Did you know that it cost 5 times as much to acquire a new client, customer or patient as it does to market to your current ones?
An email list full of loyal followers is an indispensible marketing tool for businesses in almost every niche. Nothing beats the direct access to loyal customers like a trusted email database. But every list has to start somewhere. Join us for the Vortex Marketing Blog’s next series: How to Grow and Maintain a Healthy Email List! Today’s topic discusses how to get started.
Getting Your List Started
Where do you begin? First, you need to choose an eMarketing provider. There are so many to choose from, it can get a bit overwhelming: Mailchimp, ConstantContact, SendGrid, Emma, GetResponse, Drip, ActiveCampaign, and the list goes on. Each platform has different billing plans, interfaces, reporting, and more. Be sure to do your research before committing.
Most platforms offer free services up to a certain amount of subscribers or emails per month. Here is a great resource that breaks down what you get and for what price.
At Vortex, we prefer Mailchimp due to its free threshold being very flexible, and it’s very easy to work in.
Once you have your account created with your desired platform, it’s time to get some subscribers! A great place to start is with your current and prospective customers. Add your database of current customers to a customer list and any potential customers you come in contact with to a prospect list.
Once the lists are created, make sure to send them a welcome email that also functions as a double opt-in. A double opt-in is an email that is sent to new subscribers, confirming that they want to join your list. They can either hit accept, which adds them to the list, or decline, which removes them. This informs users to expect from your organization by being on your list, and gives them a chance to unsubscribe, which is a mandated industry requirement.
This is even more important if you’re importing a large database of emails. If a large percentage of your emails bounce (get sent and don’t get opened or are non-functioning) due to being sent to users that aren’t interested in what you’re providing, your reputation can be damaged. If your reputation is poor, this means your emails are more likely to end up in someone’s spam box. When you import a list, make sure the email addresses on that list want to hear from you. We will go more in depth on this topic in a future post.
Come back next time where we go over methods to grow your email list!
Do you want a loyal email database of your own?
Having trouble finding the time and resources to cultivate an audience?
Call Vortex Business Solutions today at 319.354.0019 for a free consultation, or visit VortexBusinessSolutions.com.
