Email marketing has been going strong for more than two decades, and it’s not going anywhere despite the critics. But in order for it to be effective, you have to have a solid strategy for increasing newsletter opt-ins. An email marketing company can help your Chicago business develop a comprehensive email marketing strategy, choose a third party email service, and implement a simple plan for increasing opt-ins and building your newsletter lists, fast.
Benefits Of Email Marketing Vs Social Media
The email marketing naysayers are the same ones touting social media marketing as the next best – and only – thing you need. Let’s be clear: both strategies have their pros and cons. Social media excels at engaging users and giving your brand a “face” – when done right, followers feel like they get to know the people behind the brand and you become more credible and trustworthy. Email, on the other hand, provides guaranteed reach, more site visitors, clicks, conversions and ultimately, sales. Most seasoned marketers agree that a blended strategy is ideal, with an emphasis on email marketing.
While building a social media following can be slow going for new brands, building an email list can be fast and painless if you have the right strategies in place.
Tip #1 – Use A Third Party Email Marketing Service
Whether you use WordPress or another platform, it is highly unlikely it will have the built-in and robust features you need for effective email marketing. This is a common pain point among marketers, and the use of a third party email marketing service is the simplest solution
Some are better than others. Some are free. Some are pricey. All will make your life easier with a variety of stock and custom templates, workflow automation and auto-responder options, split test campaigns, and in-depth analytics about the effectiveness of your emails.
Some top picks include:
Once you have a delivery method in place, it’s time to start increasing opt-in rates:
Tip #2 – Make The Sign-Up Process EASY
Collecting a name and email address is usually enough. If your content naturally lends itself to segmentation, a couple extra questions are okay to better personalize your messaging. Be aware that too many questions may annoy visitors and result in them abandoning the sign-up process. Alternatively, you might consider putting separate sign-up forms (for separate newsletter lists) at different points on your site to capture your target audience where they already are.
Tip #3 – Offer Incentives To Sign-Up
Especially if someone is on your site for the first time, they might not be ready to commit to receiving ongoing communication from you. Better to sweeten to deal by offering something valuable upfront in return, such as an eBook, whitepaper, free webinar registration, coupon/discount, etc.
Tip #4 – Careful Placement Of Sign-Up Form
This is a hotly debated topic. Some businesses (and consumers) are vehemently against pop-ups of any kind; others swear by them. Many businesses choose a more modest approach by placing the sign-up form on the sidebar, as a floating footer bar, or using a less-invasive slide-in or slide-up form at the bottom right corner of the screen.
While any of these will work to some degree, a traditional pop-up displayed at just the right time, can increase sign-ups a hundred times over – and then some. What’s the key? The timing. Pop-ups that are coded with exit-intent technology track mouse movements and display just as the user is making a move to close the window. Combined with a valuable incentive, the easy and timely opt-in process becomes virtually irresistible to your site visitors.
An Email Marketing Company Can Increase Your Newsletter Opt-Ins
Whether your business needs a brand new email marketing strategy, or you’re just looking to streamline your existing strategy, Chicago email marketing company, Design & Promote can help. Give us a call at 630.995.7109 so we can learn more about your business’s email goals and get started on a strategy to build your email lists, fast!