Developing your own email list is the smartest marketing move with the greatest return on investment (ROI) you can make. Why?
In 2017,
- 3.7 billion people used email.
- 269 billion business and consumer emails were sent and received per day — and that number is expected to continue to grow at an average annual rate of 4.4% over the next four years.
- 65 percent of email users worldwide accessed email on their mobile devices.
(source: The Radicati Group, Inc., 2017)
In fact, sixty-six percent of online consumers made a purchase after receiving an email marketing message — which is more than social media and direct mail, according to the Data & Marketing Association.
And transactions from email are three times more profitable than those made on social media, reports the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Unlike the social media sites, you own your email list, and you don’t have to worry about whether your content will get censored.
What does an email list represent?
It represents:
Fans
These are people who already like what you’re doing and have given you express permission to contact them.
Potential buyers
Your fans already like what you are doing and are eager to know what you’ll next have to offer.
Potential promoters
Fans like being a part of what you do. Like anyone who says “That movie was awesome. You’ve got to go see it.”, they are just as eager to promote your products.
Don’t limit your thinking to book reviews. Fans like to be a part of what you do as you launch a product.
Publishers view your email list for what it is: a group of people primed to buy your book.
What does it take to start an email list?
The very basics are…
- Your own website
- An email service provider
- (optional, though highly recommended) A lead magnet (a free digital item) that readers can download in exchange for their email addresses. This freebie needs to relate to the topic of your website/blog.
I recommend you create your own lead magnet, but there are websites that offer PLR (Private Label Rights) content. The original author sells their rights to their content so that others can use it, put their name on it as the writer/creator. It can save time from creating your own content by using it all as is, or making edits to give it some of your own voice (thank you, Kim Steadman of Write More Write Now).
Some sites to investigate for PLR: (does not constitute endorsement)
DailyFaithPLR.com
PLR.me
PLRofthemonth.club
TheHappyJournals.club
Freshplrpossibilities.com
What to look for in an email list service provider.
A wide array of providers compete for this business. Many offer a free option, which is helpful to those who are beginning and not bringing in enough money to cover the expense of a paid provider. Most providers base their prices on how many subscribers your list has.
I use Aweber, and highly recommend it; however, they do not offer a free option. I’ve recently seen MailerLite in action and would recommend it as well. It does have a free option. Aside from price, here are several things you want to examine:
- Email automation (this is a must-have)
- Ability to tag subscribers
- Double opt-in upon subscribing (ensures you don’t have undeliverable addresses on your list)
- Integration with other applications
- Customer Support
- Tutorials about using their service via webinars or in their help center
- Templates for building your emails
- Monthly email limits
Before deciding on a provider, compute your email needs.
You might look at MailerLite’s 12,000 emails/month under their free option and think, wow, 12,000. I’ll never send that many in a month.
Let’s crunch the numbers (yes, you can use a calculator).
Let’s pretend you email your list twice a week and your list is 100 people. That’s a total of 200 emails in one week.
Yes, 200. To you it seems like only two emails because that’s all you’re writing, but that same email is going to 100 people each time.
So how many times do you intend to email your list every month? Do you already have 1000 people who read your website/blog that will jump at the opportunity to subscribe once you offer it? If so, that means you could quickly reach your 12,000/month limit. You want a strong list, but know what you’ll pay your email provider once you go beyond the free option.
Often, the bigger question is what to write in those emails. Get Aweber’s free What to Write pdf that includes 45+ fill-in-the-blank email templates to help you get started.
Do you have a question about starting an email list? Leave it in the comments below.