Begin by making sure the list you’re trying to grow has plenty of front doors – on your website, in your emails and anywhere else you interact with your customers or members. And then remember that the people in the best position to help you grow your audience are the people already on it, so give them a reason to spread the word (and the signup link) for you. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Link to your signup screen every chance you get.
Once you’ve got the signup screen looking and working just like you want it to, make sure you link to it from your website and any other logical place. And remember that in addition to having the sign-up link at the bottom of your email campaigns, sometimes it’s a good idea to feature it near the top, too.
Add your signup link to your day-to-day email signature.
Another place you might consider adding a newsletter link is in your day-to-day email signature. Remember that your personal, daily emails are a great front door to the HTML-email campaigns and newsletters you send. Consider the following example, in which you are Harold Bird and your arugula is popular with five-star restaurants worldwide.
Harold Bird
Harold’s Organic Garden
Visit us online: www.haroldsorganicgarden.com
Call us: 800.Get.Vegi
Sign up for our weekly fresh produce specials!
Run email promotions that require someone to bring three friends.
Imagine a shop sending out coupons that offer a best-pals discount good only if you bring your best pal. Or a restaurant offering half-priced entrees if you bring a party of four. Or a club offering you half-price admission if you bring eight people to the show. Offers like this can be a great way to get your current subscribers to recruit their friends and colleagues to join your list.
Practice saying, “Would you like to join our email list?”
The easiest way to get people to join your list is to ask. Use every conversation with customers and prospective customers as an opportunity to invite them to join your list – on phone calls, at events, and in emails. Put a notepad by the register, in the waiting room, or at the event registration table.