Electronic Marketing: 12 Reasons Why you Need a Targeted Email List

Research shows that Email is easily the best and most effective way to build an engaged audience or tribe of people eager to buy from you. And in this article, we provide 12 compelling reasons why you need an email list. And as an added bonus, we show you how to get started with building your list.

This may come as a shock to you. However, as a blogger, writer, social media expert or other content creator, you must understand this to make the most of electronic marketing.

It may shock you, but I lie not: Your most valuable asset is not your content. It’s not your expertise.

It’s not even your blog or website. Nope, not your employees…

Your greatest asset as a blogger, author, coach, writer, social media expert, internet marketer or other content marketer is your targeted email list as part of an electronic marketing strategy.

Email is easily the best way to:

• Build an engaged audience or tribe of people eager to buy from you; or
• Create excitement around your next project.

Without an email list of engaged subscribers, you will struggle to monetize your message. 

But first, what is electronic marketing?

What Is eMarketing Or Electronic Marketing?

According to Dr. M. A. Khan, eMarketing or electronic marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media and more specifically the Internet. The terms eMarketing, electronic marketing, Internet marketing and online marketing, are frequently interchanged, and can often be considered synonymous.

In this article, our focus will be on email as a form of electronic marketing. We are focusing on email because it is the most effective form of electronic marketing.

As an electronic marketing tool, email is simply phenomenal. It represents the backbone of nearly every successful content initiative and digital marketing success story you’ve ever heard about. There is no better tool for building your online community, communicating with them and selling to them on a regular basis than email. As you will see later, email marketing has an unassailable ROI!

If there is one thing that business, content, and conversion rate experts agree upon, it is that building an email list is vital. Agency professionals and in-house marketers worldwide are in agreement about email’s effectiveness, according to a March 2016 polling from Econsultancy.

Nearly every person in the world has an email address. The Radicati Email Market Study, 2017-2021 states that there are currently over 3.7 billion email users worldwide (three-quarters of which are consumer accounts), and forecasts that this figure is expected to grow to over 4.1 billion by year-end 2021.

These figures are billions, my friend. Billions, not millions! They make the potential with email colossal!  If you haven’t recognized the power of email marketing, you’re missing out. Period!

Electronic Marketing Is the Future: 12 Reasons Why You Need To Start Building Your Targeted Email List Right Now

Here then, are 12 reasons why you need to embrace electronic marketing and start building your email list right away:

#1. Without an email list for electronic marketing, you’re building your business on rented digital property.

You are too dependent upon the social networks for your business success. And that’s not a good place to be. Michael Hyatt puts it this way:

A few years ago a friend was in the middle of a promotion for his annual conference. He used Twitter as the primary means for connecting with his tribe, but then Twitter inexplicably suspended his account.

The problem was eventually fixed, but it hurt his attendance in the meantime. That was the first time I saw a real downside to building a house on a rented lot.

I was an early adopter and advocate of social media. I still am. But I encourage everyone interested in growing a platform to begin with a home base that you control. Use other services to expand your reach, but build your house on your own lot.”

Be honest.

What would happen if Facebook suddenly releases a new algorithm and your posts aren’t seen anymore? What would happen if you can no longer be part of a Pinterest group board? What if Google inexplicably changes the rules (which they can do as a virtual monopoly) and you no longer get organic traffic? So you’re making money from your YouTube channel. Fantastic 🙂 What would happen if YouTube suspends your account 🙁

Simply look at YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Medium and any other social network and you’ll see how quickly they are changing. Facebook’s organic reach is in the tanker. Brand and electronic marketers who put all their social eggs in the organic Facebook basket are being hit incredibly hard. This won’t happen with email because with email, you are able to build your own plan, strategy and integrated platform that inspires, attracts, engages and nurtures your ideal customers.

#2. Email enables you to build trust with your audience. 

When someone signs up for your email list, it’s a sign of trust and interest in your brand. They’re intrigued by the content they’ve seen so far, and they want to learn more about how you think and the solutions you offer. Even if they aren’t ready to buy immediately, they’re thinking about it.

#3. Rock your email list. It’s your greatest asset.

As stated earlier, your email list is your greatest asset. Not your content. Not your experience or expertise! Email represents the backbone of nearly every successful content initiative and digital marketing success story you’ve ever heard about. There is no better tool for building your online community and communicating with them on a regular basis than email.

#4. Email is personal and private.

Email is a far more friendly medium than blogging or even social media. When people see your email in their inbox along with all their other friends, this builds trust. And when you start a conversation in someone’s inbox, they feel like they can be themselves and share whatever they may be struggling with, what they want, or questions they have. I love the rapport this builds with readers.

#5. Inspite of the rumours, email is alive and well.

As we have seen, research suggests email is still an important part of many people’s work lives, with the average person spending up to 50% of their time in the inbox. Studies also found that:

• People check their email around 11 times per hour.
• 84% of users keep their email up in the background at all times.
• 64% of users used notifications to access email at least some of the time.
• The average worker receives 11,680 emails per year with an average of 32 per day.
• 42% of all email in a person’s inbox is considered essential or critical.
• Email is still considered by most to be the best collaboration tool for teams and individuals.

People use email for more than sending messages:

• 76% use it to exchange documents; and
• 50% to archive important messages.

#6. Your business email list belongs to you.

You actually own your email list and the list is your business! You own it. Your email list is basically the only platform that belongs to you. Think about it Think about it…You have no control over what Pinterest or Facebook or Twitter do… if Facebook decides to scrap Facebook groups or Facebook Live, there’s nothing you can do. Absolutely nothing! Also, with Twitter and Facebook and other channels, you have to go through the “middleman” to access your audience. But with email, your message is delivered straight to your readers. You don’t need anyone’s permission.

#7. With email you can reach your audience more easily.

You have an instant and direct line of communication with your audience or tribe via email. This is priceless! As soon as you have a meaningful idea, you can put your thoughts into an email with a call to action. According to Francisco Rosales, Founder of SocialMouths, “Today, you’re able to reach an average of 1-2% of your Facebook Fans, the same way a very small percentage of your Twitter following sees one specific Tweet. Email is not perfect either, according to studies, 22% of emails sent get lost in the junk or spam folders or are blocked by ISPs. But that still leaves you with an average of 78% messages delivered.”

#8. Targeted email represents huge business potential

Having a list of people that are responsive to your emails and are buying based on your recommendation is great for your business. You can pitch this to create affiliate partnerships where you can help each other out and generate more sales by sharing to each other’s email lists. The bigger your list, the better you have of reaching higher affiliate relationships.

And growing your list will lead to amazing opportunities you haven’t even considered. You start to see the results from a list of at least 1,000. That’s because, generally and statistically, about 1% of your list will buy from you. So, for instance if you wanted to start a coaching program, and you have 1,000 subscribers, you should easily get 10 clients within a few days of sending a simple email to your list.

#9. Targeted email list works and it delivers the highest ROI for marketers

According to this report, for every $1 spent, email marketing generates $38 in ROI. A survey of US marketers conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Demand Metric found that email had a median ROI of 122%—more than four times higher than other marketing formats examined, including social media, direct mail and paid search.

Revenue from email has also improved year over year. A survey from the Relevancy Group sponsored by PostUp found that in December 2015, 24% of US email marketers said email marketing initiatives accounted for over a quarter of their overall revenues. This percentage was up from 13% in fall 2013.

It’s so effective that you can also leverage your list to promote your content and events. As soon as you have a new post up on your blog, you should let your list know about it! This will drive instant traffic to that post and you can get some feedback quickly. Email still plays a critical role in most people’s lives, though far from perfect in this world of new and innovative technology.

#10. Your targeted email list can be like a magic eightball

You can use your email list like a magic eight-ball to know the perfect product to create (and how to package and sell that product). You can do this through a simple one word survey. Something like this: “What is your greatest struggle when it comes to [blank]?” Another way to do this is to send out a “biggest pain” email.

Ask your subscribers what their biggest challenge is as it relates to your topic area. Make the “biggest pain” question the sole focus of your communication. Keep your email short and sweet.

Have a look at all the responses. You should find a common thread running through them. You then create a product that provides a solution to the struggle or the pain!

#11. A targeted email list is more effective than Facebook and Twitter

According to a survey by McKinsey & Co, email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter!

In other words, email is a far more effective way to acquire customers than all that tweeting and posting and “liking” you’re doing on social media—nearly 40 times more than Facebook and Twitter combined! 

“If you’re wondering why marketers seem intent on e-mailing you more and more,” McKinsey states, “there’s a simple explanation: it works.”

#12. If you want to maxmize your potential, you need a target email list for electronic marketing

If you’re ambitious as  a blogger, author, coach, writer, social media expert, internet marketer or other content marketer. If you want to maximize your potential. If you want to go all the way. If you want to earn a six figure income from your blog. Then you need an email list. Without an email list, the best you can hope for is few hundred dollars here and there, every now and then maybe from Adsense.

But with a huge email list that’s fully mobilized and engaged, you can sell your products and services including online courses. For example, if your eCourse retails for $199 and you sell 1000 places, that’s easily $199,000. Also you can take part in Product Launch Formula (PLF) style launches where you market a product to your list and receive unto 40% commission.

For instance, at the time of writing, I received $800 per referral on a launch over a 2 week period. The course retailed for $1999 and affiliates earned 40% commission per referral.

So, here’s the deal.

Do you want to be a small-time blogger, author, coach, writer, social media expert, internet marketer or other content marketer who can barely make ends meet? Or do you want to aspire for higher? The choice is yours!

If you’ve been putting aside the idea of building an email list for whatever reason, it’s time to face the facts.

Email is the future of marketing. It isn’t going anywhere! 

That’s why your money is in your Email List. So start building your email list right NOW!

Electronic Marketing: How To Quickly Build And Grow Your Email List

#1. Register With A Good Email Service Provider

To build your email list, you need an email service provider (ESP). It is very important to start with a good and reputable email service provider (ESP). A good email service provider will do these seven things:

• They’ll store the email addresses of all your subscribers. These can be very easily converted into a csv file, if you need to export the list somewhere else, or if you decide to change ESP.
• They’ll store important data from every email campaign, including the following information:
  • Number of emails sent
  • Those who opened each email;
  • Those who clicked on any link on the email; and
  • Those who unsubscribed
• They’ll post their deliverability rates. For example, you can go to major service providers to find out their deliverability rates, which will help you choose a good provider.
• They’ll work hard to improve those deliverability rates. For example, major ESPs will have dedicated staff who work daily with major ISPs to get your emails delivered to their recipients.
• They’ll actively ban any marketers who spam or engage in other questionable practices. This improves deliverability for everyone else.
• They will provide an autoresponder service. Autoresponders are emails sent automatically to your subscribers when triggered by a series of events you determine. They can be used to greet new subscribers, alert them about new products or services, or even wish them a happy birthday. All you have to do is set up the rules, write the message, and let the autoresponder take care of the rest. Many of the best autoresponders will also have reporting tools to help you keep track of how your email campaigns are performing so you can constantly improve and retool.
• They will provide a system where your subscribers can unsubscribe at any time. This is important, as there are two basic rules of engagement that come with email marketing:
  • Always have permission to market to someone via email; and
  • If that permission changes, stop sending them email marketing

Because of this, every email campaign you send must include an instant unsubscribe link. It is usually added automatically by your ESP.

#2. Offer something insanely valuable for free.

What you offer is your lead magnet. The perceived value of your offer must outweigh any perceived risk of giving up their personal information. Put differently, the value of joining your list must be so great, it completely eclipses any potential fear or skepticism your prospect has of giving up their precious email address. For lead magnet ideas, check out this epic post by Entice.

According Optin Monster, there are at least 7 things that your lead magnet should do if you want it to be absolutely irresistible:

1. Must solve a real problem – if your lead magnet doesn’t solve a real problem that your audience has, or if it doesn’t give them something they really want, it won’t work at all.
2. Insanely valuable – your lead magnet should be insanely valuable, meaning that it must have both high perceived value and high actual value.
3. Should promise one quick solution – your lead magnet should promise (and deliver) one quick solution for your prospects. In other words, it should help them to easily achieve something.
4. It must be super specific – it isn’t advisable to create a lead magnet about something general. The more specific you are about the benefit of your lead magnet, the better it will convert leads.
5. It must be quick and easy to digest – PDF checklists tend to convert really well because they are so quick and easy to digest. eBooks or lengthy reports may make your prospects feel kind of overwhelmed and weary.
6. Must be instantly accessible – your lead magnet will work best if it is something that can be delivered right away. I don’t know about you, but people love instant coffee, sorry instant gratification.
7. Must showcase your expertise – when someone receives your lead magnet, it should demonstrate your expertise or your unique value proposition. This helps turn leads into customers later on.

#3. Create a killer opt-in form on your website.

Adding an opt-in form to your website is a great way to build your email list. By doing this you take advantage of a valuable opportunity to turn one-time visitors into regulars and customers. A killer opt-in form needs to:

• Match your brand. Be consistent throughout your website.
• Stand out. It should grab attention; and
• Be irresistible. Offer something which your visitors really want. Something they can’t say ‘no’ to!

Here are some examples to consider:

• Exit-intent: A pop-up box that appears once the user moves their mouse pointer to close the page/tab. The awesome thing about this, is that not only does it work, it doesn’t interfere with your visitor’s the user experience.
• Light-box: A pop-up box that appears after a certain amount of time passes once the user enters a website. This can be very annoying…but they work. So you’ve got to have a balance!
• Slide-in form: A sign-up box that appears from the side or bottom of the page after a user scrolls down to a particular part of the page. These are great because they can be fairly unobtrusive while still catching people’s attention.
• In-Line/After Post: This kind of blends in with the content. They’re great because they don’t hinder the visitor’s experience, yet they still provide an easy way to opt-in for your lead magnet.
• Bar/Ribbon: An opt-in bar or ribbon goes across the top or bottom of the page and you can lock it in place so it scrolls with the page. It allows you to share your Lead Magnet without being annoying.

#4. Leverage the power of giveaways

Giveaways are an amazingly powerful way to grow your audience – but only if you use the right strategy. There are a few options out there, but my pick is KingSumo Giveaways, which is an excellent resource for WordPress sites, and allows you to automate your giveaways and target your real fans. You also own it, and you own your list.

KingSumo Giveaways is a plugin for WordPress (self hosted, not wordpress.com) that is used to create viral giveaways to help build an email list. It leverages our natural self-interest as human beings, to help generate large amounts of traffic to giveaways. Less work, more traffic.

For information on how to set-up your KingSumo giveaway plus how to get killer prizes for your giveaway for free, check out this awesome article by Robbie Richards.

#5. Ask list members to share.

If you are providing insane value to your audience. If you’re scratching where they itch. If you’re giving your audience what they need and also throwing in what they want: Members of your tribe will naturally want to share your free offers. But it doesn’t hurt to ask them to tell their friends.

There are many ways you can do this. But for me, I like using clicktotweet.com and have my subscribers send their friends and followers to my lead magnets.

Now your turn

QUESTION: Do you have any experience of electronic marketing? What is email marketing and how does it work?

Have you got an effective strategy for building a large, targeted email list for communicating with your audience and for electronic marketing?

Please join the conversation and share your thoughts by clicking here.