Building A Mail List
Despite many years of technological advancement, as well as the online takeover of various social media platforms, building a mail list is the most effective way to get in front of each and every willing participant. It’s arguably the undisputed king of virtual communication. Everyone has an email address, whether they check it every day or once a month. In fact, most people maintain multiple email addresses, which makes the concept perfect for utilizing digital marketing campaigns.
While too many websites and bloggers misuse email technology within their marketing efforts, an email list can prove to be infinitely beneficial to any entrepreneur. Building a mail list is perhaps the best way to get the word out online. Although the importance of email is blatant, many businesses still don’t seem to know how to properly use the mode as a means of furthering their success. Fortunately for anyone in such a situation, we’ve compiled everything one needs to know in order to get started.
Email Marketing
So what exactly is email marketing? In short, it is precisely what the name implies: marketing via email services.
A more in-depth description would include content marketing, which goes hand-in-hand. After all, what would a business’ email contain if not excellent and relevant content? Content contained in a marketed email that you send out after building a mail list includes coupons and special offers, news, promotional material, giveaways, and even entertainment pieces. Any media content that progresses a business agenda likely falls under the umbrella term.
Building a Mail List
A mail list is vital for any online marketing campaign. Mailing lists are self-explanatory: simply a coherent list of email addresses to send marketing emails to. Mail lists are ideally comprised of hundreds if not thousands of email addresses. However, adding those addresses to an email list can be quite a daunting challenge for any business. Potential customers are put off by spammy or trashy marketing, and will likely block or otherwise ignore those types of emails. For every beneficial emailing practice, there are at least a dozen malicious or “black hat” practices.
For example, opt in forms give users the option to sign up to an email list at their own discretion. many websites in the past, though, have sunk to tricking users into signing up. Plus, we’ve all visited those sites which hide their declination button or prevent users from viewing their content until they sign up, essentially trapping one into joining their mail list.
Luckily, the dirtiest of email practices have been outlawed by the can spam act. The can spam act is basically a document of laws regarding commercial emailing. These laws include punishments and a user’s right to refuse commercial emails, just to name a few of the concepts touched on by the act.
Perhaps the best and most genuine course of invitation to a mail list is the double opt in form. A double opt in form starts with the initial invitation, whether through social media or an official website, then a confirmation from the user to ensure they actually want to be added to the list. This confirmation most commonly arrives in the form of an email.
Getting Started With Email Marketing
It’s not ethical to comb through the internet’s millions of email addresses in order to start a mailing list. It’s important to build a site or page where people opt to sign up with a form.
Platforms like Mailchimp provide marketers an automated service for sending bulk emails and marketing. In addition to automating mail lists,and you can track the results of said lists too.
The platform also provides tips and information to increase the success of a given email list. These services alleviate much of the work required of an internet marketer, making them the best option for a beginner.
