Over 1/5th of your contact database decays every year, so expanding it can feel impossible; luckily, we’ve compiled our favourite strategies below to make the process much easier!
Your contact database provides you and your organization with a vital, direct link to communicate with clients who have already established their interest in your organization. Email marketing communications consistently have proven to perform at high levels, boasting an average ROI of 4300% for businesses in the USA, with greater engagement rates than other social media campaigns, according to the Direct Marketing Association.
Unfortunately, as consumers’ preferences and email addresses change, maintaining an accurate, valuable mailing list is no passive act even if your content is already amazing. However, by working smarter - not harder - we can boost the efficiency of our efforts to foster a healthy, positively-trending contact database with these tips:
1. Encourage your contacts to share your emails with their friends & family
Most individuals surround themselves with others they trust and are like to some degree. That is to say, your contact already fits into your target market and may be able to link you to other similar individuals likely to benefit from the product/service your organization provides! Consider adding sharing buttons to your email marketing materials, such as “Email to a Friend” and “Subscribe” buttons for these new contacts to join your mailing list.
2. Add a subscription hyperlink to your signature line
For potential customers who are not yet subscribed to email communications, but are in contact with you or other employees, simplifying the process to sign up for further content via hyperlink from the signature line is a natural way to promote a long term relationship with the contact.
3. Segment your mailing list contacts for enhanced personalization
Let’s say you’ve identified a contact who consistently opens email marketing communications that features new technology in the subject line, but almost never opens anything else. In your contact’s profile, try noting their specific interest or other identifying information as a tag to segment your audience further. When you go to send the next piece of mailing list content, you can send it to your entire audience or a specific segment of the audience that has a certain tag or tags. By further appealing to the unique interests of your clients, and not sending them irrelevant clutter, the likelihood of unsubscription decreases and engagement increases.
4. Create a lead generating offer
Potential contacts are much more likely to hand over their contact information if they feel they are getting something of value in return. Thus, consider providing a “gated offer”, in which after providing their email address, the new contact will receive a free demo / guide / template / discount / bonus content / etc.
5. Make your mailing list accessible from all social media platforms
Ensuring your clients can subscribe to your mailing list from your main website is crucial, however you’re missing out on many potential contacts if that is the only route you take! Provide a link, or use numerous available integrations from various CRM platforms to integrate your mailing list sign up form to platforms like Facebook and more. This way, no matter what avenue a potential contact takes to find your brand, they won’t experience any hassle or discouragement from subscribing to your communications.
Not sure how to get your mailing list off to a great start? Consider purchasing one of our Change Connect targeted email marketing lists! Mass email lists sold by other companies should never be bought, no matter how enticing or safe some may seem. Contacts on mass commercial lists are not guaranteed to match your target market, and definitely did not personally indicate interest in what you may or may not be able to offer them. Put yourself in the consumers’ shoes, if you received an email from a brand you have never heard of before or provided your information to, you’d likely experience a very negative first impression leading your opinion of this brand to be less than trustworthy or respectable. All it takes is a few shares of a client’s poor experience with your organization to seriously damage your public relations reputation in the long term. With a Change Connect email list, you can ensure the contacts receiving your communications will find actionable value from your offerings.
Overall, mailing lists have cemented their importance to businesses of all kinds for generating greater financial performance and assisting with vital customer relationship management practices. Whether you’re just considering starting a mailing list, or are looking to improve the functionality of your current mailing list, implementing the strategies and best practices listed above will have you starting off ahead of the pack.
