Are you building an email list for your small business? If not, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to strengthen the relationship with your customers. Done right, email marketing can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.

Too many businesses let their customers come and go, never knowing when (or if) they will return. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to reach out to your best customers when you had important news to share, like a special sale or a new line of products that just arrived? Or to share tips and insights that can help you build a stronger relationship with your customers? Well you could…..that is, if you had a mailing list.

Building an mailing list is a critical marketing tool that many small business owners miss out on. Whether you haven’t started building one because you aren’t sure how, or you feel like there’s no time to do it, it’s time to start putting a plan together today. Building an email list takes time, but it’s well worth the effort. Below are some ideas you can start using today to build your email list.

Ask customers to opt in at the time of purchase. Offer an instant discount if they sign up on the spot or tell them they’ll get coupons sent to them for a future visit.. Train your team to ask customers for their email addresses at the time of purchase and selling the benefits of receiving it.

Create a dedicated sign up page on your website. Signup forms for your email list should take prominent position on your website. In addition to the main sign up form on your homepage, you should have additional sign up opportunities on your site, such as on your about and contact pages, as well as during the checkout process if you offer online purchases. Also, having a dedicated lading page for your signup form allows you to market it in different ways, such as:

• Creating a Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign to drive people to your signup page with discount offers
• Using Facebook and other social media to drive people to your dedicated sign up page
• QR codes that, when scanned, lead to your sign up page. Just be sure your signup page is optimized for mobile as QR codes are used almost exclusively on mobile devices
• Do some guest blogging on other websites and add the link to your email signup page in your author bio

Partner with other local businesses to build your mailing list. Working with other businesses with a similar customer base is a great and fast way to build your email list. On a recent local promotion I did with another business, I had the business owner promote an in store giveaway where they offered a chance to win a $250 gift certificate for my business if the signed up for the promotion, leaving their name and email address. I collected over 150 emails from that lone initiative. Besides contacting the winner of the promotion to let them know they won, I also contacted everyone else on the list and let them know that they won second prize, which was a $20 gift certificate for my business. So far, about 60 new customers came in and used the offer, many of them becoming repeat customers. Repeat this with several business and you’ll quickly build up your email list as well as drive new people into your business. I’ve found other businesses a much better source of marketing than traditional methods such as newspapers ads and direct mail campaigns.

Use your emails to build your mailing list. If you’re offering valuable content and offers for your customers through your emails, encourage them to share those offers with their friends. At the end of every email you should have both a call to action to share the email with friends as well as a call to action for those friends to sign up themselves so they don’t miss out on future emails.

What you shouldn’t do………

Optin people without their permission. It may annoy your customers as well it’s against the terms of service for most mail delivery services like Mailchimp and Constant Contact. Be sure to let people know what they are signing up for

Buy an email list. Almost always a bad idea. While some companies that sell email lists are legitimate and deliver some quality leads, many gain emails through less than honest means. If people are on your list, they are on dozens of lists and are receiving spam by the bucket load……you don’t want your business associated with these types.

Overdue it. You want to send news and offers that are relevant and at a pace that your customers are comfortable with. People hate it when they receive numerous emails from a business that provides little to no value to them…..over and over again. Whenever you create a new email, be sure you’re adding something valuable or people will quickly route your future emails to the junk folder.

Summary

Building an email list does take time and certainly alot of effort, but it can become a valuable long term marketing tool that you can use over and over again…..at a minimal cost. It’s also a smart idea to use a dedicated email service such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact (I use both) to track each email campaign as well as ensuring your emails are getting delivered. If you haven’t started building your list yet, grab one of the ideas above and just get started. Most of the time, getting started is the hardest part. Have questions about email marketing? Contact me here, I love answering my readers questions!

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Gary Shouldis

Chief Marketer at 3Bug Media

Gary Shouldis is a father, husband, business owner and blogger. He is the founder of 3Bug Media , a web marketing company that helps small business owners and service professionals get found online. You can give him a virtual high five over at Twitter or on Google Plus

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