Building your mailing list is the first step in creating a viable email marketing campaign. The starting point of your list should be everyone you currently have on file. You may already have email lists from previous campaigns, but if you don’t, you’ll have to do some digging, yes you have to build your email list by yourself! 😉

There are lots of ways to buy an email list but none of them will benefit your campaign. You can ask why? The answer is so simple… the owners of these email addresses didn’t explicitly agree to receive any emails from you. Moreover, they are not your target customers as well. Probably, there could be more people who don’t want to receive any content from you. A bought email list is also in violation of GDPR 🙁

So … when I can not buy an email list and spend the rest of time drinking coffee and eating cookies… what can I do now? No doubts, you have to build your list by yourself. No matter how many effort you have to do at the beginning, you will have a higher score of deliverability, satisfied customers and better results in your email marketing campaign.

Here are some general tips to keep in mind:

Create valuable content

This kind of strategy is a great and brilliant step to start a built email list and reach more and more potential customers, besides… you can appreciate your loyal customers and provide them relevant content. Try to make a research what they are interested in which aspect is important and creates some problems in their business life.

Create Excellent Blog Content with some tips&tricks. People like choices and consider creating subscription levels, that let people sign up to receive relevant content to them and their needs. Your customers may be more likely to sign up for your email list if they have some control over the content they will receive, maybe even share with their friends.

You’re creating valuable content and, if all’s going well, you’re attracting new visitors to your website or blog, then turning them into paying customers.

Give them subscription options

When you build an email list from scratch, you’re sure of the fact that the people included in the list are interested in receiving your emails and won’t mark you as spam, they may also lead to conversions. Whereas while using a purchased list, you’re randomly sending emails to people who may or may not be interested in your mail so it will lead to you being marked as spam or may get you blacklisted.

People treat emails personally, they like to receive specific things which are of a substance to them, no one would like to receive an ad for anything and everything from any company. Do not overload your subscription process, keep only those fields that are important and necessary for your email marketing campaign. Certainly, name and email are enough. But if you feel, you can segment your list by frequency, or countries and send more targeted email newsletters which you can send weekly or monthly, additionally with a special offer.

The reason for setting up a newsletter is simple; it’s an effective method of communicating with your audience. It’s a powerful tool for spreading your message, selling your products, and staying on the tip of your audience’s tongue. Feel free to ask for more information from your subscribers, you will make sure what the customers are keen on and what kind of deals would like to get. Try to find common ground and make a relationship.

Add an Opt-in Incentive

Finally, cater to the people who don’t like sharing their personal information for free by offering something valuable in exchange for a signup also known as a lead magnet. Thanks to that you have an opportunity to add them to your email list. Include email registration forms on every main page of your site. It’s one of the best technique because you could engage your target customers.

Many online marketers offer a free eBook download or a whitepaper in exchange for one’s email information. You may be able to offer a free trial, free sample, or a special offer that can be used in your online shop. Don’t be afraid to change your offer from time to time. What’s important is that you recognize the submission of personal information as a kind of currency exchange in its own right. You have to offer something of equal value if you want people to go through with it.

Verify

Finally, after all, you have lots of brilliant email addresses in your list, though you have to remember that apart of them can be invalid, unknown, etc. You can read more about terms here:

FAQ

It’s obvious that you don’t want to low opening rates. The ROI of your campaign depends on your inbox delivery, as your open rates will always be low if your emails land in SPAM boxes. In order to have a good inbox delivery, you need to have a good sender score. Each time you get a hard bounce, your reputation score takes a hit. You might have hidden hard bounces on your lists because emails decay over time, people sign up with temporary emails, or even spam you with fake emails on purpose.

Before sending out the campaign, just run your list with Bouncer in CSV format, and analyze the results in order to exclude from the campaign all the undeliverable or risky emails. Your open rates will get higher, as firstly you will email only real people, and secondly, your deliverability will be secured.

Build an effective email list that achieves your goals, grows traffic through targeted giveaways, converts subscribers with epic, specific incentives, and engage them frequently. Remember, a bigger list does not mean that it’s better. Focus on your target customers and appreciate those, who are loyal.