A simple ‘list’ will become your most treasured possession
An email address list is a valuable asset for any business especially one that operates online! So it’s amazing why so few business owners are not actively collecting email addresses!
Your business will start to benefit when you start doing this one simple thing and I’ll tell you why.
For your business to grow people need to know, like and trust you. The smaller your business the more important this is. So when someone new walks into your shop, telephones your office, or visits your website and you don’t collect their email address then you are missing an opportunity to generate more income and profit for your business.
Start today
Therefore, I urge you to begin creating a database of email addresses which will form your ‘community’ or ‘niche’ – a group of people that are genuinely interested in what you can offer them now or in the future. If you have no idea about email marketing or how to start, I’m giving away a simple step-by-step guide on building an email address list from scratch.
You can then begin a continuous relationship via email with this community – when you want and about what you want. Email gives you direct access to every single person in your community and it is free marketing!
So what do you do with your list and what on earth do you say in your emails?
None of us appreciate spam and pushy direct sales emails.
Instead, I recommend using email as a way of engaging with your community. Give them a nugget of something really useful and appropriate to your niche that goes towards solving their problems. This also demonstrates your expertise and is a reminder that you are there to help.
It is also a valuable opportunity to get to know your customers better- for example you could ask them what they want or need in the form of a brief survey.
You can then include in your emails reference to discounts, promotions, sales, news, testimonials etc that all go towards marketing your business. But, don’t forget to make them worth receiving or you fall prey to becoming down right annoying, plus I guarantee people will begin to unsubscribe!
How on earth do you get people to give you their email address?
Every new sale is a direct opportunity to request an email address. You can simply ask for their email on a form or a lot of businesses have more success by giving away something for free in return for the email address. Acquiring emails via your website is done by using ‘opt-in’ boxes. Obviously you need to comply with the data protection act.
To help you get started I have written a simple step by step guide on exactly how to get those all important email addresses and I am giving this away for free. To get your free copy (worth £8.99) click here
If you have any comments or a few tips of your own that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you – leave any comments below.
In my next blog I will be talking about the importance of creating your ideal customer avatar and how ‘Having an Avatar’ will actually increase sales!