Do you have an Email List?
Building an Email list is one of the most valuable assets you can create for your business, maybe even THE most valuable asset!
You must have heard of the term “the money is in the list” this is true but it is not the only reason you want to build an email list!
Social Media Platforms and their followers do not belong to you!
You see having followers on Social Media i.e Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Youtube, etc. is all well and good but no matter how many followers you have the platform or the followers are not yours.
If Facebook decides to block you or suspend your account there is no way you can contact your followers.
So even if you have 1 million followers and that was the lifeblood of your business and you got suspended, your business will go from 1 million followers to ZERO instantly!
Think about that for a second, your business will go from thriving to crickets just like that!
But on the other hand, if you had an email list and you built it with users that want to listen to what you have to say and also take you up on what you have to offer, then even if you do get suspended by any social media platform it won’t affect your business because all the most valuable assets that are your raving fans are on your email list, and your business becomes platform-independent.
Here is something to think about, think about every successful online business, do they have an email campaign or newsletter that they send out regularly? The answer is YES!
There is this myth that you have to build your following on social media!
Building your following on social media is all well and good but it should not be your be-all and end-all. Even if you have 1 million followers on Facebook when you post something the majority of those followers will not see your posts as you haven’t paid Facebook to post your content, you see Facebook’s business model is built around being paid for all the data they have on their users, so you create a following and then you have to pay them to reach the very same audience that already follows you 🤷 CRAZY BUT TRUE!
By having an email list and by having your own website these are all assets that you are building for your business.
Once you have an email list you should nurture that email list and provide valuable content for them and not just try to sell to them all the time, by giving value first they are more likely to take you up on an offer when you do decide to offer them something!
When business is slow and you are looking for a cash boost or injection, most people will lean towards putting out ads to get new customers whereas you should first make offers to your existing subscribers as they are already on your list and it is easier to sell to people who have already heard about you than to complete strangers.
But, email open rates are down!
Sure, email open rates are lower than before but it still does not diminish from the effectiveness of email in the current market, here are some interesting email facts:
- There are 4 billion daily email users. (Hubspot)
- 4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing. (Hubspot)
- For every $1 marketers spend on email marketing, they receive $36 in return, which is an astounding 3600% ROI (return on investment) (Litmus)
- Emails reach most of the people they’re intended for, so email marketing remains an essential part of your marketing strategy. (Optinmonster)
The stats are there for all to see, email SHOULD be an option in your digital marketing arsenal!
But it is also not our Platform, I hear you say!
I hear you saying that an email service provider like Mailerlite (which I use) also does not belong to us, this is true, however, you can easily download and export all your subscribers and move over to any other email service provider you like.
Remember all those subscribers have given you permission to send them emails so the list belongs to you and not the platform! That is why it is healthy to download a copy of your subscriber list every month, so even if for whatever reason you cannot access the email service provider platform you know you have a backup of your subscribers.
Then, all you have to do is find another email platform and import your list there and you are good to go!
So I highly recommend that you start creating your email list TODAY!
How do you start creating an email list?
Well, the easiest and most effective way to build your list is to offer a free Guide or Ebook in exchange for someone’s email address, this is called a Lead Magnet.
I have a few Lead Magnets on my own site, you can see an example here: https://dezignit.co.za/lead-generation/ Just saying subscribe to our newsletter or email list does not work anymore, everyone is only interested in what benefit you can give them so by giving value in the form of a guide you are actually giving value first and showing your subscribers that they are subscribing to something that is going to benefit them.
With any Marketing strategy always add value first, stop trying to sell, sell, sell! If you create value first, your audience is more likely to take you up on your offers when you do offer them something and you will even notice that sometimes they will actually ask to buy from you first!
This will get your audience to Know You, Like You, and Trust You, and as we know, once they Know You, Like You and Trust You then they are more likely to buy your services and refer you to others as well!
It’s FREE to start!
Test out Mailerlite today, it’s FREE for your first 1000 subscribers, yes FREE!
I personally use it for my list and for clients’ lists, I am even listed as an expert on their website.
You Can Do It!
Create a PDF (Lead Magnet) in Canva which is also free, start collecting subscribers, your future self will thank you for it!
Stop sleeping on this lucrative return on investment and just bite the bullet and make a start!
Leverage Email Marketing to build your brand!
Does this sound too much for you? Do you need us to handle it for you?
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