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List building is a very important process in email marketing.  It not only helps you acquire contacts that you can use for online lead generation, but it also helps you build a community of readers and customers. Since emails play a central role in online marketing, it is important to know how to capture and use email contacts for email marketing. Without much ado, let’s look at practical ways of capturing email addresses for list building.

 

List Building

Image Credit: DJ Waldow

Use Email Signatures

 

The first list building strategy that you should use to capture emails is to add a sign up link right into your email signature. I know you are wondering, how is this important? The reason is that every person that you send an email (recipient) is a potential subscriber of your newsletter. Even though some may not read the contact info below your email, others will read and click the descriptive link on your email signature.  You never know who you’re next contact for list building may be, you have to induce email recipients to sign up for your email newsletter via the email signature.

 

Add a Sign Up Form  to You Website

 

Besides adding e-mail signatures to your emails for list building, you should also add a sign up form on your website, preferably on the home page. Naturally, customers will not just sign up, so you have to induce them to sign up. A great way of doing this is creating a pop up sign up box that offers attraction marketing incentives such a FREE eBook, vouchers, video, or a limited trial of your service.  To get better results in list building, you should enumerate the benefits that members get when they join your mailing list.

 

 

Embed Sign Up Links Below Your Blog Posts

 

You should also make great use of your blog posts to induce readers and prospects to join your email marketing contact list.  Some visitors may read your blog posts and find them inspiring or thought-provoking.  More often than not, such visitors may wish to receive updates or links to your new posts via e-mail.

 

To encourage visitors to sign up, just add a subscription link or a vertical sign up box where they can add their emails and subscribe to your mailing list.  For better list building results, come up with great content marketing material that will attract and convince readers to join your mailing list. If you haven’t been blogging consistently then you need to create great internet marketing posts that will rivet your visitors and readers and compel them to sign up.

 

Request Fans to Sign Up via Social Media

 

Do you have a considerable number of fans or followers in your social media network? If so, then you should also induce them to join your mailing list. Some of your fans may want to get links your latest blog posts and articles right in their inboxes.  So, as part of your social media marketing, you should embed a sign up form on your Facebook fan page. If you are tactful enough in your approach to list building via social media, you will get more sign ups and increase your subscription base.

 

Share Links and Post Teasers in Social Media

 

Besides adding sign up forms to your social media page(s), you should also consider sharing links to your latest posts or newsletter in Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. It’s much easier to induce fans to sign up by providing links to your newsletter than by just asking them to join your mailing list. Alternatively, you can create teasers for upcoming newsletters or online video marketing clips and share it with your fans and followers.  Doing this will encourage fans and followers to join your mailing list in anticipation of your forthcoming newsletters and videos.

 

Add email Contact to Your Business Card

 

Every time you attend a business event, expo, or seminar, you should carry a few business cards for network marketing. The reason is that seminars, training sessions, and business events are fertile grounds for meeting potential prospects for list building.  Some of the people that you will meet may want to contact you or keep in touch with you. So, if you carry your business cards, you stand a greater chance of getting people that will contact and engage you for a life time. Just make sure that your email contact is clear and valid.

 

Get a Custom QR code

 

Do you also know that you can use QR codes for list building too. Indeed, you can induce customers and prospects to join your mailing list using QR Codes.  Premium email marketing service providers such as Constant Contact and Aweber allow members to generate QR codes and mobile friendly pages for capturing contact details.  Once they generate the QR Code, they can embed them on their brochures, menus, leaflets, and product labels.

 

Use an Opt in System at Point of Sale (POS)

 

Another great way to capture email contacts for list building is to request customers for email contacts  when they are ordering goods online.  The best way to do this is to include an opt-in system that allows customers to either opt to join your mailing list, or opt-out whenever they are checking out from the order page. Though your customer may only be interested in your product or service, he or she could turn out to be a great subscriber.

 

Persuasion

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