The changes to GDPR have made it harder to create email lists for targeted email campaigns, so it is important to understand the best way to create an email list that people are happy to opt-in on. There are a few different techniques that you can use to help to build such a valuable list and these are some of the most effective:
Create a ‘lead magnet’/gated asset
A lead magnet is basically a piece of content that you can offer to people that they want and will provide their email address so that you can send it to them. The type of content that typically works is something like offering a free webinar, ebook or template that will help people solve a problem, or learn how to do something. For a graphic design company, they might offer a set of templates for creating brand guidelines, or an accountancy business might provide an ebook guide on tax changes, for example.
Offer a free trial of a tool
Offering free trials is another gated asset geared around getting people to opt-in for your email list. Companies like Microsoft and Adobe are great examples of this, where they offer a 30-day trial for free. In order to get the free trial the user must provide an email address.
Use social media to promote your gated assets
Once you have a lead magnet or free trial to offer, you need to raise as much awareness of it as possible, using all of your marketing channels. Writing blogs, posting about the offer onto your Facebook business page, or LinkedIn page will help to raise awareness and if it is a really useful tool or piece of content then people are more likely to share it with others. You could write a blog that is related to the gated asset and have a CTA that sends the user to your website where they can opt in.
Be creative with your email campaigns
The more effort you put into your email campaigns, the more conversions you are likely to generate. The other important way to get more out of your email campaigns is to encourage recipients to share the information about your assets with friends or colleagues that they might think are interested. Using CTAs is again really important within your email campaigns to prompt the reader to take their required action. You can even include share buttons within the email that will encourage more people to share the email. Using the right kind of email campaign software that allows you to add prominent, attractive buttons will enable you to optimize your emails for maximum results.
Focusing on these four areas will help you to expand your existing opt-in list but it is also important to try and re-engage with existing opt-ins that have not recently been responsive in terms of opening emails or clicking through links/buttons. So, spend some time working out which gated assets will work well and start creating them.
