Email newsletters are a great way to reach out to potential customers and keep in touch with existing ones. They’re also a very affordable way to spread the word about your company. So, if you’re wondering how to build a mailing list for your small business, you’re right to be exploring the idea!
I’ve written before about the benefits of using newsletters to grow your small business and how to get started. These days, social media algorithms are increasingly changeable, and difficult to keep track of. Many businesses are struggling with zero click online searches and, on top of that, AI is on the rise. Having your own mailing list is invaluable as it is a platform you own and are totally in control of! If you work really hard on building it and see success there, it can almost replace some of these other strategies.
So, if you’re keen to make it work for you, here are a few thoughts on how you can grow and improve your mailing list.
Contents:
Share to generate interest
Optimise your sign up forms
Build a welcome sequence
Make it shareable
Reach out at events
Collaborate with other relevant brands
Focus on quality over quantity
Share your mailing list to generate interest
Sounds obvious, right? But I mean share more than just a link to the sign up form! There are a couple of ways you can do this to encourage people to click through to that all important form.
First, you could share a screenshot of one of your most popular newsletters – one that had a good open rate and maybe even generated some enquiries. Whatever you included in that obviously resonated, so share it via your social media platforms to catch the eye of other potential customers! Alternatively you could share the link to the web version/archive of your latest newsletter.
You could also share a testimonial from a subscriber, explaining what they have got out of your mailing list. By doing both of these things, you will start to build trust with potential new subscribers and allow them to make a more informed decision about signing up.
Optimise your sign-up forms
The most important tool when you want to grow or build a mailing list is your sign-up form. They are easy to create, especially if you’re using email tools like MailChimp or Campaign Monitor.
You often have the choice between generating a branded sign-up page, a button to add to your website and many more. Just make sure to use the ones that are most likely to encourage potential customers to join your mailing list. And that they comply with the latest data protection regulations.
Learn more about the importance of your branding across all areas of your business in my guide to Small Business Branding.
1. Your website
Add your sign-up form to your website and don’t even think about hiding it away somewhere in the footer! For your web visitors to see and use it, it needs to be in a prominent position, best somewhere at the top.
Additionally, consider having it either on every page or at least on the most popular of your web pages, e.g. your contact page and your product pages.
2. Your blog & social media
To build a mailing list for your small business, you can also add the sign-up form to your digital marketing activities. For example, if you have a blog, add the link to your blog posts. On social media, you can even create sign-up tabs (Facebook) and pins (Pinterest) to encourage new subscribers.
And don’t forget to post the link regularly to advertise your newsletter to interested readers. Another way to grow your list is to add the link to your email signature.
3. Keep it short and simple
When it comes to your sign-up form there are two things to keep in mind: Always make the process as easy as possible for the customer and never forget a call-to-action.
It’s very important to keep the form short and simple. So only ask for the information you really need. And don’t forget to tell them why they should join your mailing list in the first place. Let them know what they’re going to get out of it. People have limited attention spans these days, so you need to let them know adding you to the mix will be worth their while.
Also, let people know how often they are going to receive your emails and what the content will be to reduce unsubscribers.
Build a welcome sequence for your mailing list
Getting people to sign up is one thing. Getting them to stick around is another! You want to engage them as quickly as possible, and help them feel connected with you and your business straight away. You can do this by building a welcome sequence.
This is a series of emails, sent at specific intervals in the weeks following someone signing up. It is a great way to introduce yourself, to get new subscribers up to speed and to give them access to the archive or popular articles etc.
Having a welcome sequence set up to automatically go out means that even if you don’t have anything exciting to shout about in your mailing list right away after someone has subscriber, you are building a connection with them and showing them exactly why signing up was the right decision.
Make it shareable
Social media and content marketing, in general, is all about sharing. Something you should use to build a mailing list for your small business.
For this to work, you have to make sure that your newsletter is worth sharing in the first place. You can achieve that by making sure that your content is relevant to the reader as well as entertaining and interesting.
Unsure of what to include? Check out my Alternative Guide to Email Marketing for my top tips!
1. Forward to a friend
Make it easy for existing readers to forward your newsletter to their friends, family and colleagues who might also be interested in your content or the latest offer. Most systems offer a ‘Forward To A Friend’ link that you can implement add to your content.
And don’t forget to add a ‘subscribe’ link as well in case the new arrivals like what they see and want to sign up for your emails, too.
2. Social sharing helps to build a mailing list
Another option is to use social sharing buttons to build a mailing list. These enable people to share the newsletter with their friends on the likes of Facebook or LinkedIn.
Again, just adding a link isn’t enough on its own. Actively encourage people to share your newsletter by adding a call-to-action and tell them what the benefits of subscribing are.
Still struggling with the concept of an ideal customer or ideal client? Check out my blog post to get to grips with it and find out how to attract them.
Reach out at events to build a mailing list
When you attend networking events, trade shows or conferences, never forget about your newsletter. Every time you make a new contact ask yourself if this person would benefit from receiving your emails – and act accordingly.
1. As an exhibitor
If you are exhibiting, you can easily collect email addresses for your newsletter at your stand. Have a printed sign-up list ready or your tablets fired up with your online sign-up form to grow and build a mailing list.
To encourage people, you could offer a little prize draw for everyone who signs up during the event. Or you can promise them a free trial or a discount for your services.
Keep in mind that this could potentially give your mailing list a temporary boost, only to then trail off a couple of weeks later. This is where the quality, engaging content comes in – make it worth their while to keep coming back for more!
2. Visitors
As a visitor, you’ll collect business cards from everyone you meet and talk to. When you exchange cards, ask for their permission to add them to your mailing list (don’t skip this step, you mustn’t forget about GDPR!).
If they say yes, you can send them your latest newsletter as an example – together with a link to sign-up. Let them know how frequently you’re sending it out, that you’ll protect their data and that they can unsubscribe anytime. Then give them the choice to either confirm their subscription or unsubscribe.
3. Online Networking helps to build a mailing list
These days we’re all doing a lot more networking over video calls. If you’re the host of the meeting, you could include an “opt in” button for your mailing list when attendees sign up to the event.
If you’re an attendee, make sure to add anyone you chat to on a platform like LinkedIn. That way, they’ll go on to see your posts, and if you continue your conversation outside of the video call, you can again ask for their permission to send an example newsletter with a sign-up link their way.
Collaborate with other relevant brands
Collaborating with other small businesses that share a similar audience can be a great way to building a mailing list. It’s a fantastic opportunity to reach a new group of people who might otherwise not find you. And it’s mutually beneficial as the other business can do the same with your audience!
You can make this work through guest features. You could interview one another in your respective newsletters – this is a great way of ensuring there is a personal element to it, to help people connect with you.
Alternatively you could organise some cross-promotions, where they include an offer of yours and you include an offer of theirs, offering an additional perk if they shop with you both!
I have a whole post dedicated to setting up a successful marketing collaboration if you want to dive deeper into this!
Quality over quantity makes a successful mailing list
As with many marketing activities, you should always be mindful of quality over quantity. Especially when you build a mailing list for your small business. That’s why you should always add an opt-in for subscribers to make sure they really want to receive your emails.
It also makes sure the quality of your mailing list is high, even if the number of email subscribers can’t compete with larger company’s lists. And it’s always better to have a few engaged readers than a lot of people on your email list who don’t even bother to open or read it.
Last thing to note? Persevere! It can be so tempting, if your initial response rate is low, just to abandon the ideal entirely. But, like most things, practice and consistency go a long way. Keep giving people the opportunity to sign up and keep sending out quality content. Before you know it, your mailing list will be an invaluable part of your strategy!
KEEP READING
If you are interested in reading more about this topic, have a look at these:
Email Marketing for Small Businesses – Why You Should Use it & How to Get Started
Actionable Marketing Copy: How to Convert More Leads for Your Small Business
Small Business Email Marketing: The Alternative Guide
7 Ways to Keep in Touch with Your Existing Customers
