
10. Get In Touch. Contact key targets in your industry. Don’t be afraid to reach out to important thought leaders in your space via email or Twitter. Let them know about your emails and you might open up a world of cross promotion or add value to them and their business.
11. Go Local. Don’t sleep on locality. Look for prominent businesses and bloggers and news publications in your community. Reach out to them, and let them know about your emails. People are generally more likely to support other locals to help enrich the community.
12. Clean It Up. Get rid of your website design clutter. When you give people too many options on your website, they often walk away and choose to do absolutely nothing. Clean up your website and watch your list grow!
13. Patience. Email marketing can be quite a bit like fishing. Just because something doesn’t take at first doesn’t mean you should completely abandon your fishing hole right away. Take the time to test out your ideas before moving on and trying a new one.
14. Keep Learning. Never think you know it all as there is always something new coming on the horizon. Every list like this you read is merely capturing the best practices of internet marketing today.

Conclusion

Building an email list is a long-term commitment. To implement the tactics above, consider an incremental approach, testing each tactic individually to discover what works for you. Along the way, I’m sure you’ll come up with dozens of tricks of your own! How do you grow your email list? Any ideas to add here? Leave a comment below and keep the ideas flowing!

The post 120+ Ways To Grow Your Email List Today appeared first on ExpressPigeon.

There are a few important steps to building an email list. One of the most essential steps is optimizing your opt-in setup & process to convert visitors into subscribers. But before you begin, do this:

1. Sign up with an email service provider. An email service provider houses your list and gives you tools to design, send, and track emails. Once you have an ESP account, you are ready to…
2. Create incentive for people to subscribe. You need to offer people something to entice them to give you their email address. Incentive can range from a tangible giveaway (free eBook) to a special offer (product discount) to an exciting explanation of how valuable your emails will be.

Once you have something to give away, you need to make it easy for people to subscribe. This is where opt-in forms come into play. An opt-in form is an entry point for people to subscribe to emails.

To transform visitors into email subscribers, you need to add opt-in forms to your site and develop a subscription process that effectively welcomes them into your email program. Sounds complicated, right?

It’s not as tricky as you may think. Let’s dive right in…

Trick #1: Add an opt-in form to your blog sidebar.

Adding an opt-in form to your blog sidebar is a great place to start. If you have an active blog, this is a traffic-heavy area and a great place to attract new subscribers. You can add a signup form to the sidebar of a WordPress site with a plugin or develop a custom sidebar. Your form should include a message telling visitors why they should sign up.

Trick #2: Add a Hello Bar to the top of your website.

Hello Bar is a simple bar that runs across the top of your website. Within the bar, you can add a custom message and encourage email signups or direct visitors to a landing page where you can capture emails later on.

Trick #3: Add an opt-in page to your main menu.

Add a “Subscribe” or “Updates” or “Connect” page to your main menu and give your opt-in form a home of its own. A page dedicated to your email updates can help reel in your more easily distracted visitors.

Now that you have a page dedicated specifically to your subscription form, it’s important to make it accessible. Consider using a custom URL for your signup page. This makes it easier for people to share in those rare moments where they communicate in person.  

Trick #4: Create a custom opt-in “slider” on your homepage. 

One of the best pieces of real estate you have on your website is the slider section right below your main menu on your home page. If your main call to action on your site is your email subscription, consider building a custom email signup slider. This is especially popular for bloggers.

Trick #5: Prompt visitors with opt-in form popups.

There is a lot of evidence to indicate that popups, when tastefully done, can grow your email list. Popups collect email addresses or provide visitors with a link to important content where addresses are collected later on. I was reading Quicksprout the other day and this popped up:

While popups can be annoying and are not a fit for every business, there are many thought leaders that swear by their results. To add a popup to your site, you can use WordPress plugins like Popup Domination or build something custom. Remember to give visitors ample time or a few clicks before triggering the popup, or you might scare them off.

Trick #6: Add an opt-in form to the footer of blog posts.

Adding a signup form to the footer of your blog posts is an excellent way to transform new and returning blog readers into engaged email subscribers. We know from experience. By adding a custom HTML signup form to the footer of our posts, we experienced a 156% increase in our email signup rate in just 30 days.

Creating a custom signup form requires contracting a graphic designer and a developer. Check out oDesk or Elance for developers and Dribbble or Behance for designers.

Trick #7: Add an opt-in form to every page on your site.

Adding signup forms to every website page gives visitors a call to action that follows them through their full-site browsing experience. Websites can be noisy and this prevents potential subscribers from falling through the cracks.

Trick #8: Write amazing opt-in form copy.

• The headline should grab attention and tell people exactly what they get by signing up for your emails. Example: “Get Your Free Content Marketing Toolkit”
• The body should qualify people and nudge them to take action. Example: “If you’re serious about content marketing, enter your email address below to receive the Content Marketing Toolkit.”
• The call-to-action should be simple and immediate. Example: “Get The Toolkit.”

Trick #9: Add something extra to your opt-in forms.

• Include the dollar value. If you’re offering an eBook or Toolkit or online course in your opt-in form, add the dollar value. Example “Get The Free Content Marketing Toolkit (Valued at Over $300)”
• Add a testimonial. A testimonial is great for boosting business. If this wasn’t true, Yelp would be out of business. If you don’t have any testimonials, survey your favorite subscribers.
• Add social proof. Include a message about how many people currently subscribe to your emails. If you have thousands of subscribers, people will want to find out what all the hype is about. Example: “Join 25,000+ of your peers!”
• Include a privacy policy. People hate spam. Adding a privacy policy message and a link to your privacy policy is comforting. Example: “We respect your privacy (link).”

Trick #10: Keep submission fields limited in opt-in forms.

We all want to know as much as possible about new subscribers. It’s tempting to ask for more than an email address but people have grown weary of the ask. Give people comfort and eliminate unnecessary custom fields from opt-in forms. You can always survey subscribers once you’ve earned their trust.

Trick #11: Customize opt-in forms for anticipated traffic surges.

Let’s say you’re about to get featured on a major site and expect significant referral traffic. You want to transform the guest readers into email subscribers. Check out the opt-in forms on the website you will be featured on and shape your form messaging to their audience.

Trick #12: Optimize opt-in forms to improve conversion rates.

Test small changes in opt-in forms to improve conversion rates. Make one small change and test its impact. You can test form location, design, copy, call-to-action, and more. Small changes such as mixing up your voice from first to third person or testing a new color scheme can be effective. Results will help you tailor your entire signup process.

Trick #13: Develop an original, interactive opt-in form.

Businesses have experimented with everything from 3D graphics to interactive animation to gamification to spice up signup forms. Coming up with something completely original and interactive is a great way to grow your list.

Trick #14: Use double opt-in and create a custom confirmation email.

Once a visitor signs up for emails via one of your conveniently located and brilliantly designed opt-in forms, you should send them a confirmation email. This confirmation step, referred to as “double opt-in”, is important to maintaining a quality email list.

A confirmation email is your first direct communication with new subscribers. It should reflect the look and feel of your brand. Design a custom newsletter with ExpressPigeon in minutes. Keep it simple. Your design should prime them for future emails but not distract them from your main call-to-action: Clicking a confirmation link.

Trick #15: Create an inviting confirmation page.

It’s amazing (disappointing?) how many subscription confirmations lead to a dead end. When a new subscriber confirms subscription, you have an opportunity to redirect them to any URL. Why settle for a simple thank you? Design a custom confirmation page on your site that welcomes subscribers to the community. Looking for content to include on the page that is applicable for your business? Here are a few ideas:

• Welcome subscriber to community and thank them for joining.
• Encourage subscriber to add your email address to contact list.
• Give subscriber option to connect with you on social media.
• Offer subscriber a link to engaging content on your site.
• Prompt subscriber to tell their friends about your email subscription.

Here’s a great example from blogging expert

Trick #16: Create a welcome email to remember.

A welcome email is your first email to new subscribers. Give them something that excites them for what’s to come next. Deliver your free giveaway (as promised), thank them for subscribing, and prepare them for what’s coming next. This is also a great time for a surprise! Consider offering a special “thank you” discount. See how getting-things-done expert Gregory Ciotti does this at

Be sure to include links to his best articles and gives a warm welcome that gets you excited for what’s to come next. Figure out what works for you and keep it authentic! 

Here are some more tips for your welcome email from ZeroBounce.

Conclusion

It’s not easy to build an email list, but with a strategic opt-in process that fits your business, you can build a very profitable email list in just a few months. What opt-in tricks do you use to convert visitors into subscribers?

The post 16 Opt-In Tricks To Grow Your Email List appeared first on ExpressPigeon.

So you are new to email marketing and have a product or service that you know people will love… If only they had some way to hear about it. You’ve heard rumors about list-building over the years so you hit Google and search for “purchase email list”. Lucky for you, there are a few exciting sponsored searches:

Goldmine! All you have to do now is swipe your credit card and you’ll have a list of “verified” and “opt-in” email addresses from “trusted” vendors. Right?

WRONG!

The “quick fix” of list purchasing is attractive for a new marketer but ugly for those with experience. List purchasing comes with dangerously harmful and long-lasting consequences. Before we dive into reasons why you should never buy or rent email lists, let’s get a better understanding of the three main email list acquisition options.

Email List Acquisition Options

1. Purchase an email list. There are hundreds of websites and companies that sell email lists. These lists generally include names, email addresses, and other personal information and are often categorized by demographic.
2. Rent an email list. Renting an email list is a way of “borrowing” an email list from a list provider or partner company. You send an email through a provider to a “targeted” list of email addresses that you will never see.
3. Build your email list organically. This is the only way to develop a healthy email marketing program. First, you must sign up with an email service provider l and then you can generate an opt-in list. An opt-in list grows as people willingly sign up to receive your emails.

I know what you’re thinking… Why don’t I just buy an “opt-in” list rather than build one myself? It’s simple: Sending spam is illegal and punishable with fines up to $16,000 per email. Still want to beat the system?

Let’s take a look at 11 reasons you should never purchase an email list…

Reason #1: For-sale lists are built through questionable collection methods

Think about it. Reputable companies would never sell their email lists. So where do vendors acquire email addresses to generate for-sale lists? One such method is banner ad deceit. If you’ve ever been prompted to “Win an iPad” or “Claim Your Free Vacation”, you’ve witnessed this firsthand.

People who click these ads must answer a series of questions and provide detailed personal information for a “chance to win”. Unfortunately, there is usually no actual chance to win, and people who submit their information often end up on “targeted” email lists. Not exactly your ideal targets.

Another popular email address collection method is called email harvesting, where email list vendors deploy bots to crawl selected websites, social networks, and forums and store collected email addresses in a database. This database becomes, lucky for you, an email list that you can purchase. Sounds like a great list of people to email, eh?

Let’s not forget about industry events. Ever signed up for a chance to win a car or checked off a few random boxes during registration? You are truly the lucky winner! Your email address just made it onto an email list that vendors buy from industry events and sell back to email marketing newbies later on. Those little checkboxes can be so deceiving…

And this trickery is amplified digitally.

List vendors collect emails through online service signups, masking them in the little checkboxes that we just mentioned but continuously forget to uncheck. Once you’ve checked a box for “updates from SHADY COMPANY and our partners”, you made it onto an email list for rent! List building vendors market these lists as “rentals”, where you pay to reach an “opt-in” list. Unfortunately, the people on the list didn’t opt-in for emails from you.

Reason #2: Purchased email lists are deceitfully advertised

Email list vendors have mastered the game of luring in new email marketers. They are experts at making you feel like you just found the “secret” to instant email marketing success. Unfortunately, their expertise is misleading for you and doesn’t cover the negative consequences of sending emails to a purchased list.

While words like “opt-in”, “targeted”, and “clean” may make you feel warm and cozy, these descriptors couldn’t be further from the truth. Purchased email lists are never opt-in (did people really sign up for email updates from anyone that buys the list?) and they certainly are not targeted with any accuracy. The fact that vendors even mention the idea of “clean” is a giveaway to the fact that purchasing lists is a dirty game. The only way to build an opt-in, targeted, clean email list is to do it yourself.

Reason #3: Renting an email list is as shady as it sounds

While there are a lot of companies using email to promote their partners ethically and responsibly, there are also a lot of companies renting their email lists to third parties. How do rental lists work? Companies sell the opportunity to send an email to their email list. Sounds shady, right? That’s because it is. If someone opts-in for an email from one company, do you really think they are consciously opting in to receive emails from some other company? No chance.

**Reason #4: An email list has no value in itself

Unless you’re merging email lists with a partner or acquiring a new company (send a reengagement opt-in campaign), buying a valuable email list is impossible. A good email list is so valuable that nobody in their right mind would sell it and jeopardize destroying those hard-earned relationships. Think about it. An email list is only as valuable as the attention of the people on it and the relationship you have with those people.

Reason #5: People on purchased lists don’t know you.

The email addresses on a purchased list are connected to real people who are not expecting any communication from you and have no idea who you are. Even if your list is full of real people, imagine how annoyed they will be when they receive your email completely out of the blue. Not exactly a warm introduction to your company…

Reason#6: Sending emails to purchased lists will crush your Sender Score

A Sender Score is your IP address reputation indicator. Every IP address, or email source, receives a numerical rating Sender Score on a scale of 0-100. This number, determined by a complex algorithm, is based on a variety of inputs including deliverability & spam reports.

Purchased lists are usually very high in bounce rate & spam reports and can crush your Sender Score. Not only will a lower Sender Score limit your ability to get emails into your recipients’ inboxes, it will also prevent you from working with a reputable ESP.

Reason #7: Any reputable ESP will kick you to the curb.

If you use reputable email marketing service or plan to eventually, you cannot use purchased email lists. Many ESPs, don’t allow customers to use purchased, rented, or third party lists of any kind. They have no problem saying goodbye to paying customers that abuse their Terms of Service.

So you still want to find an ESP that sends emails to purchased lists?

If you do find a shady ESP willing to send spam, you will experience low deliverability rates. There’s a reason why good ESPs won’t send to purchased lists. Maintaining our integrity allows us to stay off blacklists and keeps our IP reputation solid. Any ESP that allows spammers to send cannot possibly maintain a solid deliverability rate.

Reason #8: Purchased lists often contain spam traps.

Big ISPs recycle email addresses as spam traps, which wind up on purchased lists. The idea is that a dormant email address cannot possibly opt-in for emails so a sender to a spam trap address is sending spam. Many purchased lists contain spam traps, and once you send to them, goodbye.

Your ISP may fine you and will likely kick you to the curb and you will completely trash your IP address. You will also wind up on email blacklists, or lists of spammers, all over the web. 

What about SMS? Recipients will try to stop you from sending spam via SMS by blocking the number, or reporting you to their mobile carrier. With the ultimate consequence of your number being blacklisted.

Reason #9: Emails to purchased lists rarely make to the inbox. 

Even if you’re not on a blacklist (yet), emails to purchased lists have low deliverability rates. Why? Big ISPs like Gmail and Yahoo are getting more and more advanced at tracking behavior of specific IPs and blocking unsolicited email. They block the obvious (penis enlargement emails) and have a few tricks to determine if your email is spam:

1. How much time does recipient spend viewing email?
2. Do they scroll down?
3. Do they enable images?
4. Other sneaky things.

Once your purchased list emails are marked as spam, don’t expect future emails to make it into an inbox. ISPs will flag you as a spammer, may fine you, and can block you from ever sending again. 

Reason #10: You will create a negative conversation about your brand.

 Even if you get a miracle list and your emails get delivered, think about the possible negative response from your recipients. Purchased lists are filled with people you don’t know. When they receive an email from your company out of the blue, what do you expect their reaction will be? Social media makes it easier than ever for people to bad mouth your brand. If you think recipients of your cold email will mark as spam or delete silently, think again. 

Reason #11: Your company reputation will be crushed.

 Think you had a successful run sending to purchased lists? I have bad news for you. Short-term results are possible but the long-term consequences will haunt you. Once your reputation nosedives and you find yourself on blacklists, it can take years before you can earn back a good reputation. It’s clear to see that purchasing email lists is a bad deal. If those eleven reasons weren’t enough for you, let me remind you…. Cold calling and cold emailing is just plain obnoxious.

To sum it up, purchasing email lists is a bad practice. Don’t get stuck in the past and kill your company’s future. So… How can you build an email list the right way?

How To Build An Opt-In Email List

There are a few steps to follow to build your opt-in list:

1. Sign up with a good email service provider. Often referred to as an ESP, email service providers make it easy for you to design, send, and track emails to your opt-in list.
2. Create an opt-in list. Using your email software you can easily create a new email list and call it whatever you want. This is the database where emails are collected when new people sign up for your email subscription.
3. Create an email subscription form. This process takes minutes with a good list buioilding tool and makes it possible for people to sign up for your emails.
4. Add signup forms to your website and social media pages. Adding signup forms to your website is easy, especially for WordPress users. We also offer a way to add a signup form to your Facebook page. These forms are entry points for interested blog readers or Facebook fans to sign up to receive your future email communications.
5. Let customers know. Reach out to your existing customers and offer them an opportunity to opt-in to receive emails from you in the future. It’s important to explain what value you will add and why they should sign up. Think about offering existing customers a special deal for joining.

Building an email list of engaged subscribers takes time and work but with an ROI of over 4300%, it’s totally worth it. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to grow your list, stay tuned for a mammoth post on growing your list. Happy marketing! 

The post 11 Reasons To Never Purchase An Email List appeared first on ExpressPigeon.

Smart business owners and bloggers have been enticing visitors to subscribe to emails for years – usually by offering a newsletter with tips and tricks. But as attention spans get shorter and people get busier, it’s harder than ever to win over email subscribers.

One of the most important ways to attract new subscribers is to come up with a subscription gift. I’m sure you&aposre picturing yourself plugging away for months to come up with the perfect incentive, but don’t give up yet.

Coming up with a subscription gift is not as hard as you may think.

I’m going to introduce you to some of my favorite ways to create incentive for an email subscription. Every business is different, so I’m including ideas ranging from simple to complex. It’s up to you to create the perfect incentive for your audience.

Let’s dive right in…

Incentive 1: Create an eBook on

an in-demand topic.** Have you considered writing an ebook? Ebooks are extremely popular email subscription gifts. Why? If you choose the right topic for your audience and add unforgettable value, you can build a list of engaged subscribers who trust you and care about what you have to say next. Take a look at statistics on ebooks along with the popular offers on ebook saas providers in exchange for an email address.

Notice that these often covers an important topic in their industry. The ebook targets valuable subscribers – people who are interested in their topics and might eventually purchase its software subscription.

Ideally, you want to create an ebook that attracts new subscribers, showcases your expertise, and introduces subscribers to your products or services. So how can you write an ebook for your audience?

1. Choose the right topic.This is not a guessing game. One of the best ways to choose an in-demand topic is to find your most viewed blog posts and expand on your favorite. Make sure you pick a topic you know and care about because you can expect follow-up conversation.
2. Write your ebook. Draft an outline, set deadlines, and begin writing. Use existing blog posts and competitor ebooks for inspiration. An ebook should be conversational like blog posts, but more comprehensive. Reach out to a respected friend or connection to edit and make final edits yourself.
3. Design & upload your ebook. The cheapest and easiest way to present your ebook is to create a dedicated landing page. If you want to step it up – create a custom PDF version of your ebook. You can outsource on Dribble or Behance but don’t forget to get a beautiful cover design and a cover thumbnail for your opt-in forms.
4. Update your welcome email. Use your email marketing tool to add a button to your ebook URL in your welcome email. You don’t want to promise an ebook and not deliver!
5. Update opt-in forms.Update your opt-in forms to tell visitors about your amazing ebook. Check out these opt-in tricks to help you with the process.

Is an ebook the perfect incentive for your audience? Or would you rather…

Incentive 2: Create an email course

An email course is an incredibly powerful way to encourage people to sign up for emails. With an email course, you can deliver information to subscribers broken into a series of emails that they can digest over a period of time. This is specially powerful if you’re selling online courses.

For example, Copyblogger offers Internet Marketing for Smart People. The Copyblogger course introduces subscribers to Copyblogger’s high-performing content through a 20-part email series and welcomes them into its current email subscription. So how can you create an email course for your business? 

1. Identify overall course subject. What will you teach subscribers in your email course? You need to have a clear direction and understand the overall goal of your email course. Looking at Copyblogger’s Internet Marketing for Smart People, it’s clear that the goal is to help subscribers “understand & implement effective online marketing”:

One of the best ways to come up with a clear direction is to review some of your most popular blog posts or ebooks and identify a common greater goal they are building towards. This will help you come up with a valuable subject to cover in your email course. 
2. Identify & develop lessons to support overall goal. What specific lessons can you teach in your emails to support your overall goal? You should break down your email course into a series of individual lessons. For example, Copyblogger offers content marketing, SEO, effective headlines, keyword research, and more – which all support the greater subject of online marketing.

Identify lessons you want to teach in your course. Make a list of content that supports each lesson – blog posts, ebooks, explainer videos, effective presentations, podcasts. You can link to this content within emails that support each lesson. 

3. Create emails & landing pages. Once you have an overall subject and specific lessons to cover, you’re ready to create your emails. With landing page tools, you can design beautiful emails with no technical knowledge. Some lessons may require multiple emails whereas others can be explained in just one. Your emails can link to supporting content or if you need to further elaborate, you can create a custom landing page for each email in the course. Use widgets to add beautiful buttons or videos to your email designs. You can easily duplicate emails to maintain a consistent look and feel throughout the series. Once you’re done designing your emails, you’re ready to… 

4. Set up your email sequence. You will need to take advantage an autoresponder feature to deliver your emails. Read this to learn how to use autoresponders to set up your email sequence. Using autoresponders, you can set up your emails to deliver at specific intervals from the time that each new subscriber registers. Once your course is created, it automatically delivers to new subscribers. 

5. Update your opt-in forms. Don’t forget to promote your new email course. Neil Patel swears by email courses and even uses one himself to promote his email subscription.

Is an email course right for your business? Give it a shot!

Incentive 3: Run recurring webinars

Webinars come highly recommended for converting website visitors into loyal subscribers and customers. Running weekly or monthly webinars can help you stay ahead of the competition by showcasing your expertise on the latest industry topic. In case you’re wondering…

A webinar is a live video conference where you can share a presentation or screencast with your audience. Attendees can ask questions and interact via voice or messaging – one of the most engaging forms of content marketing there is. Think about Moz’s recurring webinars.

Moz uses webinars to educate their audience on online marketing in an effort to build their email list and ultimately upsell attendees on Moz online marketing tools. I’m sure you’re wondering how you can use webinars to build your list. Let’s get into it…

1. Choose the right topic.
   Similar to selecting a topic for your ebook or audiobook, a great way to find a topic for your webinar is to look at your most popular blog posts. Select a topic from one of your best posts – how-to’s, list posts, and case studies usually make for great webinars. Make sure you pick a topic you know and care about or you might get crushed in a Q&A.
2. Choose your software.
   Hosting a webinar comes with a small price tag. There are free services, but you’re better offer paying for quality and capturing leads than messing around with software that might crash.
3. Promote your webinar.
   Creating a blog post to promote your webinar is essential to getting the word out. You might want to launch the post a month in advance – especially if you are just getting started. Use social media and your email lists to let people know. Everyone who signs up for your webinar will need to register with an email address – good news for you!
4. Create your webinar presentation.
   Your presentation should be a simple slideshow that leaves room for conversation. Remember that the focus of a webinar is to educate – if you get too salesy people will run away and never come back. Don’t forget to prepare a Q&A. This is where you really establish yourself as an expert and build a deeper connection with your audience.
5. Send a follow-up email.
   After the webinar finishes, email your audience with a special offer and invite them to join your email subscription. This is a great way to convert your webinar attendees into ongoing subscribers.

While this incentive is not as direct as the others, it certainly is effective at converting visitors into subscribers and customers. Give it a shot!

Incentive 4: Run a recurring contest or giveaway

Let’s say you have a great product but cannot afford to give samples to every new subscriber. What about running a recurring contest or giveaway? Giving away something valuable regularly is strong incentive for people to subscribe. Why wouldn’t people want a chance to win something free on a regular basis?

For example, Tiesta Tea gave away free bags of tea on Twitter every Friday and earned thousands of paying customers in the process.

You can have improved the giveaway by making it exclusive to (new) email subscribers. Here’s what I would do today…

1. Choose a giveaway and a time frame. What product can you give away? How often can you afford to give it away? Is this giveaway enticing enough to get people excited about your emails? For example, give away 5-10 free tins of tea every Friday.
2. Create entry points on your website. Entry points for the contest are your opt-in forms. Update the forms to let people know about your contest. With the Tiesta Tea example, your messaging might be: “Sign up for our Club for a chance to win free tea every Friday.”
3. Announce winners via email. You can send an email to all of your subscribers on select dates to announce the winners. In the email, you can include a special discount for “losers” to encourage them to make a purchase.

Running a consistent contest or giveaway is a great way to encourage people to sign up for emails, stay engaged with your emails, and visit your blog or store consistently. Is a recurring contest the right incentive for your audience? Or should you…

Incentive 5: Club

Create a special club for email subscribers. What if you could turn your email list into an exclusive club? Wouldn’t people rather be a part of something special than something they see everyday?

The concept is simple – transform your email list into a “club” or “membership” and offer subscribers multiple incentives for joining. This is more of a branding tactic than anything but it can be very effective for building a list. For example, call your email subscribers “Members” and promotes the club heavily on its website.

Members can get free coupons, samples, and a newsletter subscription. When you dive deeper, you’ll find they also give members a free calendar and entries to recurring sweepstakes.

Here’s how you can create a club for your business…

1. Come up with a catchy name. What will the name of your club be? It’s ideal to make people feel like they are a part of something important. What name is cohesive with your brand? Is it a club? A membership? A community? It’s up to you to decide.
2. Choose incentive for subscribers. What is the value in joining the club? People need to know what’s in it for them. You can choose multiple incentives from this post to generate ideas. Consider offering ongoing benefits such as recurring contests or giveaways.
3. Update opt-in forms & process.Be sure to update your opt-in forms and process. One of the most fitting opt-in tricks to consider is creating a page dedicated to your club and adding it to your main menu.

Is creating a club the right way to go for your audience? Or should you…

Incentive 6: Record an audio gift

Your audience is busy and sometimes they need an option to learn on the go. That’s where an audiobook or podcast becomes such a valuable subscription gift. Developing audio for subscribers gives them an opportunity to listen and learn – on the way to work, relaxing at home, or driving their kids to school. Audible offers a free audiobook to encourage people to sign up for its service.

1. Choose your topic & write the script. One of the best ways to create an in-demand audiobook or podcast is to select a popular blog post or ebook and expand on it. If you write conversationally, this could be a very simple process.
2. Record your audio. Once your script is ready, you can outsource the voiceover on Fiver or do it yourself. If you’re considering developing a podcast series, any proper moicrophone will work.
3. Upload audio file & create landing page. Upload your audio file to an audio platform. Make sure you enable free downloads for the file. Once uploaded, you can create a custom page on your website and embed the audio, with script, for easy downloading & streaming.
4. Update your welcome email. You need to add a button or text link to direct subscribers to the page with your audio gift.
5. Update opt-in forms.Update your opt-in forms. You might want to design a custom cover for your audiobook or podcast to make it more visually appealing.

Is an audiobook the ideal subscription gift for your audience? Or should you…

Incentive 7: Offer a discount on a product or service

Everyone loves a good deal. Offering a special discount on products or services is a great way to build your list and encourage subscribers to make an immediate purchase. Many eCommerce brands offer something like 10% off for new subscribers only.

Uses a custom opt-in form to collect information about new subscribers. Don’t worry… you don’t need a major budget to pull this off. Let’s see how you can offer a discount to subscribers…

1. Choose your discount. Will you offer a discount on all products or services? Or a specific product or service? Or just a specific brand? Are there any products or services you want to exclude from the offer? Make sure to choose a deal that is financially responsible for you and extremely attractive to your audience.
2. Generate a promo code. Create a custom promo code for your email subscription offer. Make sure subscribers can only use it once but avoid an expiration date. Why? If subscribers haven’t redeemed the coupon in a certain time period, you may want to send them a reminder email.
3. Update your welcome email. Use your email provider an easily insert a button or text link that directs subscribers to a page where your discount applies. Make sure the page only houses products or services that are eligible for the offer – you don’t want to mislead new subscribers.
4. Update your opt-in forms. Now that the offer is in place, you need to update your opt-in forms. This might require custom development but at the very least, make sure your opt-in copy communicates your new offer. Consider this to better transform website visitors into email subscribers.

Offering a discount is a great way to attract attention to your email subscription, encourage an immediate purchase of your products or services, and set yourself up for an enticing re-engagement campaign for inactive subscribers. Is a discount the perfect subscription gift for your business? Or should you…

Incentive 8: Offer a free trial membership

Do you sell a product or service that requires recurring payments? Consider giving away a free trial membership. This attracts people who are interested in your products or services – exactly the type of audience you want on your email list. A free trial gives people a taste of your expertise and a very direct path to becoming paying customers. Even if they don’t covert into customers after the trial period, you can continue the conversation via email.

In your subscription form, visitors should have an option to “Subscribe to Emails”. That is one way to do it. Another option is to simply require email subscription to have access to a free trial.

Offering a free trial to your website visitors is a great way to learn more about your prospects. Once you have their emails, you can easily let them know more about your business and their benefits. Is a trial membership right for your business? Or should you…

Incentive 9: Offer free product samples

Sometimes the best way to entice people to sign up for emails is to give away exactly what you’re selling… Everybody loves free samples. This is especially powerful if you sell products that people can buy over and over again. For example, MOO offers free business card samples for website visitors.

In order to receive the cards, you have to create a MOO account. Once you’re a member, MOO emails you special offers and reminders to finish your project. Giving free samples can be a great way to entice people to sign up for emails and become paying customers.

If you have a great product, can afford to give away samples, and are confident people will come back for more – this could be the perfect subscription gift for your business. Will you give away free samples to every new subscriber? Or should you…

Incentive 10: Create a quick video for your audience

Interview yourself… Use a webcam to record yourself sharing expertise on your industry with your audience. Offer a few tricks and ideas and share some stories to help your audience relate.

Upload or schedule the video to be posted on YouTube and when someone subscribes, share the link with them. Don’t worry that the video is available publicly on your YouTube channel. If the content of your talk is valuable, subscribers will appreciate it. Your video should deliver what you promise in your opt-in forms.

Create a tutorial video…

Show people how to do something the right way and they’ll love you for it. Give people a tutorial video as an email subscription gift, but make it something important. What can you show your audience how to do that nobody else is doing better than you? The topic you choose should be something that is broad enough to engage anyone in your audience but different enough to entice them to sign up for emails. Once you know what to record, you can create your video.

Programs like Camtasia or Screenflow make it easy to record a screencast – a video of what’s happening on your computer screen. A screencast gives people the visuals they need to follow your how-to’s and they’ll be grateful for subscribing. If you’re doing something more hands-on, you can always create a how-to video that shows the actual process. Don’t be afraid to fly different. 

What is the perfect opt-in incentive?

1. Attention grabbing. The gift should be unique enough to get people excited. You can have the most educational gift in the world but nobody will ever know unless they subscribe. How can you communicate your gift to make it grab visitors?
2. Valuable. Subscribers want to get something out of the gift. If it gets their attention but lacks originality or substance, be prepared for unsubscribes.
3. Brand consistent. A gift that is valuable but has nothing to do with your business can attract subscribers who are only in it for the gift. New subscribers who don’t care what you have to say aren’t likely to stick around for the long haul.

Coming up with the perfect subscription gift is ultimately up to you. Only you will devise the perfect email subscription gift to attract new subscribers and excite them for what’s to come next. So how are you attracting new subscribers? Have any ideas to add to the list? Leave a comment below and keep the ideas on flow!

The post 10 Powerful Opt-In Incentives To Gain Email Subscribers and leads appeared first on ExpressPigeon.

Now, imagine yourself on the receiving side. Actually, you don’t have to imagine: just open your email and look at all the messages that are there before you start the task of deleting everything you don’t want. While email providers are becoming better and better at filtering SPAM, some of it still seeps into our inboxes. Whenever you see it, I’m pretty sure it strikes a nerve as you press that delete button. Your goal as an email marketer is to never strike that nerve in your audience!

My advice, then, is this: whenever you send a message to a list, try to imagine yourself on the receiving side. Email communications is not much different from other ways we communicate: people will only listen if they are interested in your topic.

How do you make sure that people are genuinely interested? There are a lot of ways, but the most important is to have information they need. Period. It’s hard to say what this information is but you that’s how you distinguish yourself. Whether it’s a statement of services, a schedule of performances, coupons for people previously bought stuff, or anything else, the principle remains the same: your audience should already be interested in your message.

The best way to ensure that you have an engaged audience (and to avoid issues with the CAN-SPAM act, is to follow the Double Opt-In loop. Here’s how this works:

Let’s say you have some important information. The loop begins when a person who’s interested gives you an email address so you can send more up-to-date information – that’s the first opt-in. For the second opt-in, you ask this person to confirm that he or she indeed wants you to send them email communications. When they reply to your request, you’ve closed the loop: your trade has let you know twice that he or she is really interested, and you have permission to send messages to that email address.

Many email marketing software providers use a double-opt system that makes it easy for you to build lists. All you have to do is to create a new subscription form and embed it into your website.

When customers visiting your site becomes so excited with your information, they will happily provide their email addresses on the subscription form to keep it coming. When they submit the form, the software will send them a response asking them to confirm their enrollment. When they confirm their interest by clicking a link in the confirmation email, they have closed the loop, and you have one more happy customer who will be very unlikely to press the dreaded SPAM button!

However, at no point should you relax! To keep your subscribers happy and to get more people subscribing to your content, you have to make it interesting and relevant.

The post What is Double Opt-In and should you care? appeared first on ExpressPigeon.