Growing your email list is an essential step for your marketing strategy and, while most will focus on growing lists through digital means, it is just as necessary to work on developing your email list through in-person means.
Why? Simply because consumers would still prefer to be contacted by brands through email.
61% of consumers would rather communicate with their favorite brands and companies via email.
What is an email list subscription in person?
If consumers would rather hear from your brand via email, then why should a brand attempt to gather names to add to their email list in person?
These lists benefit brands in various ways. While collecting via digital means is an excellent tactic, it lacks a sense of personability. By focusing both on your digital and in-person collection processes, you can ensure that you are filling your sales funnel more consistently.
Getting individuals to subscribe to your email list in person also helps to get your brand’s name out to the public and allows you to put a face to the brand’s name.
Even if your brand hasn’t entirely built up an email marketing strategy, it is vital to be collecting names and emails so that you have a list to work with once you do start up your first email campaign.
3 simple ways to build your email list in person
Although there are various ways to collect email addresses through digital means, many marketing teams stumble on how they can build their email list in person.
When it comes down building your email list in person, different methods will work better than others. Below, we compiled a short list of ideas that can help guide your team in collecting those vital email addresses during events. Remember, building your email list in person is all about collecting the emails from potential subscribers. This doesn’t ensure that they will subscribe, so make sure to send them a follow-up email with the option to opt in to further emails.
1. Collect signups during conferences
Collecting email signups during a business conference may seem difficult at first, but there are quite a few methods to getting others to your site for signup.
If you are giving a presentation, you’ll want to make sure you mention your email newsletter at some point so that you are making the audience aware of it. During this mention, you should also make sure you provide an example of where they can go, whether it be a website address they can write down or merely mentioning that they can find you after the presentation for more information.
2. Host your own event
If you’re releasing a new product or service, why not host your own launch event?
Much like with a conference, you’ll want to ensure that your attendees have a way of contacting you after the event, so either include the information during your launch presentation or pass out materials that have your website on it. This is also a great way to collect emails with the use of a sign-in sheet.
3. Have a signup sheet at checkout or on your table at vendor events
Running your own small retail business or attending a local vendor’s event? Then make sure you have a signup sheet readily available for potential subscribers to sign in on. This way, you can send a follow-up email with an opt-in option so they can continue to receive your information.
It is also essential that you include your website link/address on all paper materials that you may be handing out so that users will know where to go if they want to opt in later on their own.
How to measure the success of your in-person email list
Once you’ve gathered your list of potential new subscribers from your event, take that list and enter it into your system, as you would with emails collected digitally.
You’ll then be able to digitally measure the success of your list, as you would with the rest of your email list, while comparing key performance indicators, such as:
- Open rate
- Click-through rate
- Unsubscribe rate
- Bounce rates
Source: Smart Insights
Does it really matter?
Building an in-person email list is just as important as building one digitally. With most marketers believing in email marketing—53%, to be exact—a brand wants to ensure that they are working every angle they can.
That means passing out contact cards, taking advantage of social media sites, and optimizing your website.
What now?
As email marketing continues to evolve, so must marketing teams. You want always to maintain a healthy email list, as opposed to merely continuing to build the most massive list you can.
A massive list means nothing if your campaigns aren’t reaching their intended destinations. Take the time to properly maintain your list to ensure that your email marketing efforts perform as they should.