How to Grow Your Small Business Email List Fast

Intro

Regardless of the stage your email marketing is in, the tips below will help you get creative in the ways you acquire subscribers. Let’s begin.

1. Invite in-person and POS sign-ups

One of the easiest ways to build your email list is through face-to-face interactions. In-person communication is good for building trust and allows you to keep the conversation going. Not all customers think of signing up for emails, but sometimes it’s because the value in doing so doesn’t immediately come to mind. It doesn’t hurt to tell them the perks of your email marketing program.

I recall visiting a specialty grocery store, and the checker mentioned that if I signed up for the email newsletter, I would get a free slice of cake because that month was my birthday. I saw the immediate benefit, and it also resulted in me going back to the store a number of times when I’d see emails with a special going on for a product I typically buy.

Customers can sign up for your emails with a digital sign-up at the POS or checkout. One photography store I visited would ring up your purchase on a portable tablet and then ask me if I’d like to sign-up for the email list to get an immediate 4% discount. She simply handed me the tablet so I could tap into my email. In-store promotions can be an excellent way to grow your email list quickly.

2. Leverage social media

One great idea to grow your email subscriptions is to use social media platforms to reach a broader audience. It may pay to boost posts mentioning email sign-ups as later you can reach them more easily through your emails. Social media posts are more challenging to reach customers, but are a great way to plug people into the email pipeline.

You can promote email sign-ups through posts, Instagram stories, and even ads. One idea is to run a social media contest that requires an email sign-up for participation. Once these new subscribers have given you permission to email them, you must immediately demonstrate value. You want to show your subscribers that if they unsubscribe immediately after entering the contest, they’ll only miss out.

3. Consider special offers

Many consumers are forever alert to specials. You can attract many email sign-ups on your website with special promotions and discounts. Think about what your key demographics care about and then structure your offer to entice new subscribers.

Also, find out how much you’re willing to invest in order to grow your subscriber base. For example: offering a 10% discount on the first purchase for email subscribers. It’s an offer many retailers have in place for a reason: it works.

4. Offer freebies and giveaways

Bar none, one of the most effective ways to get people to opt-in to your email list is by offering valuable content for free. Many small businesses have jumpstarted their email campaigns’ reach through various types of freebies that work:

• E-books
• Guides
• Whitepapers
• Templates
• Infographics
• Video content.

The more thought you put into your freebie, the better it will work. Use creativity and make a great thing that you’re proud of.

For example, a restaurant could provide an e-book with exclusive recipes in exchange for giving your email address. Anything can be a giveaway — from audiobooks to video downloads or streaming access.

5. Partner with complementary companies

Try to think about adjacent companies that are in related industries but aren’t necessarily competitors. Cross-promotion with non-competing, complementary businesses can be wonderful. Once you’ve identified those potential partners, approach them in a mutually beneficial way.

Think about a situation with your business that would be similar to a gym or fitness club collaborating with a local health food store to cross-promote email sign-ups. You could even set up exclusive deals. For instance, everyone who signs up through a certain link gets a discount on the first purchase.

6. Use your website and blog

The easiest way to grow your small business email list is by making the most of your online presence to capture emails. For some companies, the email signup form is little more than a link buried deep on the website. If people have to hunt for it, they won’t sign up.

You should also deliberately have a call-to-action enticing website and blog visitors to sign up. Don’t assume they’ll know what to do. A highly visible email signup form not only tells people how to subscribe but also explains what they’ll get. For example, your blog may close with a notice there is more exclusive content in your emails, and also other perks.

How to protect your small business email list

The six tactics above will help you grow your email audience and expand the reach of your campaigns. However, while you’re growing your database, you also have to be aware that not all the contacts you gather are genuine.

Some of your prospects may use disposable emails that will end up bouncing. Others make typos – especially during in-person sign-ups – and you need a way to check an email address for validity. Any form that allows an email address will benefit from a reliable filter, like a real-time email verification software.

Not having one in place means that junk emails ranging from typos and disposable contacts and spam traps will drizzle into your email database.

On that note, you should scrub your entire email list using a bulk email checker at least quarterly. As your list grows, you may get better results by validating it even more. The more sanitized your email list is, the better your ROI will be.

Start growing your email list today

There is always a way to get new email subscribers. You’re encouraged to start implementing these strategies soon so your small business can reap the benefits.

You’ll be rewarded for your creativity when you explore other innovative ways to get people to sign up. There are no limits. You can host webinars, network at events, or even use referral programs.

There’s just one thing to keep in mind: make sure your emails are relevant to your audience and of the highest quality. When you do that, you’ll invite people to get your emails as a matter of pride. You’ll also have all of the confidence in the world that what you send is worth getting.