By: Peter Cullen, Business Development Associate
After developing a business and working to keep it above ground through social media marketing, digital ads, word of mouth, and loyal customers have you ever wondered what extra steps can be taken to keep your brand's presence in the light? Well listed below are 5 great tips on how to grow your mailing list, keep it consistent, and drive traffic to your website.
Be a guest in their inbox
To the audience, you are a guest in their inbox and an interruption to their email chains. Want to be remembered? Research shows email marketing is almost 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined in attracting customers to your business.
Want to make an impression? Be respectful to the recipient and only email them if they have subscribed and want to see it. Sending an unwanted email is like showing up at a stranger’s house and expecting to be entertained. It is poor courtesy and can annoy the recipient. Adding a link to unsubscribe from the email also shows you value the customer’s choices and will make sure your email doesn’t end up in a spam inbox. Don’t send random content and worthless offers that will only waste the recipient’s time, as well as find the gray period in how many emails to send that keeps them subscribed but to where they don’t get annoyed. You want the recipients to feel inclined to want to receive more emails, offers, and promotions based on a simple and respectful email that puts the bottom line first.
Create visual forms of content
If you want your brand and your message to really grasp the reader, simple visuals are a great way to keep the reader attached.
Social media has increased drastically in its use for small businesses, and with it came the desire for visually appealing content and photos. On average, a reader only spends about 15 seconds reading your website before deciding if it's of use to them. Considering how much you can integrate photos with your marketing plan as well as keeping these photos professional and relevant will increase interest in the product and the overall message, as well as grab their attention early on and keep them interested.
Use gated content
Gated content is online content that you have to fill in a form to get access to. This gives the reader just enough information to be eager in the discussion and makes them want to read more.
The action of having people provide contact details in exchange for content increases the value of the information to the reader. When writing an email or a blog, being able to target individuals with an attention-grabbing excerpt that makes them want to take a few seconds to enter in their information to finish reading your article allows not only for the establishment of a personal connection but one extra client that will continue to receive further information.
Use effective landing pages
An effective landing page serves as a customer's first interaction with your brand. The objective of millions of landing pages is to prompt the readers to enter in their email addresses. But in doing this, you have to know what the purpose of the landing page is, what's the end goal, and is it of value to the reader.
Effective landing pages are best when constructed towards a specific goal and audience. As landing pages work towards gathering leads and other valuable information, they can be looked at as the best way to find, connect, and transform people into an ongoing customer. Landing pages can also be analyzed and then optimized into something that works just right for your business. Landing pages can be tested and digital marketers can fine-tune and create the perfect solution to any landing page post creation, increasing search traffic through changes in design, content, layout, wording, and many other impacts.
Develop a lead magnet
A lead magnet is anything of value that you can exchange for a prospect's contact information. Lead magnets are valuable transactions in converting leads, and interests, and give you the ability to market your products and services.
In today's world, people don’t give away their email as easily so it is imperative to provide something of value… which is where your lead magnet comes in, delivering real value to the customer. Winning them over with this free offer sparks interest and starts a relationship on a positive note. Your lead magnet should be specific to whom you’re looking to attract and has to be centered around something your buyer needs rather than what you think they could want. The final thing your lead magnet should cover is to develop something that can solve your buyer’s problem fast and highlights your strengths in the business whether that’s in video format or in eBook if you’re a better writer.