Building a successful email list is not easy but it’s worth the time and effort. For every business owner that I know who uses their email list effectively, I have 9 more who confess they haven’t even tried to build one. For many, they find the process intimidating. How to build one? What to offer? How to do it so it doesn’t feel like a constant annoying sales pitch? I understand all of those thoughts and questions. I felt the same way when I first started my business. However, most of us are in the people business which means that we need people in order for our businesses to actually thrive. 

What is an email list? 

An email list is simply a list that is compiled of people who are interested in connecting with your business. They could be drawn to your services, or have come to learn more about a specific topic. They could have come because you offered them a lead magnet of some sort in exchange for their email address. Regardless of why they took the step to type in their email address while visiting your website, the fact remains that they did. Now, they are a subscriber to whatever email information you wish to send out to them. You can now use the emails collected to send correspondence from your company via email. This is an email list. 

Research shows that one of the very best ways to connect with customers is through an email list. Campaign Monitor states, “you are 6x more likely to get higher click-through rates through emails instead of tweets. Also, email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter.” Those are some pretty exciting statistics. So, let’s dive into 7 reasons why you need an email list!

#1 Reach your Audience

An email list allows you to reach your audience anytime you have something valuable to share. They signed up because you likely were offering them value, or perhaps they saw something that resonated with them on your website. Regardless, they chose to share their email in order to continue receiving access to the value they were initially attracted to. 

#2 Personality

An email list allows you to show who you are. I allows your audience to begin to like you, know you, and trust you. Anyone using social media for business purposes has learned about the importance of those key components. Here, you get to deliver these things directly into the inbox of people who were already interested in your business. 

#3 Control 

With an email list, you have complete control over the communication with your ideal customers. You control how often you reach them. You control the time of day your messages are sent. You can craft the communication to match your style, skills, and tone of voice. You also control the content they receive. 

#4 Conversion rates

As mentioned briefly above, the statistical data supports the effort it takes to gain a strong email list. If your customers know you always drop sales, or have offers on the 2^nd Tuesday of every month, they will become accustomed to seeing that hit their inbox. Your continued consistency will add to their good opinions of you and your company. Your consistency will also offer them access to view your products in different ways, further enticing them to purchase what you are selling. Your visibility increases the more consistent you are over a period of time. This all converts to higher sales, higher public opinion about you and your company, and a higher likelihood of recommendations from your viewers. 

#5 Return On your Investment

ROI- you invest some time creating the content…and you build an audience, you build followers who rely on you for the value you bring, you build an easy advertising audience, and you build revenue from the familiarity and regularity with which you showcase your product(s). 

#6 Important announcements

Is your business having a sale? Launching a new product? Releasing a new valuable resource? With an email list you now have an easy way to notify the people who were interested in what you offer. You can ask for feedback, encourage them to check certain things out, and market directly to them. 

#7 Interaction

Evidence presented by Opinionmaster states that the conversion rate of an email is 3.71% vs. social media which is 0.58%. What does this mean for your business? In short, it means that the likelihood of additional interaction from people within your email list is significantly higher than any other online communication method. Through your email list, you have a greater chance of turning shoppers into purchasers. You have an increased chance of turning a happy customer into a cheerleader of your brand and business. You have a higher chance of that happy customer sharing that information with others that they think will enjoy your business. This all turns into higher interactions with you and your business. 

Email list do’s and don’ts

There are effective ways to use your email list and ineffective ways. Remember that with good email practices, building an email list and utilising it can help your business thrive. However, if you create an email list, and then spam people multiple times, you will lose more subscribers than you can gain. This will ultimately hurt your bottom line. Be sure to check out my post on Effective Ways To Use Your Email List for more information on this.