Your marketing strategy needs a refresh and you’re ready to grow your email list to give your campaigns a boost.

There’s a hitch, though: Where do you start?

Digital marketing is continually evolving. It seems like there’s a never-ending stream of new technologies and platforms available every month. The best way to grow your email list, though, is with some straightforward, tried-and-true methods.

Before you plan your next marketing campaign, review these six creative solutions for growing your list through email signup forms, plus tips on how to optimize your list for the best conversion rates.

What is an email list and how do you create one for marketing campaigns?

Your email list is a group of subscribers, either customers or site visitors. In general, you add an email to your list every time you sell to a new customer. Otherwise, you have to work to grow your email list.

The most common ways to create a new email list are:

• Collecting emails at checkout: you can set this up easily with most ecommerce platforms, though it’s an ecommerce best practice to not require a new account. Over 30% of businesses experience cart abandonment because they require customers to create an account.
• Including email signup forms on your site: most ecommerce platforms and content management systems make it simple to add email signup forms to your website. You can add them to a sidebar, the footer, or as an exit intent pop-up.
• Using social media to encourage signups: social media is big. Instagram has the highest median engagement rate at 1.6%. That’s with over one billion users every month—and 90% of them are following businesses already. Use social media to promote new products or valuable content.

It’s a good idea to invest in an email marketing platform to help you manage your list. The right tools can help you incorporate email personalization and segmentation, plus automate your email and social media campaigns.

6 simple, creative ways to grow your email list

Creating a new list is just the first step to boosting your marketing efforts—you also need to grow your email list to connect with new customers and reach long-time followers.

1. Instagram posts

Your social media strategy is crucial to growing your email list. You can schedule posts, upload photos and videos, and even tag products in your ecommerce store with the right Instagram settings. Custom hashtags can make it easy for people to find your brand too.

One of the caveats of using Instagram is the inability to include links in your posts. You can circumvent this hurdle by including your email signup link in your Instagram bio. When you create content, let your followers know the link is in your bio.

Source: Instagram

You can use similar tactics with other social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Incorporate A/B testing to figure out which platform gives you the most email signups. Most social media platforms give you the option to sponsor a post too, so you can pay to get it in front of more people.

2. Short videos

Videos are increasingly popular in email marketing campaigns. More than 80% of businesses use them and video consumption is growing 100% every year. People love videos. They increase engagement with very little investment.

Viewers also share content—92% of them indicate that they share videos they like. You can incorporate videos into your social media campaigns to boost email signups too. A new video platform, TikTok, is a rising social media star. The platform boasts 800 million users worldwide with less than three years on the market.

Source: Really Good Emails

Incorporating short videos on your website is another way to reach new customers. A good strategy is to place the video on your website, so you can direct visitors to it and a signup form.

Below is an example of how you can use short videos in your marketing: If you’re looking to build your email list from scratch, you can simply watch the video.

 

3. Referral programs

The customers you already have can be an extension of your marketing team. Over 75% of people are more likely to purchase a new product because they heard about it from a friend or family member.

Of those people, 84% of them say they either somewhat or completely trust referrals from people they know. That makes referral marketing one of the most trusted sources of information about new businesses or services. Influencer marketing is an offshoot of this.

Source: Really Good Emails

Incentives can encourage over half of your customers to refer people to your brand. You can leverage that by building a referral strategy that offers cash rewards, discounts and coupons, or bonus points in your loyalty program.

4. Giveaways and sweepstakes

Contests, giveaways, and sweepstakes can lead to engagement rates of up to 5.8%, plus conversion rates of almost 34%. That makes them the most lucrative forms of engagement in content marketing. And the only real cost is what you’re giving away and what you put into the marketing campaign, which means higher ROI.

You can even leverage referrals with giveaways. Almost 95% of people will immediately share a giveaway or sweepstakes as soon as they enter. Using social media to spread the word? Over 62% of users will share the contest with a friend to get extra entries.

Source: Maybelline

Start by creating a landing page for your giveaway—this will give you valuable insight into your marketing efforts. Then use social media to encourage email signups and referrals.

5. How-to video series

You can approach video marketing in two ways: one-off videos for a specific campaign or a series of videos you can track. A how-to video series is a key strategy for brands that offer services. It gives your company a chance to communicate valuable information with context.

Explainer videos are one of the most popular forms of video content—96% of online users have watched one to learn more about a product. Almost 75% of viewers have purchased or downloaded software after watching a video about the service.

Source: Really Good Emails

A video series can keep engagement up longer. About two-thirds of people prefer to watch short videos, so break up tutorials into bite-size pieces for maximum impact.

Get the email video guide.

6. Exit intent pop-ups

Even in 2020, exit intent pop-ups work. You can see average conversion rates of 3.09% with pop-ups, while some of the highest conversion rates are closer to 10%.

As with any marketing tactic, there are some best practices for using pop-ups. You can use cookies to track which visitors are new or returning, so you don’t continue showing it to people who already signed up (you can also check out this guide to exit intent pop-ups for other tips.)

Source: Sephora

Not sure an exit intent pop-up is right for you? Consider a sidebar email signup form—you can see a whopping 1,375% increase in your email list growth with this simple tweak. Your footer is another option for email signup forms.

Quick tips to optimize your email list for the best click rates

Growing your list is crucial, but, to see the best results, you’ll need to manage it. You can improve your email performance metrics—open rates, click rates, conversion rates, and even unsubscribe rates—by optimizing your email list.

There are several effective optimization approaches, but the most common are:

• Email personalization: personalization can be as simple as including your subscribers’ names in the subject line. This tiny change means your subscriber is 26% more likely to open your email. Ask for a first name in your pop-ups and email signup forms to start incorporating personalization.
• List segmentation: segmenting your lists can lead to higher open and click rates, as well as a 760% increase in revenue. It’s also simple to do if you already have email automation tools. Common ways to segment your list include demographics and web history.
• Marketing automation: you can use automation in everything from your email campaigns to your social media posts. Omnichannel, or multichannel, marketing can give you engagement and purchase rates that are 250% higher than with single-channel marketing solutions.

If you aren’t sure where to start, an email marketing automation tool makes it easy for you to collect, segment, and personalize your marketing campaigns.

Wrap up

When you want to grow your email list, the best thing you can do is focus on reaching as many people as possible. That means crafting creative marketing campaigns that stretch the boundaries of your current demographic. Key things to remember when you’re trying to grow your email list are:

• Social media is a goldmine for sharing your email signup form.
• Videos can increase interest and engagement with potential customers.
• Optimization is as important as growing your email list.

With the right strategy and a solid approach to A/B testing, you can see significant growth in your email list while continuously improving your open and click rates.

Ready to step up your email marketing automation game? Campaign Monitor has the tools you need to boost your open rates and grow your bottom line.

The post 6 Straightforward Ways to Grow Your Email List in 2020 appeared first on Campaign Monitor.