Creating an email list can be challenging, especially for ecommerce businesses managing various demands.
Yet, with the right approach, you can swiftly expand your email list and harness a potent marketing channel that boosts sales and enhances customer loyalty. This article reveals 12 effective strategies to elevate your list-building efforts and propel your ecommerce business to new levels of success.
What is an email list?
An email list is a compilation of email addresses collected from customers, prospects, or website visitors by a business or individual. These addresses are used to send targeted and personalized marketing messages, newsletters, promotions, or updates directly to recipients.
Email lists are essential in email marketing because they enable marketers to:
- Build and nurture relationships with their audience
- Enhance customer engagement
- Boost sales or conversions
Email lists can be segmented by factors such as demographics, interests, or purchasing behavior to customize content for specific groups, leading to more relevant and effective marketing campaigns.
The primary goal of building an email list is to increase the pool of potential leads, which can later be converted into loyal customers.
Why you should build an email list
If you’re just beginning your ecommerce venture, building an email list is more crucial than you might realize, offering numerous advantages. For many ecommerce stores, their email list is considered their most valuable asset.
Here are the key benefits of developing your own email list:
- Cost-Effective: With rising digital ad costs and declining effectiveness, regularly sending emails to your list is much more budget-friendly.
- Personalized Communication: Unlike ads, emails can be personalized and automated based on customer behavior, providing a more tailored experience.
- Precise Targeting: As targeting on platforms like Facebook becomes less effective, email allows for precise segmentation based on demographics (e.g., city, gender, birthdate) or behavior (e.g., past purchases, email interactions).
- Ownership: Your email list is entirely yours, free from reliance on external platforms or companies, making it a highly valuable asset.
- Relationship Building: While digital ads often employ a broad approach, emails enable personalized, automated communication that can guide customers through their individual journeys—something not achievable with ads.
Best practices: the dos and don’ts of building an email list
Before we explore specific strategies for building an email list, it's crucial to establish some best practices. Following these dos and don’ts will help ensure that your email list remains high-quality, engaged, and effective in boosting sales for your business.
Get a reliable email service provider (ESP)
Before we dive in, it’s crucial to set up a professional business email address and choose an email marketing provider that suits your needs and can effectively support your list-building efforts.
We recommend considering our own service, Getyn, which is trusted by over 100,000 ecommerce brands for growing their email lists and is highly regarded by its users. However, there are many other options available that can also meet your needs.
Whatever platform you choose, it should allow you to:
- Easily create and customize various signup forms and landing pages
- Track the performance of each signup form through metrics such as clicks and signup rates
- Segment your subscribers based on different criteria and behaviors
- Send automated emails tailored to different audience segments
- Integrate seamlessly with other marketing tools to enhance list-building across multiple channels
Get more visitors to your site
Let’s review some effective strategies for increasing traffic to your website. Here are some top approaches:
- Utilize Ads, Particularly Facebook Ads: Ads allow you to target your ideal audience precisely at the right time and on the most relevant platform. Many ecommerce businesses use Facebook ads for email list building due to their cost-effectiveness and scalability as your needs and business expand.
- Create Engaging Content: Develop high-quality content that has the potential to go viral and distribute it across platforms like YouTube (for videos), TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others. Ensure you include a clear call to action and a direct link to your store.
- Leverage SEO for Content Creation: While this method may take weeks, months, or even years to show significant results, it is entirely free and works across all platforms. The major advantage is the long-term, organic growth in traffic it can generate.
Keep your list healthy
A well-maintained email list consists of individuals who are familiar with your brand, actively engaged, and have subscribed to your newsletter. These contacts are crucial for achieving high conversion rates and strong results in ecommerce marketing.
To ensure your list remains in good shape:
- Send Confirmation Emails: Verify new subscribers by sending them a confirmation email to confirm their subscription and ensure the inclusion of only legitimate email addresses.
- Regularly Clean Your List: Remove inactive subscribers, duplicates, and any addresses that bounce to avoid wasting time and resources on uninterested individuals.
- Assign Tags to Contacts: Categorize your subscribers with tags based on their interests, behaviors, and preferences to send more targeted and relevant emails.
- Segment Your Audience: Divide your email list into smaller segments based on demographics, behavior, or preferences to create more personalized and effective campaigns.
- Remove Inactive Subscribers: Periodically eliminate subscribers who haven’t interacted with your emails for a while to keep your list engaged and reduce the risk of your emails being marked as spam.
Never, ever buy an email list
Many marketers seek quick methods to build an email list, but relying on free or purchasable lists is not the answer. While these options may seem fast, they are not effective or appropriate.
This is a crucial point that many new ecommerce marketers overlook. Remember: using these shortcuts is not the right way to build your email list.
Email list building tactics
- Implement a standard opt-in form
- Utilize a surprise popup form
- Provide incentives
- Incorporate gamification into your signup forms
- Develop a targeted landing page
- Share lead magnets
- Host giveaways
- Employ referral programs
- Create a free interactive tool
- Use live chat or chatbots
- Partner with other businesses
- Apply offline list-building strategies
1. Use a standard opt-in form
Expected conversion rate: 2-5% of your website visitors
Most Shopify sites typically feature a standard opt-in form, usually positioned at the bottom or center of the screen.
For other ecommerce platforms, such as WooCommerce, it's crucial to incorporate an opt-in form into your website design. Instead of a dedicated form, consider using a sticky signup form positioned at the bottom or side of the screen.
Don’t underestimate the significance of opt-in forms for ecommerce stores. This article covers key uses and best practices for effective signup forms.
2. Use a surprise popup form
Expected conversion rate: 7-8% of your visitors
Although the opt-in form is important, it remains relatively passive. Ideally, you should use a tool that enhances the visibility of your email signup forms even further.
3. Offer incentives
Expected conversion rate: 10% of your visitors
To encourage visitors to subscribe to your email list, you need to offer something valuable in return, such as:
- Discount: Provide a discount to new subscribers as a thank-you gesture. This can motivate more people to join your list and make their first purchase.
- Sale: Hold a sale and promote it exclusively to your email subscribers. This creates a sense of exclusivity and urgency, encouraging people to sign up for access to the sale.
- Free Shipping: Offer free shipping to new subscribers or to those who reach a certain purchase amount. This can drive purchases and entice people to join your email list to take advantage of the shipping offer.
With Getyn’s drag-and-drop form builder, you can effortlessly take advantage of high-converting incentives. It simplifies the process of adding exclusive discounts and offers to your signup forms and lets you tailor the forms to align with your brand’s style and messaging.
4. Gamify your signup forms
Expected conversion rate: up to 20% of your visitors (when used for time-limited offers)
Interactive signup forms can be both engaging for visitors and effective for ecommerce store owners. For instance, Getyn’s Wheel of Fortune offers a playful experience where visitors “spin” the wheel to win a prize. To participate, visitors must first subscribe to one of your email lists.
Here’s how to maximize conversions with your gamified popups:
- Make it Eye-Catching: Use bright colors, bold fonts, and engaging graphics to ensure your popup stands out and grabs attention.
- Keep it Simple: Design the popup with a clear, straightforward layout and concise copy. Avoid overwhelming users with excessive information or choices.
- Offer a Valuable Discount: Provide a meaningful discount (either a percentage or a fixed amount) that resonates with your audience to encourage interaction and email sign-ups.
- Simplify the Entry Process: Ensure that entering their email address and participating in the game is straightforward. Avoid asking for too much information or creating a complex process.
5. Create a targeted landing page
Expected conversion rate: up to 10% of your visitors
Landing pages can be highly effective for growing your email list due to their focused and targeted nature.
When designing a targeted landing page for list-building, consider the following:
- Craft a Clear and Compelling Headline: Your headline should immediately capture attention and clearly convey the value of your offer.
- Use Persuasive Copy: Write persuasive content that addresses your audience’s pain points, desires, and goals to encourage engagement and email sign-ups.
- Include a Strong Call-to-Action: Ensure your call-to-action is clear, prominent, and highlights the benefits of subscribing.
- Keep It Simple: Design your landing page to be clean, straightforward, and easy to navigate. Avoid overwhelming visitors with excessive information or options.
6. Share lead magnets
Expected conversion rate: up to 25% of leads
A lead magnet is a valuable resource—such as a PDF guide, ebook, gift guide, stock images, etc.—that your visitors find highly desirable. It is one of the most effective methods for growing your email list.
To access this resource, visitors will need to subscribe to your newsletter and email campaigns.
7. Offer giveaways
Expected conversion rate: up to 30% of leads
Another effective strategy for building your email list is to leverage giveaways, particularly on your audience's preferred social media platforms.
You can promote your giveaway on popular social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, taking advantage of their broad reach. You have the option to either boost your giveaway through paid promotions or simply share it on your feed. Many businesses have found various giveaway strategies to be highly effective.
While you can host the giveaway landing page on your website, using dedicated landing page software or tools is often more convenient.
Ensure that the prize you offer is tailored to your target audience. For instance, if you’re aiming to attract dog lovers, choose a prize that resonates specifically with them, such as a high-quality dog accessory, rather than generic items like an iPad or Bose headphones.
Make the prize relevant and specific to attract qualified leads, which is the primary goal of the giveaway.
Fortunately, there are excellent giveaway tools and WordPress plugins available to streamline the process. Rafflecopter, for example, is a great option that simplifies setting up and managing giveaways with customizable entry forms and social media integrations.
8. Use referral programs
Expected conversion rates: up to 15% of your website visitors
Referral programs incentivize your subscribers to share your offers with their friends, family, and colleagues, helping to expand your email list.
9. Make a free interactive tool
Expected conversion rates: up to 10% of your website visitors
Providing free interactive tools such as quizzes, calculators, and generators can be an engaging and effective method to increase email sign-ups.
These tools offer added value to your visitors, encourage interaction with your website, and can position your business as an expert in your industry.
If you choose to create a free interactive tool to grow your email list, consider the following:
- Deliver Value: Ensure your tool addresses a problem, answers a question, or offers a benefit that justifies the user’s time and encourages them to share their email address.
- Ensure Ease of Use: The tool should be user-friendly and straightforward to navigate.
- Provide Personalized Results: Offer customized outcomes based on user inputs to enhance engagement.
- Include a CTA: Add a clear call-to-action that prompts users to enter their email address to access additional content or resources.
- Promote Your Tool: Actively market your interactive tool through social media, email campaigns, and other channels to maximize its visibility and impact.
10. Use a live chat or chatbot
Expected conversion rates: up to 10% of your website visitors
Chatbots can not only deliver valuable customer support but also offer discounts or special promotions to encourage sign-ups.
Another approach is to integrate live chat and chatbots into your customer support strategy. When customers reach out via live chat or chatbot, you can offer to send them a follow-up email with useful resources or solutions to their issue.
This enhances the customer experience while also giving you an opportunity to collect their email address and add them to your email list.
11. Collaborate with other businesses
Expected conversion rate: 15% of your visitors
Partnering with complementary brands in your industry allows you to access their established audience and attract new potential customers who may be interested in your products or services.
Collaborative marketing also boosts brand awareness and positions your business as a trusted authority in your field. Here’s how it works:
Imagine you own a running store and have identified 5,000 subscribers who are triathletes. You decide to collaborate with a swimming store to reach this audience.
You create an email campaign promoting the swimming store and send it to the 5,000 triathlete contacts, directing them to an offer for swimming gear at the partner store.
In return, your partner sends a similar campaign to their email list, highlighting your store and driving traffic to your site. This mutual promotion helps both businesses grow their email lists by reaching each other’s subscribers.
By crafting valuable content and offers for your shared audience, you can leverage each other’s reach and expand your email lists together.
12. Use offline list-building tactics
Expected conversion rate: uncertain but worth trying
While online methods for building your list—such as through your website, landing pages, and social media—are crucial, don’t overlook traditional offline approaches for collecting emails.
For instance:
- Network: Distribute your business cards during meetings and conversations, and add the collected contacts to your list.
- Increase Your Visibility: Participate in in-person fairs and events, and always have a registration list with an email column at your booth.
- Engage with In-Person Customers: Request email addresses from customers if you sell your products offline.
- Build a Community: Organize meetups and gatherings for like-minded individuals, using a registration form to collect their emails.
All list-building methods are valid as long as they comply with legal regulations. Ensure offline forms include the same legal statements as online ones.
While some offline list-building tasks can be automated, you may need to manually add these email subscribers to your email marketing software.
Wrap Up
Building an email list is one of the most effective strategies for increasing sales and fostering customer loyalty in your ecommerce business. By applying the 12 proven strategies discussed in this article, you can swiftly expand your email list and maximize its potential.
Here are the key takeaways:
- Drive Website Traffic: Utilize compelling signup forms to enhance your email list-building efforts.
- Offer Incentives and Gamify: Implement tactics such as offering incentives, gamifying signup forms, creating targeted landing pages, and sharing lead magnets to boost effectiveness.
- Collaborate and Host Giveaways: Partner with other businesses, run giveaways, and use referral programs to significantly enhance your list growth.
- Leverage Interactive Tools and Offline Methods: Incorporate interactive tools, chatbots, and offline tactics to enrich your email list-building strategy.
With the right strategies and tools, you can successfully grow a highly engaged email list for your ecommerce store. Start today to drive more sales and build lasting customer relationships with a robust email list.
