When you’re growing your business, you’re probably juggling numerous tasks and marketing activities at any one time. With blogging, social media, outreach, and more, it’s easy to see how building your email list may not be your highest priority. However, email remains the best way to get in front of your potential customers 24 hours a day.

By 2022, 4.3 billion people will be using email- half the world’s population. The ROI for email marketing is impressive, with every $1 spent on email marketing bringing in an average return of $32. A smart email marketing strategy can help you grow your business, increase profits, and improve customer retention.

In order for that email marketing strategy to work, you need an email list. Here are the top ways you can grow your list in 2019:

1. Use a Lead Magnet

These days, people are less likely to share their personal information for free. Instead, they want to know why they should sign up to your list and what’s in it for them. One way to cater to these people is to use a lead magnet.

A lead magnet could be a free report, whitepaper or ebook. You could also offer a discount, free sample or free trial. It’s key to remember that you need to offer something that your potential leads will find worthwhile. This may take some experimentation so you can find the perfect offer to get the best conversion rate for your list.

2. Personalize Your Call-to-Action

A personalized CTA will perform up to 202% better than a standard CTA. These days, website visitors expect a personalized experience, which means a CTA that’s tailored specifically to them.

This could be adapted based on their browser language, location, where they are in the buyer’s journey, how they landed on your website, and more.

For example, someone who has landed on your blog post via LinkedIn may never have heard of your business before and may be interested in a helpful guide or ebook. However, someone who has visited your website numerous times and follows you on social media may be ready for a free trial, consultation, or phone call.

Not only does this help you grow your list, but it also helps you segment that list. You can then tailor your marketing emails accordingly.

3. Use Opt-in Forms

Your website visitors will be landing on your site from many different places. That’s why you should make sure you have an opt-in form on every page.

Here are some examples of opt-in forms:

  • Full page: This takes over the entire page. It’s intrusive, but if you have an excellent lead magnet it can work well.
  • Bumper: This will usually pop up from the corner of your visitor’s screen.
  • Lightbox: This is another pop-up, however, it will usually appear in the center of the page. The rest of your website will be dimmed while it pops up.
  • Notification: This is less intrusive, and will simply appear in the top right corner of your visitor’s screen.

You may choose one or more of the above opt-in forms, just make sure that every visitor has the opportunity to join your list.

4. Use Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is an excellent way to share your expertise with other websites’ loyal audiences. Not only is this great for SEO (with valuable backlinks), but it also helps you increase your reach and credibility.

To do this, reach out to websites and blogs in your industry and pitch them a specific topic. Make sure you mention how their audience would benefit. Then, send traffic to a specific landing page with your opt-in form and lead magnet.

5. Use the Right Copy

Did you know that changing one or two words can have a massive impact on your conversion rate? Your opt-in needs to communicate the most important benefit that your visitor will get from signing up, and it needs to do this in as few words as possible.

This type of copywriting is part art and part science. You need to have an excellent understanding of your target audience so you can give them exactly what they want.

You should also use power words and value terms that increase the perceived value of your offer. Examples of these include:

  • Free
  • Featured
  • Secrets
  • Download
  • Limited Time
  • Special offer
  • Exclusive

The best way to see what works for your audience is to use A/B testing. This is when you change one thing about your offer. Half of your website visitors will see the original copy, while the other half will see the new copy. You can continue to test and tweak this to constantly increase conversions.

6. Use Social Media

If you have a large following on social media, this is a good opportunity to capture their email addresses. Facebook ads are also a great way to target potential leads with similar interests as your customers. You can then advertise your lead magnet or special offer and grow your email list.

Don’t forget to continually test these ads as well, so you can ensure you’re using the best offer and copy for your audience.

7. Research Your Competitors

Take a look at your closest competitors and see what they’re doing to grow their email lists. Put yourself in your potential customer’s shoes, and consider whether you’d sign up based on their opt-in form, lead magnet, and copy.

Sometimes, these can be excellent examples of what not to do. Other times, they can serve as inspiration to help you craft a better, unique offer for potential subscribers. Take a good look at what your competitors are doing and then find a way to do it better.

Need some help growing your email list this year? Get in touch today.