As you walk out of the movie theater munching away at the cold, greasy stragglers left in your brother-in-law’s oversized jumbo popcorn box, you suddenly realize that everyone is uncharacteristically speechless. Your friends usually make a million comments after watching horror movies like this one right away. This time, however, you hear nothing but murmurs and the distant clacking of high heels.
When you get into the car, you finally decide to ask, “What’s up? Was it that scary?” Your buddy eventually responds by saying no, it wasn’t scary at all, and that it wasn’t even good. Now things start to make sense. You’ve loved watching scary movies ever since you were a little kid and so you know that a successful scare is all in the buildup. The movie you saw, on the other hand, tossed out mini-frights as if they were rice at an Italian wedding.
Like crafting a suspenseful fright, building a successful email list takes planning and time. The goal is not to increase the sheer number of emails, but rather to maximize the number of leads who are liable to opt in. What you ultimately want out of a potent email list are satisfied customers, not cheap scares.
Traditional Face-to-Face
Before mulling over where next to purchase a sack of mostly phony, bot-driven, ostensibly good email leads, give traditional business a shot. Design and print professional business cards and hand them out to potential clients with a firm handshake after actually spending time with them. Attend conferences relevant to your product and meet people there. There are still real people out there.
You can even make the bold move of hosting your own event. Be it a luncheon, an outdoor adventure, or a topic talk with a special guest speaker, find a way to get people to dip their toe in the water. Drop off invitations, post notices, send out flyers, and even try advertising through local media outlets. Whatever your strategic choice, don’t forget to ask people to RSVP via email or phone.
Yes, old school marketing seems like a pain in the flabby behind. You might be thinking it’s just way too much work. In the long run, acquiring a few opt-ins who know and trust you and can thus sincerely back you up may help you get more leads and actually save you work and time.
Social Media
Take advantage of the relevance of social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, or even your own landing page. Social media gives you immediate publicity and access to people who are interested in seeing what you have to show. You don’t have to belabor people with pitches because leads can zip in and out on their own time.
Through Twitter you can promote a special offer, a gift, or a nifty resource that would require nothing more from viewers than an email address to get access to. Facebook offers on your Timeline with social sharing buttons could spread whatever promo you’re currently running like wildfire. A Pinterest board is another means of collecting leads while getting your brand coveted exposure and an intriguing visual palette.
Real testimonials and reviews written by pleased subscribers are the way to go. People crave authenticity with the abundance of phony goods being thrown around. Online mentions by clients, even if short, also help increase your credibility.
Email Marketing Program
There are email marketing programs available that provide the convenient and image-defining services of making customized templates with unique themes. Aesthetics are huge for attracting email leads since people often instantly decide whether or not a certain look interests them. Various programs also integrate your designs with social media.
On top of that, some programs organize and manage lists. They also may be able to track your leads and safeguard them. The downside is that such programs generally do come at a small recurring cost for continued upkeep.
Free Stuff
Incentives work. Some people like free things and others enjoy competing to win them. Whatever the case, neat offers for bonuses, discounts, and add-ons are a classic way to draw leads. Creating special deals available only to subscribers is another distinct treat for many customers. Remember that people come to you for an experience, a service, a product, not to do hard work. If you’re a horror movie, you have to justify their ticket purchase by scaring the pants right off them.
United We Stand
Numerous platforms, such as Buddypress and Linkedin, empower you to find a community and establish connections. Take advantage of those useful resources to develop interactions with your customers. Visit various forums and even blogs and share insightful comments along with a way to get in touch with you. Collaborating with friendly businesses could draw in new faces and benefit both sides of the equation. Go team!
There are countless additional ways to strengthen your email list, like setting up sandwich boards, attending local fairs, printing postcards, or using paid search ads, to name a handful. At the end of the day, how you want to build your list is up to you. Keep in mind that building a substantial email list is no walk in the park. Like setting up a movie scare, it takes creativity, good timing, and plenty of patience.
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