You’ve likely heard that email marketing can have a big impact on your business. While social media has it’s perks, email still ranks among the top customer acquisition strategies for businesses of all sizes.

Growing a list full of engaged readers who are willing and excited to buy from you is the goal… but it’s hard to find the right strategies to get you to that point.

Here are a few quick & dirty tips to help you grow your list including some helpful strategies for keeping in touch with your list and finding the right content to send them. 

Opt-in Forms

Placement:  Be strategic! Place your opt-in forms where people will see them. That’s not limited to your footer and sidebar. Don’t be afraid to add opt-in forms to your header as well as your “About” page or even your “404 error” page. Bonus points for creativity!

Branding + Design: Don’t let your opt-in forms be overshadowed by the rest of your site content. Make them feel like a part of your brand by adding a fun colored background or a big bright button that matches your brand style.

Irresistible Offer: People guard their email addresses carefully to avoid spam and an overflowing inbox full on unwanted mail. Offer them something they can’t resist (like a free ebook or guide) that’s similar to what you offer in paid products or services when they sign up for your list. Be specific about the value of what you are giving away (& certainly don’t undervalue your knowledge).

Sending Messages

Email Platforms: Don’t send out mass emails from your gmail account and don’t use an RSS feed to let your audience know about new blog posts. Try out a platform like Mad Mimi (aff.) or Mail Chimp (which both have free plans) to get you started. This way to you can track the emails you do send and see how your audience responds.

Content: Want some content ideas? Tell a story. Review industry news. Share an article you read lately. Offer good advice. Don’t limit yourself to only news about your business. You will bore your audience and teach them to ignore your emails in the future…

Frequency: How often you send emails to your list depends on your unique audience and what content you have to share. Shoot for consistency by sending emails on the say day every week or around the same time of the month.

So… what did you think of this little cheat sheet? I was going to use it as an opt-in offer but thought it would be better to just let you enjoy it for free :)

Do you know anyone who is struggling with email marketing? I’d love it if you’d share this article with them to make sure they are headed in the right direction.

As always, I’ll be answering questions in the comments.