Why should you care about how to build an email list?
Hopefully we answered that question for you in the last two articles: How to Build an Email List and Should I Start an Email List (in case you missed them.)
So, let’s say that as a website owner that you’re totally sold on the idea that you absolutely need to start an email AND you saw exactly HOW to start an email list. The next question that should come to mind is: How do I attract people to my email list? And that begs a bigger question: how do I attract people to my website overall?
In This Article:
- What People Are Looking For
- What is Quality Content
- How Does Quality Content Increase Your Email List?
- Methods to Use Quality Content to Build an Email List
- Summary (aka TL;DR): Too Long; Didn’t Read
What People Are Looking For
Now more than ever, people are looking for answers. There is a huge surge in the desire to learn how something works. Most people looking for your service will YouTube it or search WikiHow to see if they could handle it first. Where will they start?
“Ok, Google, how do I fix my toilet?” or “Hey, Siri, how do I get my car to not idle so low?”
(You see, over 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big purchases. [Retailing Today, 2014].Credit: Hubspot. We see the same thing with our website design clients.)
If not a voice assistant, most people will type into their browser bar: “how to fix a toilet”. (You probably found this article by doing the same thing! “Ok, Google, how do I build an email list?”) They do this for two main reasons. First, they want to know if they can do it themselves. Second, they want to know enough about it so that if they hire it out, they aren’t taken advantage of or look stupid.
Core Principle: People are looking to understand things before they buy!
That is why your “Quality Content” on your website will be so important to be able to build an email list!
What is Quality Content?
Quality Content:
- Is good content that answers the questions your clients are asking to understand something.
- Is framed in an easily-understood way.
- Is NOT a sales pitch.
- Is truly helpful.
- Is structured for Google and other browsers to understand.
- Is oftentimes localized (so that the nuances of your location, environment, etc. are relayed through the content).
- Is NOT spammy, full of nothing of substance but instead has a ton of keywords.
- Is formatted in a visual way so that people who are skimming the content can understand the content without having to read every word. (5 Free Helpful Web Tools and Resources)
- Is posted consistently, causing you to be seen as not only an authority on the topic, but a community resource as well.
Quality content helps the client think to themselves: “I get it. I understand. I now know how to do it. Heck, I could almost do it myself. But do I want to?”
How Does Quality Content Increase Your Email List?
Creating quality content can seem a bit of a distraction. It seems like it takes a ton of time. You probably made a serious investment in your website design. Shouldn’t that take care of much of your SEO needs? Not exactly. And, when a potential client in your geographic region(s) gets used to seeing your website and brand when coming for answers, it can reinforce your brand in a strong way!
When they (inevitably) hit a wall and realize that they need help on a project, they will know exactly who to come to for answers. (They’ve been coming to you for answers for a long time as it is!)
As you create more and more quality content, they will want to stay in the loop on all the great services you are building and creating for them. One of the ways they will follow you is signing up for your email list.
Similarly, as your content can be re-purposed from the awesome posts and articles that they are, to becoming a powerful email series on How To [Fill in the Blank], they become part of your email list, part of your ecosystem and, hopefully, part of your raving fans. Those raving fans will not only visit your website; they will join your list.
Methods to Use Quality Content to Build Your Email List
At its most basic function, an email list is there to notify the people on that list of any updates you believe are relative to them. Some of the best ways to use an email list once you have one is:
- Blog Post Digest (aka Newsletters)
- A One-Off How-To Email Course/Series
- Build Up to Launching a New Product or Service
- On-boarding them to Your Product or Service
NOTE: Do not abuse your email list! Nothing shrinks your email list more than TMI. Your people are already overloaded. Be sure you are only delivering the best of the best content to your clients. If they get the feeling that what they are receiving is generic and not relevant to them, they will unsubscribe faster than you can say “Wait, there’s more…”
Summary (aka TL;DR): Build an Email List
Build an email list. Know what people are looking for. Understand what Quality Content actually is. Understand that Quality Content is actually a long game of shaping credibility in your field as an authority on the topic. Create and deliver Quality Content to your email list. Just don’t spam them.
Need Help To Build an Email List?
If you need guidance, reach out to us! Spark Sites clients receive a ton of help, including help in building your email list and coming up with a strategy to grow that list and serve your clients! Contact us with any questions or post below!
