For the past years, when social media started to rise, online marketing has developed a sudden surge. As more online and offline businesses are put up, the need to develop new marketing skills and knowledge based on this new medium has arisen. More and more marketing strategies are being discovered and developed to cope with the changing face of the business world.
When the demand for online marketing tips and strategies has drastically grown, a new form of business has been born – internet marketing strategies. While there are companies that are all too eager to help your site and business build a clientele for a fee, there are still many ways that can be used to spread the word about your site’s subsistence in a more cost-free way. One of these is Opt-in Email Marketing.
Opt-in marketing requires the permission of a willing customer to subscribe to your materials that can take form in newsletters, catalogs, and promotional mailings via email. The more opt-in marketing mail is sent, the more chance there is to bag sales and more sales. However, to do this, you must first build a list of all those who want to subscribe to your opt-in marketing list.
From your list, since they are willing to sign in to subscribe, you now have your targeted customer. They are the people who have liked what they have seen on your site and have decided they want to see more and may even purchase whatever product or service your business has to offer.
When building a list, though it takes a bit of patience and hard work, you are opening your business to a whole new world of the target market. If you take the effort to take your business to a new level, an opt-in list will do wonders for your business venture as it will increase traffic and conversions.
There are many sources and articles on the internet that are available for everyone to read and follow in building a list. And sometimes, they could be confusing because of the many different ways and approaches. But no matter how diverse the methods are, there are always some crucial things that need to be done in order to build a list. Here are four of them.
- Put up a good web or opt-in form on your homepage or site that can immediately follow the end of your content or you can make it a pop-up once your page loaded.
A good web or opt-in form for subscribing to an opt-in list is not hard to do. Just write a simple short statement about how they would like to see more and get updated about the site. Then there should be an area where they could put in their names and email addresses. This form will automatically save and send you the data’s inputted. As more people sign in, your list will definitely grow. There are plenty of free plugins that are offering web or opt-in forms such as Aweber and Getreponse.
- Make your homepage very, very impressive.
While some may say that adding an opt-in form on the homepage is too soon to subscribe for website visitors, try to remember that your homepage should provide a quick good impression. If somehow a website visitor finds something that he or she doesn’t like and turns them off, they may just forget about signing up.
You need to have well-written articles and descriptions of your site. Depending on what your site is all about, you need to capture your website visitor’s fancy. Make your site useful and very easy to use. Do not expect everyone to be tech-savvy. Invest in having good programming on your site, make your graphics beautiful but don’t overdo it.
- Provide good service and products.
A returning customer is more likely to bring in more business. Every now and then, a satisfied customer will recommend a business always. Word of mouth and recommendations alone can rake in more business than an expensive ad. As your clientele roster grows, so shall your list. With more members on the list, more people will get to know about what you have new to offer.
- Keep a clean and private list.
Never lose the trust your customers have entrusted you. If you provide their email address to others and they get spammed, many will probably unsubscribe to you. Remember, a good reputation will drive in more traffic and subscribers as well as it will strengthen the loyalty of your customers.
Building a profitable opt-in list doesn’t just happen overnight. Many preparations and efforts should be done. Though opt-in lists are built from scratch, as your list grows, you should always maintain the quality of your list, by keeping it organized and manageable.