email marketing
In business, email marketing isn’t a thing of the past. Social media may be taking over when it comes to customer engagement. When it comes to email though, businesses are able to provide something social media can’t: more in-depth and customer segment-driven content. According to Hubspot, email marketing databases degrade by about 25% every year. It’s important to keep adding to and refreshing your database so your business’s email marketing campaigns are more successful and are reaching the right people. When email continues to be used each day by 93% of consumers, it’s important for your business to have a presence in the space and one that performs well. Here are three ways you can grow your database.

Your Website
Your website needs to be optimized for driving customers to take action, though this is a no brainer. Have email registration forms on every main page and those of popular products or services. Use your blog, guides and other content marketing-driven pages to encourage visitors on your website to opt-in to your business’s email messages. Having a widget in the sidebar that plays up the page the customer is on and how they can receive similar content via email is one way to get started. You can also:
  • Offer an incentive. Provide those who register their emails with your site a coupon or a code for a discount off their next online purchase.
  • Host a webinar or live podcast and ask for emails when people register or want to view the production.
  • Ask for friend referrals. Referral programs allow you to build your email database. Ask current customers to invite friends to your site using incentivizes such as discounts, free products or services.
Social Media
Use social media to reach new audiences. Stay up to date with trending topics and what your readers seem to value the most in your social media messages. Social media is a great way to encourage people to visit one of the outlets where they can sign-up to receive emails from your business. Just as you segment your email marketing messages, segment how you attract new registrations on social media. Spend some time analyzing what channels and calls to action are successful, and which are not. You can get started on social media by doing the following:
  • Create a Twitter campaign to promote an offer like an e-book, video or free whitepaper to your followers that requires an email address to redeem.
  • Use Pinterest to promote offers that require email signup. Be sure you use compelling images that encourage a click-through and have a call-to-action that prompts the reader to register.
  • Your business’s Facebook page is a great place to promote an offer that requires an email address submission. Same goes for your company’s Google+ and LinkedIn profiles.
On Location
Whether you’re at a trade show or run a brick and mortar store, you should be using in-person interactions to collect email addresses. Don't be afraid to offer up promotional items from your business or give live-demos of your software.
  • Have your business host its own in-person events like meet-ups and conferences. Then, collect registrations online using email addresses.
  • Co-market an event. Ask the business, or businesses, you’re working with to promote your company’s email newsletters.
  • Any time you attend a networking event, ask for the contact information of people you come across. A follow-up email following the event that asks them if they wish to receive more information from your business establishes a connection and can get you a few more emails in the database.
They key to collecting email addresses is providing something valuable to your target audience, whether it is a coupon or an e-book, and requiring them to submit an email address in order to redeem that incentive. In order to decrease the number of people who opt-out of your campaigns and keep those who have opted-in interested, provide compelling email content. Have accurate, interesting calls to action that encourage people to see value in what you’re offering and enter their email, whether it’s online or in-person.

Courtesy of Social Media Today