5 Ways To Promote Your Email Opt-In & Email List
Here at GoLive, we have long been advocates for having an email list. Not only is there proof that the ROI for email marketing is much higher than it is for social media, but having an email list is a more direct way to grow your audience and build long-term relationships.
With an email list, you can...
Take your customer relationship to the next level
Connect with your potential clients and customers outside of social media
Build trust and loyalty with your audience by providing helpful content
Make more money because of the high ROI that comes with email marketing
Long story short, an email list is a powerful tool for your business. But if you want customers to join your email list, then there has to be some kind of incentive. People don’t give away their email very easily anymore, and they especially won’t be persuaded to sign up for an email list that asks them to “subscribe for updates.”
If you want to build your email list, you need to offer your audience something in return for their email. This is where an enticing opt-in comes into play. Your opt-in could be a free download, a worksheet, or even a free product.
Once you’ve figured out what your email opt-in is going to be, the key to growing your email list is to provide multiple opportunities for people to sign up. Create obvious sign-up areas on your website, promote your freebie, and make it easy for people to join.
If you have an opt-in in mind or have already created one, here’s how you can build your email list.
5 Ways To Promote Your Email Opt-In & Email List
1. Create a Sign-Up Section in Your Website Footer
The first essential step to building your email list is to create a clear, engaging sign up section on your website. If you want potential clients and customers who are scrolling through your website to want to sign up for your email list, the footer is your greatest opportunity. Use this area to capture your audience’s attention with a bold call-out and enticing offer.
If you scroll to the bottom of GoLive’s site, you can’t miss our footer section. While this area is technically an email sign-up opportunity, we aren’t asking people to “subscribe for updates” or “join our mailing list.”
Instead, we offer our Brand Bio Formula as an opt-in. We start by highlighting the need for this freebie, followed by the result you’ll get from downloading it. Finally, there’s a clear call to action with the “download now” button.
2. Add a Pop-Up Banner On Your Website
Similar to the footer, a pop-up banner is another way to call people’s attention to your email sign-up. The only difference with a pop-up banner is that it’s often one of the first things people see when they land on your website.
This element can be in the form of a pop-up bar that goes across the top of the site, or a pop-up window that appears as visitors are scrolling. The key to getting people to engage with the pop-up and actually sign up for your email list is to present them with an offer.
If you are preparing to launch your first online course, you could add a pop-up that prompts people to “join the waitlist” by signing up with their email. Or if you’re about to run a big sale, the pop-up could encourage customers to sign up for early access. The key to using a pop-up bar for your email sign-up is to create a short and sweet CTA.
3. Create a Freebies Page In Your Navigation
If you’ve created several opt-ins, whether that’s a short video workshop or a downloadable worksheet, make it easy for people to find them by creating a landing page or dedicated freebies page on your website.
On this page, you can provide a short description of each freebie as well as a teaser of what it looks like. If people want access to the freebies, all they have to do is enter their email.
Having a dedicated page for freebies is a good way to direct people to your site over time. The more content you offer on that page, the more your audience will see you as a resource, and the stronger your relationship will become.
4. Write a Blog Post Promoting Your Opt-In
Another way to promote your freebie, and subsequently, your email list, is to write a blog post focused on the same topic as your email opt-in. That way, in your blog post, you can set your audience up with information about what your opt-in is about and encourage people to want to download it.
For example, if you’re a wedding photographer and your email opt-in is a wedding day checklist, then you could also write a blog post about the same topic (without giving away all of the content that’s on the checklist). At the end of the blog post, you could include a CTA to download the checklist if they want even more tips.
The key is to write about a topic that your dream client will be interested in, so that when they finish reading the post, they may want to learn more and will be more inclined to take the next step — which is to download your freebie!
5. Post About Your Opt-In & Your Email List To Social Media
It’s always a good idea to cross-promote between social media and your email list! And since you *hopefully* already have a monthly social media calendar in place (pssst, if you don’t, check out our free 3-Month Marketing Calendar here), you should easily be able to work in a few regular promotions for your freebie and email list.
Keep in mind that these posts don’t need to directly encourage followers to sign-up for your email list. Instead, they should let people know what the email opt-in is, highlight why they need it, and then prompt them to grab their own copy by signing up for the email list.
PRO TIP: If you send out a weekly email or newsletter, share on Instagram Stories that day that you’re prepping it, and share the response you’re getting about the content in that email to create a sense of “missing out” that people aren’t on there yet!
The Wrap Up
With an engaging and helpful email opt-in, a few strategic placements, and consistent promotions, you can build a thriving email list that will become a powerful marketing tool for your business.