Email acquisition is an important part of any email marketing program. A report by Custora showed that email acquisition quadrupled from 2009-2013, demonstrating that the channel is one of the strongest available to marketers. But email acquisition has benefits beyond acquiring new customers. It also helps you reduce churn and retain and nurture your existing customers.
The first step to growing your list is making sure your opt-in pages are optimized, so it's as easy as ever for potential subscribers to sign up. Here are 5 tips that should help:
1.) Make Your Opt-in Form Visible: Email sign-up forms are now competing for real estate, so if you want new users to sign up, don’t bury your sign-up form. Include it in your navigation like Bed Bath & Beyond does below and design a standalone sign-up page that promotes the benefits of joining your list. In addition to the link placement, make sure content and calls to action on the actual sign-up page are limited so there are no competing messages.
2.) Provide Incentives: To encourage sign-up, offer something of value like a research report or coupon upon sign-up completion. Providing an email address to get something they need is a low risk commitment for the customer. Petco, for example, incentivizes new subscribers with a 20% off coupon to get them to convert fast and start shopping right away.
3.) Don’t Ask for Much: Depending on what you’re asking people to sign up for, in most cases less is more. If you’re requesting them to sign up for a newsletter, a name and email address may be enough. If you’re offering a free trial, you might need additional qualifying information. Whatever you ask for, make sure you need and will use the information. You can always ask for more information later using your email preference center or email nurturing program.
4.) Disclose Everything: Make sure you include your privacy policy so that users know how you will use their email address. Setting expectations from the very beginning will foster a healthy start to your new customer relationship.
5.) Provide Your Credentials: Subscribers want to know that they are giving their personal information to a legitimate sender. Include logos of your certifications, affiliations, or testimonials from your customers on your opt-in pages. You may even want to provide a sample email to give prospective subscribers a preview of what they will receive.
Here's a shining example of an opt-in page from eMarketer that we think does everything right. It includes a clear description of the content being offered and the frequency in which it will be sent. It also shares a sample issue and testimonials supported by a concise form backed by their privacy policy. Take a look:
These five tips are a great starting point for building your list the right way. Start to implement a few of them and let us know what kind of results you see. And if you want some more tips (25 more!) download our new guide: How to Authentically Grow Your Email List.
