Why start an email list in 2022 - 7 reasons to start building your list today
You could be forgiven for thinking that email is dead. With inboxes overflowing and our covid-induced need to be far, far away from our screens the idea of starting an email list in 2022 might feel like you’re several years (and a pandemic) too late.
I’m here to tell you that’s far, far from being the case, and why, as a freelancer, solopreneur or small business building your email list should be top of your priority list this year…
This post may contain affiliate links. These are denoted by a *. If you make a purchase via one of these links I may get a small kickback. I only recommend products and services I use and love myself! Thanks in advance :)
Let’s get started…
You own your email list
After the great facebook black out of 2021 our lack of control and ownership over our social media accounts became front and center, but it’s not just the potential vulnerability of social media - it’s also our lack of control. Instagram or facebook can simply delete your account if they feel like it - and with little to no recourse, that list of thousands you spent hours and hours building is gone. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again.
YOU OWN YOUR EMAIL LIST.
You, not Mark Zuckerberg. And, it can’t be taken away from you. That makes it an incredibly valuable asset. So, if you haven’t started converting your followers to subscribers now’s the time to start - if ever you find your social media accounts disappear you will always have your email list to fall back on (that’s if I haven’t persuaded you in the next 6 reasons why it should be front and centre of your marketing strategy).
2. Email lists are easy to start, can be automated and grow organically
With email marketing platforms such as Flodesk*, Mailchimp and Convertkit (even Squarespace have their own email marketing platform built in) it’s really as easy as several clicks to create a signup form and start building your email list. You can even use an integration via an enquiry form via a set up like Dubsado * to build your list. You don’t even need to have your website ready straight away as you can create a landing page using Flodesk and start collecting email addresses straight away!
Setting up a basic welcome series, or delivery of a lead generator also known as a lead magnet (a freebie that people can download in return for their email address - a great way to start building your email list) is pretty simple too, and ensures that your list continues to look after itself whilst you do other things!
Of course if you want to send regular emails to your list you will need to write and schedule these, but how often you do that is totally up to you. The initial list building once it’s set up can pretty much look after itself whilst you crack on with other things.
(Nothing better than opening your laptop on a Monday morning to see your list has grown whilst you were hanging out with your friends and family, sneaking in a sunset surf session or binge watching “Stay Close”!
3. The ROI of email marketing is significantly higher than social media marketing
Once you have your list, the ROI of marketing to them is ALOT higher than the ROI of social media marketing. Indeed $1 spent = an average of $38 in return, compared to social media marketing which has a return of $0.28 (ouch!)
That’s not to say that social media marketing isn’t powerful and shouldn’t have a place in your marketing strategy, but I like to think of social media marketing as the invitation to your website which is the party, and your email list as the VIP room. If you’re building your list before your website is up and running - the invite is direct to the VIP room. That’s great too!
4. Build trust via your email list through giving advice & support
My biggest tip for building a community through your email list is to skip the selling and to seek to add value for free as much as possible. This is a great way to build trust and connection with your subscribers meaning that you won’t need to do much in the way of “selling” when you have a paid product or service to share, as they will already be ready to invest in what you have to offer.
Some great ways to building trust and add value to your list is to:
Example of my weekly newsletter where I share blogs and other tips and value to my readers. Building trust rather than selling is my objective with my newsletter.
Offer a lead magnet to sign up - something valuable and free to add value straight away (like my blogging ebook)
Blog regularly on topics that are useful to your community and share this via a newsletter
Share feedback/experiences from your clients if you’re a service provider - their words are more powerful than yours
Share easy actionable tips and advice based on your and your clients experience
Invite interaction from your list - some ways to do this might include a CTA to “hit reply and tell me about your experience of X” or book a free strategy session, or provide feedback or input on an idea of yours.
Need some help to get your blog up and running?
5. Get feedback from your email list to improve your offerings
Building on the last point, your email list (assuming you’ve built it strategically to be predominantly made up of your ideal clients) is a great source of people to give you feedback and input on ideas for new service or product offerings or adjustments/ improvements to things you already offer.
This can be done passively through seeing what people are drawn to through their behaviour (such as click rates on various CTAs) or actively - asking people to respond to a question, survey or engage in a focus group.
6. Increase conversions by segmenting and personalising your email list - it’s easy
People love personalised content and marketing. And for you this is a win win, because as we know the more niche and specific we can be with our content the more engaging it is and the more value it adds to our clients or potential clients. With your email list, unlike with social media you can easily segment your community to provide different content that aligns with their requirements.
Some ways in which you can do this are
1. Segment based on initial opt in
E.g. if you are a wedding florist with an audience made up of other florists who opt in for business tips, support and coaching, and brides/ bridegrooms to be who are in the market to purchase florals for their wedding, those 2 opt ins might be:
The Complete Guide to Dubsado form Set up for Event Florists (for your florist group)
AND
Wedding Florals Checklist for Stress Free Flowers (for your brides and bridegrooms to be)
In this scenario the subscribers would be segmented into 2 different groups depending on their initial opt in and would receive ongoing communications geared towards their segment.
2. Segment based on questionnaire
Another way to segment people can be via asking them. This can be effective if everyone initially signed up to the same list, and later on you’d like to segment and personalise. To do this you simply ask people which group they fit in (you can do this via an email) and use this information to ensure that they receive more relevant and personalised information going forward.
An example of this might be a graphic designer who know they have fellow designers and DIYers/potential clients on their list, making up 2 distinct groups. In this scenario they could ask in their email which group the recipient falls into and ensure future content is tailored to them accordingly.
3. Segment based on initial sign up form response.
When people initially sign up to your email list you can ask them to complete information that will select them into a relevant segment from the get go. Be mindful of this however, as the more complex forms are the lower the conversion rate tends to be. For more tips on form design to maximise conversions - read this.
hunting more actionable and high impact tips for small businesses?
check these out
7. Earn affiliate income from your email list
One of the things you might not have thought about in relation to your email list is the opportunity to earn affiliate income (essentially a kickback for referring people onto products or services that you recommend). This can be anything from $5 upwards depending on the service, with the potential to make significant earnings over time.
A lot of my clients are for example looking to build their email list and love how beautiful my emails are (thanks Flodesk*!) or see recent website launch graphics and would love to create mock ups like that for their business (cue Moyo Studio*)
I really enjoy sharing free and paid offerings that I use and love for my business regardless of whether I’m an affiliate, but being an affiliate gives me a little kick back and over time, as my email list has grown so has my affiliate income.
Although I’m nowhere near this level, having recently read a blog where someone with an email list of 250,000 earnt up to $60,000 of affiliate income for one link in one email it’s definitely worth continuing to connect my subscribers with offers they may find useful!
So there you have it, if you were on the fence about starting an email list, I hope you’re sitting more comfortably now with a good dose of confidence that starting your email list this year is one of the best things you could be doing for your business right now.
Need some help getting started? Book a discovery call to see how I can help you get your website and email list working hard for you so you can get back to doing what you started your own business to be doing!
New on the ‘Gram…
