10 Tips to Build a Sales Generating Email List
Email marketing has generated more income for my business than any other online marketing tactic to date. I'm still learning how to do this, but here are 10 tips I'm using or have used successfully in the past:
1) Require each subscriber's explicit permission before adding them to the list.
2) Double opt-in will improve the quality of your list. In other words, if a subscriber signs up on your website, make them also confirm their email address by clicking a link in an automated email.
3) Offer an incentive to sign-up (e.g. a free ebook on how to do X).
4) Keep the sign-up form short and painless (I recommend a maximum of 3 fields).
5) Deliver immediate benefit. Send the subscriber a sample of what's to come, but make sure it's relevant and valuable.
6) Set a clear expectation for how often you will be emailing them before they subscribe (preferably) or at the point of double opt-in.
7) Make the subscriber list exclusive to start. Consider placing a limit of 100 spots that are available. You can always increase this in the future. Limited supply increases the perceived value.
8) Show credibility by providing a testimonial from a current subscriber(s) or showing that you have a large number of existing subscribers already ("Join 10,000 happy subscribers already benefiting!").
9) Make sure the webpage where the sign-up occurs is professionally designed: clear communication via minimum copy and visually uncluttered.
10) Come up with your own ideas and test vigorously via Google Website Optimizer or another similar product.
What are some other ways to build a profitable email list?
