Even in 2013, email is still very much alive. A well-built email list can often be a business’s most engaged online audience. When you understand how to interact with email readers it opens new doors for your business.
Building that list becomes hugely important. Don’t give in to temptation and just add anyone you can think of. Instead, you have to create and showcase your value at every opportunity. That’s the best way to entice people into signing up for your email list. But like anything else in digital marketing, it’s not an “If you build it, they will come,” type of project. You need to promote your brand. Social media offers great ways to maximize the effectiveness and reach of your email campaign.
Promote Your Giveaway
Do you have an ebook, white paper or some other offering in exchange for an email address? It may be time to post or tweet about it. Now’s not the time to get too self-promotional, however. It’s the time to outline a common problem, and how what you offer fixes it. You don’t have to stop there, either. If you have Facebook or Google+ business pages, use your ebook cover art for a profile picture. Make sure the only way that people can access your offering is in exchange for their email address.Utilize Bio Real Estate
Most social networks have valuable “about” sections for you to fill out. This is a great place to link to the opt-in page for your newsletter. Again, it’s not about self-promotion. It’s about telling people what type of value you provide, and what they can expect in exchange for their email address. An email newsletter can be one of the best mediums a business has available for providing constant value in their content. Showcasing that link in your most prominent social real estate emphasizes its importance.
Post When Published
Hopefully, you’re providing a valuable message written in a personal format for your newsletter readers. That’s something that should resonate with your social audiences as well. You’re giving them a window into a new source of information, which may be of interest. Show people snippets of that value, and let them know where they can find more of it. You may want to simply ask your social audience if they missed the recent newsletter, and some highlight from it. Then post the link to your opt-in page. Reachmail gives great examples of how Twitter is a great platform for email promotion.Stress Community To Your Email Subscribers
It’s important to push the value of your social networks to your email list. Sure, you can give readers ways to reply to you, but social media is still a better way to build a community, where anybody can talk with anybody. You can do this by overtly encouraging people to join one of your social networks, or simply by providing social icons on your newsletter, or links in your signature space. Once you can start to see the signs of a large and interactive email list, it may be a good time to start a Facebook group or G+ community where people with similar interests can interact with each other and connect. This is just another way to provide great value.Offer Deals To Your Newsletter Subscribers
If you have a product that generates great interest, use your social networks to post about the special deal for email subscribers. At that point, you’re showing your social audience why it pays to be on your email list.Conclusion
Remember, people are guarded about giving their email away. Nobody likes an inbox full of spammy offers that mean nothing to them. That’s why showcasing the value that you provide is so important in everything you do with email. Your social media networks serve as a window into that value.About the author: Matthew Brennan is a marketing writer based in the Chicago area. He regularly writes about content marketing, blogging, and engaging with your audience. He has been published on ProBlogger, Soshable, and Business2Community. Connect with Matthew on his website, www.matthewlbrennan.com, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+.
Image credit: Sean MacEntee (Flickr)
