You’ve been on the lookout for a way to grow your email list for quite some time, haven’t you? You want to be able to reach as many potential customers as possible because you know that eventually, someone is going to click on that little button and buy whatever it is you’re selling. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. We’ve all been there. But that’s no reason to be discouraged. There are simple ways to grow your email list no matter what stage you’re at.

Know Your Audience

Do you have a list of customers you can send email campaigns to? If so, great! But before you start sending spammy emails to people, make sure you understand who you’re appealing to. You should know their interests, goals, hobbies, and so on. You can use tools like Google Analytics to find out more about your audience. It’s also beneficial to find out what types of content your audience values the most in order to determine the best strategy to take in your email marketing. You can analyze the data and figures that come with it to have a clearer picture of what’s working and what needs to be changed. Remember, people hate receiving emails they didn’t ask for, so make sure you have a clear call-to-action at the end of each email. This way, people know exactly what they’re supposed to do after reading your email – subscribe, or buy, or take a look at your website, or call, or whatever.

Find The Perfect Mailing List

So you know who your audience is, but do you have a large enough list to make a difference? That’s the million-dollar question. You need to find the perfect mailing list. But how can you do that?

Let’s say, for example, you’re selling fitness equipment and you decide to target avid hikers. Your hiker audience is already passionate about the outdoors and fitness, so it’s a perfect fit. But if you want to target soccer moms who like to stay fit too, you might need to pick a different group. But how do you know which one to go for? That’s where the work comes in. You need to go for groups of people that will be most interested in what you have to say. Once you find that perfect niche, you can begin to grow your list.

Use Personalized Email Subjects

Have you ever gotten an email that had a subject line that was completely different from your other emails? It’s not uncommon for people to forget what they’re subscribed to, or for campaigns to go out to a select group of people, which means they’ll get a different subject line. This is your chance to stand out from the crowd. Instead of using a plain ol’ Subject Line – “Hey there, got an email!” – you can use something more unique and targeted. For example, if you’re sending an email campaign to somebody who bought something from you last time, you can use the subject line “Thanks for buying from us again. Here’s a special offer just for you!” You can also use something like “Hey there! A lot has happened since we last spoke. Here’s how your product helped me achieve my goals.”

Cross-Promote & Up-Sales

What happens when somebody opens your email and doesn’t want to buy what you’re offering? That’s your fault, not theirs. If you want them to buy something, you need to provide value. One way to do that is by cross-promoting. For example, you can say “Hey there, hope you’re enjoying the new release of this amazingly popular book. If you liked this book, you’ll love…” and then you can plug the book they were just looking at. Or if they’re an avid reader, you can say “Hey there, just wanted to let you know we have a bunch of amazing reads that you might like. Here’s a link to our top-selling titles.” You get the idea.

Up-sales are equally as important. It’s not enough to just have a sale. You need to grow your revenue as much as you can while still maintaining healthy margins. Sometimes that means getting rid of your cheaper products in order to make more money with your pricier items. But sometimes it means adding more items to your product line or changing the way you sell your existing products. The key to growing your email list is to find ways to monetize it, while also providing value.

A lot of businesses, especially those who try to do everything themselves, can get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks that need to be taken care of. If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of an over-communication crash course, you know how taxing it can be. You have way too much to say and need to say it all at once. Which is why you tend to end up sending your emails with only a few key points – max. 7 – 8 sentences. You want to keep your email concise as possible while still providing sufficient information. Otherwise, your email client will eat up all of your available character count.

Build Trust & Loyalty

One of the biggest turn-offs for potential customers is spam. You don’t want to put yourself in that category, so make sure you always look for ways to prove you’re a trustworthy person. How can you do that? By building trust and loyalty. With spam, everybody wins – except for the recipient. So you need to do everything you can to earn people’s trust and loyalty. The best way to do that is by offering them value. If you provide real value, you’ll gain real value in return. And that’s what drives loyalty. Your customers will feel that your product or service is valuable and worth their time and effort. And when that happens, you’ll be able to multiply your sales rapidly. Your existing customers will tell their friends and family about your product and more people will come back for more. Sound like a fair trade?

The key to creating trust and loyalty is to always be authentic. People can tell when you’re not being genuine, so make sure that your every move is driven by your values and the needs of your customers. If you do that, people will naturally and happily flock to you because you’ll be able to provide them with value. And that’s exactly what you should be doing, instead of just going through the motions because you think that’s what society expects of you. Authentic and honest marketing works. And it will bring you real and sustainable results.

Doing business is hard. Working with coworkers who you’ve never met before, taking meetings with clients who may not be the greatest, coordinating the schedules of a group of people who are all committed to the success of a project – those are all part of the job. But none of those things matter if you don’t have customers to serve and meet the demands of. So instead of getting overwhelmed, take a step back and figure out how to grow your email list. Email marketing is a proven strategy that will help you reach more people than you ever could have otherwise. And with the right tools and a little bit of know-how, you’ll be able to do it with ease.