How to Build an Email List to Remarket to And Retain Your Customers!

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Here’s an interesting piece of fact.

It’s more expensive to acquire a new customer than to remarket to customers who have already shopped from you before and get them to buy again. But most small businesses focus more heavily on getting new customers and forget to pay attention to people who have shopped from them before. That’s a gold mine you’re missing out on.

When it comes to a long-term solution for getting sales and growing your business, retention is high up there. One of the best ways to do this is by building a solid email list and touching base with your customers through email marketing.

In this article, we’ll talk about:

1. Benefits of Having a Direct Line of Comms with Your Customers

2. What a Great Email List Should Look Like

3. 8 Strategies for Building Your Email List

4. How to Build Your Email List with Bumpa

5. Bonus: Free Email Templates for Email Campaigns!

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Connecting and nurturing your audience and engaging with them on a more personal level is a crucial aspect of business growth, and you need to build an email list to be able to achieve this.

Why You Should Build an Email List and Communicate with Your Customers

1. An email list grants you the opportunity to share valuable content, exclusive offers, and important updates directly in your subscribers' inboxes.

2. Unlike social media or other marketing channels, an email list gives you more control and ownership over your audience, making it a powerful asset for building lasting relationships, driving conversions, and ultimately cultivating a thriving and loyal customer base.

3. You can tailor your messages to specific segments of your audience. This allows you to deliver personalised content, promotions and offers that resonate with their interests and preferences.

4. It’s a great way to gather valuable feedback and insights. Through surveys, polls, and simply engaging in conversations, you can gain a deeper understanding of your customers' needs, preferences, and pain points, which in turn can inform your business strategies and product development.

Download: Free Email Templates for Email Marketing Campaigns!

The Features of a Great Email List

Building a great email list takes time and effort. Focus on quality over quantity, nurture the relationship with your subscribers, and consistently provide value.

What should a great email list look like? Let’s dissect that.

1. Well-segmented.

The email list is organised into specific segments based on demographics, interests, or buyer personas.

2. Permission-Based.

Subscribers have willingly opted in to receive emails from your business, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations.

3. Conversion-Oriented

The email list consists of individuals who are more likely to convert into customers or take desired actions.

4. Growing

The list is continually expanding through various opt-in strategies and lead-generation tactics.

5. Personalisation Potential

The list allows for personalised email marketing campaigns tailored to individual subscribers' preferences and behavior.

6. Engaged Subscribers

Subscribers actively open, read, and interact with the emails you send. These subscribers will most likely convert to paying customers over time.

How to Build an Email List from Scratch: 8 Strategies that Work Perfectly!

1. Create compelling lead magnets

2. Optimise your website for opt-ins

3. Offer Exclusive Content or Discounts

4. Run Contests or Giveaways

5. Leverage Social Media for list-building

6. Host Webinars or Online Events

7. Implement Referral Programs

8. Create High-Quality Content and Encourage Sharing

1. Create Compelling Lead Magnets

Lead magnets play a crucial role in attracting and engaging subscribers. These irresistible incentives offer valuable content or resources in exchange for a visitor's email address, helping you build a strong email list.

Image source: Jenn Robbins

Effective lead magnets come in various forms such as e-books, checklists, or templates, providing valuable insights, actionable steps, or time-saving tools. They captivate the audience's attention, showcasing your expertise and creating a win-win situation where subscribers gain valuable resources while you grow your email list. For example, if you sell Ankara dresses, a great lead magnet could be a simple document on how to wash your Ankara dresses without ruining them. You can create this simple doc, and ask your audience to share their email address in exchange for this doc.

A great example to showcase here is a Bumpa one-page business plan, which customers can get by sharing their email addresses!

2. Optimise Your Website for Opt-Ins

Optimising your website for opt-ins can greatly increase your chances of capturing visitors' attention. One important tip is to strategically place prominent opt-in forms throughout your website. Consider placing them in high-traffic areas such as the top of your homepage, within relevant blog posts, or in the sidebar. Additionally, you can leverage attention-grabbing techniques like pop-ups, slide-ins, or sidebar forms to make opt-ins more noticeable.

Here’s an example of a Bumpa website with a pop-up form, asking customers to subscribe to a newsletter.

These creative formats can effectively capture visitors' attention and prompt them to take action. Remember, the key is to strike the right balance between visibility and user experience, and this means that while your form should be visible, it should not hinder your visitors’ experience on your website.

Pro tip: Set up your Bumpa website in a minute with ready-to-go opt-in forms to help you build high-quality email lists for remarketing! Click here to get started.

3. Offer Exclusive Content or Discounts

By providing exclusive content, such as bonus articles, tailored content, or behind-the-scenes peeks, you create a sense of value for your audience and potential subscribers. They feel privileged to access content that is not available to the general public, which can increase their engagement and strengthen their connection with your brand.

Similarly, offering exclusive discounts or promotions entices visitors to subscribe because they receive access to special deals that non-subscribers miss out on. The image below shows a Bumpa website utilising discounts as a lead magnet for building an email list. This form promises discounts and updates in exchange for an email address.

This provides a clear benefit for signing up. Ultimately, you should offer exclusivity to help you tap into people's desire to feel special and get something extra, motivating them to become your loyal subscribers.

Related: 7 Business Strategies for Creating Discounts & Coupons (Without Hurting Profit)

4. Run Contests or Giveaways

Image Source: Giphy

Running a contest or giveaway creates excitement and is a great opportunity to get people to provide their email addresses in exchange for a chance to win a prize. The key to success is making sure the prizes are aligned with your target audience's interests. Consider their preferences, needs, and desires when selecting prizes. Whether it's a product related to your niche, a valuable experience, or a sought-after item, the more relevant and appealing the prize, the more likely people will be to participate. For example, if your audience is filled with fashion lovers, they’re more likely to be excited about a fashion item and not a book. Except, of course, it’s a hot book about fashion!

By aligning the prizes with your audience's interests, you can attract quality traffic from people who are genuinely interested in your offerings, increasing your chances of conversion and building a loyal subscriber base.

5. Leverage Social Media for List Building

There are numerous social media campaign ideas you can explore to drive email sign-ups and expand your reach. First, make sure to optimise your social media profiles by prominently featuring your email opt-in form or direct links to your sign-up page.

Additionally, engage regularly with your audience by responding to comments, asking questions, and fostering conversations. This not only builds relationships but also encourages people to join your email list.

Creating and sharing valuable, shareable content is another effective strategy. By providing informative posts, engaging videos, or helpful resources, you increase the likelihood of your followers sharing your content with their own networks, thus reaching a wider audience and potentially gaining more email sign-ups.

6. Host Webinars or Online Events

Hosting a webinar or online event occasionally and offering valuable and insightful content during these events can pique the interest of your target audience, who are seeking knowledge and expertise in your niche. They allow you to showcase your expertise, establish authority, and provide solutions to common challenges your audience may face. More importantly, this encourages attendees to sign up for your email list, wanting to receive more valuable content and updates from you in the future. A great example of an easy way to do this is to host an Instagram live or Twitter space for your audience. Remember to promote it before the day, to get more people to see details about the event and also attend.

By consistently delivering valuable content during these events, you not only attract subscribers but also create a sense of trust and credibility, strengthening the connection with your audience. So, consider hosting webinars or online events where you can share your expertise, inspire your audience, and provide them with valuable takeaways. The result? A growing email list of engaged and loyal subscribers.

7. Implement Referral Programs

Implementing referral programs can harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing and have a tremendous impact on growing your email list. Word-of-mouth recommendations carry immense influence as people are more likely to trust a friend's or colleague's recommendation. By incentivising your current subscribers to refer others to join your list, you create a win-win situation. Not only do you give your subscribers a reason to actively promote your offerings, but you also attract potential subscribers who already have a level of trust and credibility associated with your brand. Offer rewards such as discounts, exclusive content, or special perks to provide a tangible benefit to both the referrer and the new subscriber.

8. Create High-Quality Content and Encourage Sharing

Creating valuable and engaging content that resonates with your target audience, is another great way to establish yourself as a knowledgeable authority in your niche. When your content is of exceptional quality, people are more likely to engage with it and share it with their own networks. Social sharing acts as a powerful word-of-mouth marketing tool, expanding your reach and exposing your brand to new potential subscribers. When others share your content, it acts as a recommendation, lending credibility and trust to your brand. This way, you can tap into the networks of your existing subscribers and reach new audiences who are likely to connect with your valuable content. Thus, by creating high-quality content that encourages sharing, you not only attract new subscribers but also foster a sense of community and engagement around your brand.

Other strategies to definitely consider!

1. Collaborate with influencers and complementary businesses to increase and expand your reach.

2. Attend events and collect emails.

3. Share your forms on social media. Always add your signup forms, links and CTAs to your posts and bio.

Building your Email List with Bumpa

The Bumpa email feature is designed to help you grow your subscriber base by capturing email addresses with ease. With Bumpa, you get eye-catching opt-in forms strategically placed on your website, to entice visitors to sign up for your email list. You can efficiently convert website visitors into loyal subscribers, expanding your reach and building a thriving community.

Additionally, the CRM tool lets you save customer data including email addresses and with the segmentation feature, you can personalise email campaigns that you send to your audience, making the experience richer and more intentional for them.

Lastly, you can create email campaigns right from the Bumpa app and send out to your customers, without paying extra! On the pro plan, you get 1,000 messaging credits which means you can send emails to as high as 1,000 customers, without spending an extra kobo.

Join Bumpa today and take advantage of this tool to build your email list effortlessly, while growing your business with our host of other features!

1. Open your Bumpa app and in the menu panel at the bottom of the screen, tap on “Customers”.

2. Switch to the “Campaigns” tab.

3. Click on the + button to create a new campaign.

4. In the “Select Messaging Channel” box, select the Email option.

5. Fill in the rest of the details of your campaign including the customer group, message and image.

6. Click on the “Send Campaign” button.

And you’re done!

Bonus: Download our Free Email Templates for Email Campaigns! You can use any of these templates by editing it to suit your campaign and audience, and send without having to create your content from scratch!

Download here!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you build an email list for free?

Yes, you can build an email list for free using various platforms and tools. Bumpa is a great tool that you can use for this. However, keep in mind that some advanced features may require a paid subscription.

2. What is an email list?

An email list is a compilation of email addresses belonging to individuals who have voluntarily provided their contact information to receive updates, promotions, or information from a particular business or organisation.

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