Best Strategies To Grow An Email List in 2021?
Growing an email list from scratch can be challenging.
On one hand, you’re stoked to get the bar rolling and set the initial foundation for what becomes a significant asset for your brand…
While on the other, you’re left there witnessing how your soon-to-be customers pass through your form like a ship in the night. Puzzled & in disbelief… wondering why they don’t take you on your 10% OFF discount.
Trust me, this happens to the best of us.
Even the most established companies struggled to get their list off the ground at some point. Matter of fact, this is a regular struggle not just for you… but anyone who isn’t well-versed in the art of making prospects eager to sign up to their list.
It’s a subtle game, but one that pays off handsomely at the end.
So if you find yourself in that weird limbo of ‘keen to grow my list to the moon’ but ‘not completely sure how to make it happen’… don’t sweat it.
Believe me, you’re not alone.
Actually, the fact that you’re currently taking action to try and acquire more subscribers to your list is amazing in its own right — you’re reading this article after all!
That alone puts you well above 90% of marketing wannabes who stay there intending to do the thing, but never actually start.
So kudos for that.
All things said however…
It does suck when your efforts are not paying off. If you’re putting time, energy, money & resources into something, it’s natural to feel let down when nothing ends up happening.
Heartbreaking as it may, here’s what most companies do when it comes to their Email Marketing — they can’t make it work quickly, so they give up. Or they never truly reach their potential. But can’t let that happen to you, can we?
In this article, we’ll do you a good service & lay out the top strategies available to grow an email list in 2021.
The tactics you’re about to discover can be carried out whether you’re a seasoned veteran or just starting out. Matter of fact, they’ve been proven to work for all levels of business, so don’t worry if you’re just getting your feet wet with email.
Chances are, if you’re tenacious enough to put them to use, these tips will work wonders to help you blow the hell out of your list.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
First, let’s address the biggest elephant in the room.
“Why Should I Build My Email List In The First Place?”
Good question.
Well frankly, you have no option.
With the increasing number of businesses who are jumping on the Email Marketing bandwagon recently, coupled with the fact not everyone who visits your site is ready to buy from the get-go…
You are forced to decide between growing your list, or perishing.
And this is mainly for two reasons:
- Your competitors are in a constant tug of war with your brand, attempting to steal away the newly-found customers you’ve struggled so hard to acquire. Therefore, they will not hesitate to pull all the stops in order to make it happen. Simply put, if you’re not doing email, they will. And strong Email Marketing is a huge advantage, as it can create 30–50% of total revenue with very little cost.
- Each new prospect is at a different stage of the buyer’s journey. Some are familiarized with your brand already, while others just got introduced to you today. A well-executed email strategy can not only help you speak to every prospect at their level, but it’s the closest thing to a money-printing machine. You can push out campaigns with a click of a button & have dollars rolling in by the hour. And the bigger your list is? The higher the reward.
- Relationships. Sure, Email Marketing can make you a lot of money and provide a massive edge over your competition. But it can also have a massive impact on the relationship between your company and your customers. Relationships matter — this is the difference between a one-time or occasional buyer, and a fan who recommends you to everyone who listens — who would you rather have your customers be?
Not to mention, if we look at the numbers, email just flat out makes sense.
According to DMA Marketer Email Tracker, for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $42.
To put in comparison, when this metric is tested alongside other channels, such as PPC advertising or FaceBook Ads — which only yield a mere $2–4 for every $1 invested — the result is clear…
Email still is king.
After all, if you were to place $1000 into a stock…
One that on average, gave you a return of $2 for every $1 you spent (netting you a not so bad 100% return on your investment…)
And another one that helps you pocket $42 for each $1 you place, delivering an absurd 4200% return on your investment (which is just an average… but a very significant one at that!)…
Which one would you go for?
No need to state the obvious. But the former sounds like the most natural decision, wouldn’t you say?
Yet funnily enough, that’s what most businesses do when they decide to neglect their list growing efforts to instead place all their eggs on the ‘advertising basket’.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Advertising has its place, but not at the expense of your email channel & back-end. Especially long-term — Ads bring in quick cash, Email helps you play a widely profitable long-term game.
(In fact, we actually did a whole article on why email marketing & ads go hand by hand like Robin & Batman. We highly encourage you to check it out here.)
Because truth be told, not growing your list could mean the eventual downfall of your store as you burn through customers that purchase exactly once (and that is no bueno!) — retention matters. It’s cheaper to win back & keep an existing customer than try to acquire a new one.
So what can you do about it?
Simple.
After plenty of years in the industry, we have noticed list growth can be boiled down to 3 core actions.
- Defining Your Target
- Crafting A Completing Offer/Lead Magnet
- Landing Qualified Eyeballs For Said Offer
That’s it.
Get these three actions right, and failure is off the table.
Get them wrong though, and building up your list will feel like climbing Mount Everest — an insurmountable task.
Reason being that these three tactics serve as the building blocks.
The core first principles the best email marketers swear by when they’re seeking to grow their list on autopilot.
Other tactics do exist. But fail to get these three out of the way first, and don’t get it twisted…
Your list-growth strategy will have a crack in it’s foundation.
So let’s break them down, shall we?
- Defining Your Target: How To Hit The Bullsey
Hard to hit your goals without an aim.
It’s like throwing darts through a cliff — completely pointless.
You don’t want any random Joe to come & join your list just for the sake of it. Yes, you want to grow your list. But list size is a vanity metric — imagine having a list with half a million subscribers, but none of them cares about you… at all. You’re not going to be successful with that — and a list less than half your size that is highly engaged will outperform the big, dead by an incredible margin.
We want to attract a specific type of person who’s already interested in the offer you’re going to place in front of him. Otherwise, you’ll just have unqualified non-buyers on your list, and what good can that do for your brand?
Total waste of money.
Which is why, in this phase we focus on defining your ideal customer. Your ‘brand’s avatar’, as we often call it.
Despite the fact there’s no ‘do-all be-all’ way to get it done, it’s usually a good idea to sit down & jot down an answer to the following questions:
- Who is my ideal customer? (Describe his or her age, social status, job, average annual income, passions, world views, limiting beliefs, values, problems & insecurities in minute detail)
- What is the biggest problem this ideal customer is facing right now?
- How can my product solve their biggest problem?
- What are their goals? What are their failures?
- What is their average experience with a product similar to mine before?
- What other solutions have they tried before?
- How can I get my solution in front of them?
So on & so forth.
When this exercise is done correctly, you’ll quickly discover what is that one thing that makes your ideal customers ‘tick’. And you’ll be more capable of coming up with an offer that meets them at their level… and stands out above the others.
Which means, nothing but acute precision can come out.
No more aimless wandering around. Instead, you’ll have a north star to orient your marketing with.
And speaking about offers, I think it’s time for…
2. Crafting A Completing Offer: How To Create The Lead Magnet That Brings Home The Fish
How do you entice new prospects to sign up to your list?
You create an offer so irresistible, they clench their fists with expectation… anticipating to claim that treasure you’ve placed in front of their eyes.
That’s where the ‘lead magnet’ comes into play.
To cut a long story short, a lead magnet is simply a valuable freebie you offer on your site in exchange for a prospect’s contact details (in this case, his email & consent.)
Big emphasis on the key word valuable.
Nowadays, in a world where customers get bombarded with marketing material the second they open up their eyes in the morning… privacy is not a given.
We are being bombarded by marketing, almost all day long.
Ads on the family table. Ads in the office. Heck, not even toilet time is safe from ads.
And every time you have less of something, it’s value increases. Scarcity always boosts the perceived value of things.
And when your prospects get blasted with marketing messages the moment they jump out of bed, they would naturally safeguard the only place they can get some sort of privacy: their inbox.
Which can only mean one thing.
If you’re planning to get their email address, you’ve got to offer something valuable in return.
Now, when most businesses think of a lead magnet, they typically just punch out a quick eBook & think that’s going to cut it.
Well, if that’s you, I would encourage you to think again.
Before, the strategy of ‘subscribe for updates’ or an eBook with ‘The 7 Best Tips To Shave The World’s Beard’ would have done the trick.
But things have changed in the Wild West.
In a world where virtually every website offers a freebie for joining their email list, your offer needs to stand out from the pack. The bar is set very high right now, so your offer better strike a chord in your prospect’s hearts.
Otherwise, results will be non-existent.
The main thing is to give away something different that truly solves a problem for your visitors. After all, an offer that resonates with your target is the single most important element of your opt-in.
If you see your competitor is offering an eBook on how to shave the perfect beard, maybe try to offer a 4-part video course. Or free access to an email-only course where you give the visitor a glimpse into the shaving world. Whatever.
eBooks & discount work, just know that uniqueness is the name of the game.
But on a side note, we do recognize it might be a bit difficult to come up with good lead magnet ideas when you don’t have your creative juices flowing.
That’s why we’ll be dedicating one of our next articles entirely to unveiling how to craft the perfect lead magnet for your target — even if you’re running low on ideas or don’t know what makes your customers tick.
So buckle up for that one!
For now, simply try to put yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes, and ask yourself the following question:
‘If I were kidnapped, tied up & locked in a chair with a gun to my head…
And had to create an offer that enticed my visitor to sign up to my list, what would that look like?’
Run this exercise, and see for yourself.
Alternatively, go for a walk & find a nice place where you can spend some time with pen & paper — don’t leave until you have at least 10 ideas jotted down.
Something tells me, you’ll come up with several good ideas of your own.
Alright, time to get some eyeballs on your new offer.
3. Enticing The Visitors: How To Land Qualified Eyeballs For Your Offer
What’s the point of having the best offer & most gorgeous-looking website on the planet if no one ever gets to see it?
In this stage is where we finally get to test our offer, getting it out into the world to attract prospects.
Not just any type of prospects however, but the ones that most fit with your brand’s avatar.
Also known as your ideal customers.
If you’ve done everything right so far, you already defined a specific target you’d like to aim your dart at.
Not only that, but you also came up with the perfect lead magnet to pull this target in (gun to the head remember?)
Now the only thing that’s left… is to place your offer in front of them.
But, how exactly?
Well, there are numerous ways to go about it.
Most of them vary in degrees of annoyance, but typically, the old reliable is a popup.
Now, we generally recommend taking pop ups with one grain of salt.
Because frankly, they do get the job done. But that can come at a cost.
Usually, in-your-face tactics such as a popup right off the gate can help you build a list quicker, but doesn’t guarantee these people will trust you enough to make a purchase.
Experience has shown us less in-your-face strategies implemented over the long haul usually result in a better trust from subscribers.
You want to find the balance here between impact on user experience & conversions.
Deciding on which side of the scale you’d like to tip, will be entirely up to you.
But a general point of recommendation, if you were to go for the popup route, is to schedule it to come out right before someone leaves your site (and not right away.)
Small tweaks like this often result in a better instinctive response to your popup, as the prospect was given the chance to familiarize himself with your brand. Instead of annoying him right from the gate go. This type of popup is called ‘Exit Intent Popup’, and will dive into it a bit later on.
For now, just keep this popup suggestion in mind the next time you set it up for your store.
You’ll be surprised how steep of a difference it makes in your opt-in rates.
So, now that your building blocks are set in place, let’s dive into some of the best tactics you can deploy to catalyze growth for your list.
The next six strategies coming up go hand in hand with these pillars.
Executing them alongside the three actions mentioned above will likely turn out favorable for your list — and checking account.
Off we go.
- Use Loyalty & Referral Programs
Remember that amazing tool we introduced in this article here?
In case you missed it, it’s name is Smile.io; and it doesn’t only work miracles for your customer retention… but your list growth too.
At its core, Smile.io allows your visitors to earn points for certain actions they take on your site.
Picture it like when you’re looking to prompt a kid to land good grades at school.
Expecting them to naturally perform well in class just because ‘that’s how it’s ought to be’ might sound great… but it’s a poor strategy when you take it at face value.
Offering a reward every time they get an A however, a much better strategy.
And that’s what Smile.io can do for your list. It encourages your customers to ‘conspire’ for the success of your brand by rewarding them for doing so.
And this of course, also includes word of mouth.
Which can be useful too, as data shows people are more inclined to trust recommendations from friends & family than brands alone.
Inherently, Smile is in-built with a loyalty & rewards program that incentivizes good customer engagement. Making it a phenomenal way to build your email list while driving repeat sales on autopilot.
Because ultimately, would you rather engage with a brand that actually rewards you or the one who doesn’t do it at all?
Yeah, I thought so too.
We already covered how to use Smile.io effectively in our last article, so make sure to give it a good read if you’re seeking to use this tactic for your list.
Alright, onward.
4. Gamify Your Store
Who doesn’t like a good game?
Gamification is one of the most common practices as far as list-building is concerned.
It’s the process of applying interactive elements of game playing to encourage engagement with a sign up form. These can include quizzes, tests, surveys, spin-to-win (aka wheel of fortune) pop-ups, and scratchcards.
And just recently, a lot of brands have also incorporated contests, giveaways, and sweepstakes into their strategy in order to appeal to consumer psychology.
Because at the end of the day, people will always welcome a freebie.
Things such as exclusive prices, 10–50% discounts & special, subscriber-only content can go a long way into stirring your visitor to enter his email address.
And well, results speak for themselves.
Research shows 33% of visitors are open to receiving additional marketing material right after engaging in one of these interactive dynamics.
Which only goes to show what just a tiny pinch of psychology can do for your brand.
See if it fits with your style & give it a try.
Subscribers never knew so much fun.
A word of caution: The Wheel of Fortune is used by a lot of dropshipping stores & some people hold a negative connection to it. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work.
The key here — test what works for you.
5. Employ Squeeze Pages
Squeeze pages are an old treasure of the internet marketing community.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, here’s a quick heads up.
A squeeze page is nothing more than a dedicated email capture landing page. Engineered with the sole purpose to ‘squeeze’ information out of a visitor.
How, you ask?
By restricting access to a desired piece of content or offer… placing it between a sign up form which serves as a ‘gatekeeper’.
You know when someone is about to tell you a secret, yet requests a particular action from you in order to do so?
These types of pages are not different.
They leverage the principle of curiosity with a ‘no options open’ approach in order to entice visitors to do one thing: leave their email.
Which naturally, often results in high exit rates. This is by design.
As long as you’re getting high conversions from this page (say, anything above 5%) you’re good.
But if the fact these visitors abandon your page concerns you (after all, you would be paying ads to have them there) you can always provide the option to skip your squeeze page & browse through your site.
It would miss the point of the page entirely, but your call.
Here’s an example to illustrate this idea.
On Black Friday, beauty brand Malin+Goetz opted for a new approach to encourage droves of signups to their list.
They ran a giveaway that lured prospects to ‘play their cards right’ by leaving their email & unlocking a hidden prize (which could range between £5 off their next order to miniature samples.)
As you know, the secret behind every squeeze page is always the lead magnet + leveraging good old customer psychology.
Malin+Goetz recognized people are moved by prizes that seem easily attainable. And both their design & copywriting worked cohesively to help this campaign work as well as it did.
Right after choosing their card & signing up, the recipient would immediately receive an email containing a coupon to claim their prize.
Naturally, recipients felt prompted to capitalize on the offer, as it was Black Friday & they were in buying mode.
When executed properly, simple strategies like this can really do the trick.
Nothing fancy. It’s all about deploying your digital assets, and sprinkling a bit of creativity.
That’s all.
6. Include Opt-In Fields In Checkout
Picture this for a second.
Imagine two fellows are scrolling through your site.
Person A, an avid visitor, someone who’s already acquainted with your products & services… but hasn’t gotten to the point of purchasing yet. Just now however, he’s decided to add one of your items to his cart.
Person B, a first timer, someone who’s just on your site because your ad picked his interest… but prior to this ad, had no clue your brand even existed.
Now, think of this.
If you were to place an opt-in form in front of the two — encouraging them to sign up for your list…
Who do you think it’s more likely to become a subscriber?
If you said Person B, well… think again.
Once a prospect has decided to place an order, he’s basically indicating he already trusts your brand enough to buy. He’s well past the ‘trust threshold’.
In other words, at check out it’s when receptivity to further marketing communication is at it’s a highest. So placing an option to opt-in to your list there is one of the most trusted mechanisms by both brands & visitors.
After all, if someone has already expressed significant interest in one of your offerings, why wouldn’t they want to hear back from your brand at some point in the future?
Take the ball to the basket.
Give them a crystal clear option to sign up at checkout, and watch the emails roll in.
7. Partner Up To Win
Have you ever played sports, and been on the receiving end of an assist?
I know I have. And let me tell you… it feels great.
Because at the end of the day, you cannot always win on your own.
And as far as your list goes, same thing can apply.
Partnering up with related brands in your niche is one of the most underrated yet effective strategies to grow an email list.
Key word is related, though.
Obviously, there’s no personal interest in handing out customers to the competition (that’s lunacy.)
But say, for instance, that you sold mattresses, and only mattresses.
Wouldn’t it be beneficial to collaborate with companies that sold pillows, bed frames, sheets, box springs, or anything outside of mattresses?
Because essentially, you would all be conspiring for the success of each one of you.
If someone buys a mattress, they would naturally need a pillow, or a linen, or a blanket.
So why not take advantage of that?
Right after someone has placed an order for a mattress, you could send them an email thanking them for their vote of trust. Then encourage them to grab a pillow at one of the manufacturers next door — knowing your good partner will do the same for you on his list.
Frankly, it’s a win-win. And a great way to network too.
8. Pop Up Your Way Into Major Conversions
How can you make a list about the best strategies to grow an email list & leave out such a stable of list building?
For all their flaws, one thing is undeniable…
Popups simply work.
Studies show that on average, pop-ups have a conversion rate of 3.9%, with the top 10% converting at around 9.8%.
Which only goes to proof popups can work wonders for your list-building efforts… when utilized accordingly.
Now, there are two types of popups.
Those that show up in your face the second you land on a site (commonly referred as ‘Welcome Popups’.)
And, those that show up in your face, but at the end (cue the ‘Exit Intent Popup’ outro.)
Both get the job done.
We usually recommend going the Exit Intent Popup route (as they allow your customer to get acquainted with your brand first before jumping the gun & asking for their email.) But it’d be up to you to decide which one serves your goals best.
Alright, let’s go through some examples to not leave you empty handed.
Welcome Pop-Ups
Offering a discount is one of the most common ways to encourage sign ups in the eCommerce world.
And well, if it ain’t broke… don’t fix it!
Fashion retailer Beach Club surely stands by this belief. Their welcome popup is clear, eye-catching, alluring, straightforward, and most importantly, benefit-oriented.
10% off their first purchase is a great deal for new visitors, so many will be keen to take you on this offer.
That said, when it comes time to set up your welcome popup, there are some rules of thumb you’d like to keep in mind.
These are:
- Make sure to have a strong call-to-action that leaves no stones unturned (tight copy is always king.)
- Include a USP to let your visitor know why your brand stands out from the rest
- Keep it as simple as possible. No complex wording or forms. They confuse your visitor and you’re left with no email & no sales.
- Use tools like Google Analytics to track average time spent on your site by user, and calibrate the best moment to shoot your welcome popup.
Exit Intent Pop-Ups
Talk about enticing subscriptions.
A chance to win a $500 gift card is an offer very few people will pass on.
Plus, the layout of this popup is just beautiful. And notice how Artifact Uprising is managing to land your email without the need to offer the typical discount.
Which, you guessed it, helps them stand out.
Ultimately, it’s all about creating an image that’s unique for your brand, so little well-executed things like this can help you move mountains.
Now, as far as suggestions go, same rules apply.
Just keep in mind this type of popup is mainly utilized to reduce exit-rates by capturing your visitor’s attention. And the best way to do this is to offer a valid reason to stay in-site or submit their details in the first place.
Again, it all comes down to customer awareness.
If you’re selling bicycles, maybe a 10% off discount on their next bike just won’t cut it.
A guide to the best cycling destinations in 2021 though, a whole different story.
So think of ways you could make your visitor’s eyes light up with novelty.
After all, no one knows them better than you do.
We truly hope this article has helped pave the way to some first-class ideas on how to grow the size of your list.
If you can leave with just one thing from this piece, is how important it is to craft compelling offers that make your customers tick.
Next article, we’ll be revealing exactly how to create the winning lead magnet that brings the subscribers home. So make sure to stay tuned for that one.
Thanks for reading.
