• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, May 8, 2020

Here’s an activity for email marketers stuck at home: Rebuild your email list in your spare time. It’s fun to do, and can lead to lead to a stronger email marketing program, according to Adhip Ray, the founder of WinSavvy.com. 

Ray has published an infographic containing some 32 tips on how to build an email list. It starts with your opt-in form. First, get rid of “subscribe to our newsletter” type forms: Ray calls these “the laziest form of CTA that exists.”

Instead, provide hyper-relevant opt-in options and content. That includes specific freebies for each form. 

Pull in subscribers power-words such as “free,” “featured,” “exclusive,” “Limited and XX Let Only. Above all, don’t send unrelated emails once people have subscribed. You don’t want someone saying “I signed up for a free ebook on marketing advice. Why am I getting emails on ‘How to do yoga?’” Ray jokes.

You can also use Facebook to boost your subscriber count. Why wouldn’t you? Email pulls in a much higher ROI than Facebook.

And send your landing page URLs to your social media channels — just make sure that they are relevant.

Another trick is to use different opt-ins for different audiences.

Ray notes that “a travel blogger may use his Instagram account, to post pictures of the places he has visited. While on his Twitter account, he might tweet regarding the camera and equipment he uses when traveling.”

Next, use giveaways or create contests: These are old tools, but they work. And use Quora to send traffic to pages with opt-in forms.

“Since you don’t have traffic, using external sources is your best bet,” Ray writes. ”Write very detailed answers to questions on Quora and offer content upgrades by way of subscription offers.”

Meanwhile, visitors to your site should see pop-ups with an offer. Place several sign-up forms on your site — at the top of posts, in the middle and at the end.

Include a sign-up button at the end of every email: If the message gets forwarded, others will also see the invite, Ray says. For that matter, make sure you always include a “Forward this email” link in all your outgoing emails.

How are you doing? Time for a coffee break? Here are some of the remaining suggestions, in short form: 

• Break their auto-pilot — make them smile.
• Use video content in your blog—and make it downloadable.
• Leverage exit-intent pop-ups with copy like, “Wait, don’t go…” or “Save 10% Off Your Next Order.”
• Build trust with your audience.
• Get to know who your audience is.
• Use podcasts to build your email list.
• Use PPC ads.
• Customize your pop-ups.
• Go person-to-person, reaching out to people through LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media.
• Let your leads choose the topics on which they want to receive emails rom you.
• Use quizzes.
• Make the UX Work — design matters.
• Remember the Seven Post Rule — Your lead needs to interact with at least seven of your posts before you can actually sell to them, Ray says.

There are others, but it’s getting late and you probably have other things to do.

Get back to it on Monday.