Email lists are not dead, far from it. But how to increase your reach and list potential, organically? Possibly none of what I am writing here is new, but for some, it might be worth a few minutes to read.
What do you want the list for?
Usually, there is a reason you have an email list (or perhaps more than one). Are you trying to reach potential clients? Or promoting a new product or service? There is no point in working on creating a huge email list without a purpose. I myself, have one for in-person workshops, my online classes and one for my portrait clients. They are all treated differently and all offer different incentives.
Plan ahead
A social media plan is a great tool for any business. There are bound to be peaks and troughs and planning ahead can give your plenty of time to schedule and create your campaigns. Mother’s Day or Father’s Day campaign, 12 days of Christmas (a huge one for me), have you got online classes, presets, actions or books? Perhaps you are inviting people to view a gallery exhibit (in person or online). There needs to be a reason you want a list and then why you are reaching out to them.
Offer an incentive
I have found that offering an incentive to sign up for an email list is quite possibly the best way to get people on board. Do you have something to offer? Freebies of any sort will often entice people. Some things to try include PDF e-books on camera techniques (it could be anything), or free Lightroom Presets or Photoshop Actions. Perhaps you could offer discount codes for online classes or something else entirely. It really depends on WHAT you plan on doing with your email list.
It doesn’t have to be anything huge; something small, but a value add for people. Don’t offer the world and then not fulfill your promises. And make it easy to collect your offer. I hate offers that make you jump through a dozen hoops just to get a PDF which really doesn’t offer much value. So frustrating.
Don’t be annoying
Once you have your list, plan on keeping and growing it, by NOT being annoying. The amount of email spam I sometimes get, with no value and longer than the encyclopedia drives me to distraction and will have me hitting the ‘unsubscribe’ button quicker than I can say unsubscribe! Sure a monthly newsletter offering tidbits and links to blog posts is great. Or perhaps you have a new promotion to offer, terrific. You’ll probably need to send follow-up emails as reminders, I suggest no more than one a week (but that’s just my opinion). Unless it is a special promotion that calls for daily emails (like my 12 days of Christmas giveaway). But once the promotion is finished, then stop.
Final thoughts
I know none of this is earth-shattering or new frontier stuff, but it is often worth a few minutes to plan out your business strategy. Decide why you want an email list, and then how you will use it. Don’t annoy people, but don’t think a single email with an offer is all you need to do either. I find offering a value add and then following that up with consistent and worthy mailouts.
Looking for more tips on the topic? Check out Andy’s five email marketing tips for photographers.
