Online marketing has caused a sudden surge in successful marketing these past few years, but many in the know have felt its rise for much longer. As more internet-based businesses are popping up, the need to develop new marketing skills and knowledge based on this new medium have risen significantly. More and more marketing strategies are being discovered and developed to cope with the changing face of business and the business world.
The demand for online marketing tips and strategies have drastically grown and a new opportunity for this type of business has been born. While there are companies that are all too eager to help your site and business build a clientele for a fee, there also many ways that you can spread the word about your site’s subsistence in a more low to no cost way. One of these options is Opt-in email marketing, also known as permission marketing.
Opt-in marketing requires the permission of a willing customer to subscribe to your marketing materials, materials that can take the form of newsletters, catalogs and promotional mailings via e-mail. The more opt-in marketing mail you send, the more chances there are to capture more sales. To do this, you must build a list of targeted prospects who want to subscribe to your opt-in marketing list.
Since they have already shown interest in what you have to offer and sell, you will grow a great list of targeted customers. These are the people who have liked what they have seen on your site and have decided they want to see more and maybe even purchase a product or service your company has to offer.
Many people would think that building their lists would take hard work and a lot of time to build and collect names and addresses. This is not the case; it takes a bit of patience and some good strategies, but in creating the list, you open your site and your business to a whole new world of qualified prospects. These efforts can take your business to the next level, as it will increase your site traffic and provide opportunities to grow your sales and profits. An opt-in list can do wonders for your business.
There are many sources on the Internet that suggest lots of ways to build a list. Sometimes they may be confusing because there are so many different ways. Different groups of people with different types of products and services would have different approaches in building an opt-in list, but no matter how diverse their methods are, there are always some crucial things to do to build your list. Here are four of them.
1) Put up an easy and visible web form on your site’s pages, especially the home page, that immediately grabs their attention. While some may say this is too soon to request a website visitor’s information, but try to remember that your home page should provide a quick and lasting impression. You only have a few seconds to grab their attention and get them to sign-up.
A good web form for subscribing to an opt-in list is not hard to do. Just write a simple short statement about what information and updates they will see through your site. Then there should be an area where they could put in their name and e-mail address. This web form will automatically save and send you a notification of the data they input. There are many online options to maintaining your opt-in database like Constant Contact, MailChimp or aWeber. As more people sign up, your list will be growing.
2) As mentioned in the first tip, make your home page very, very impressive. You need to have well written articles and content on your site. Depending on what your site is all about, you need to capture your website visitor’s attention right away. Make your site useful and very easy to use. Do not expect everyone to be tech savvy. Invest in having good programming on your site, make your graphics beautiful but don’t overdo it.
Don’t waste your time making the home page too large, megabyte wise. Not all people have dedicated IT connections, the faster your site gets loaded, the better. Go for a look that borders between simplicity and sophisticated knowledge.
3) Provide excellent service and products. A return customer is more likely to bring in more business. Every now and then a satisfied customer will recommend your business to their friends and family. Word of mouth and referrals alone can rake in more business than an expensive ad. As your client list grows so will your business. With more people on your list, the more people who will get to know about what you have to offer.
4) Keep a clean and private list. Never lose the trust your customers have entrusted in you. If you provide e-mails to others and they get spammed, many will probably unsubscribe from your list. Remember, a good reputation will drive in more traffic and subscribers as well as strengthen the loyalty of your customers.
Jeannine Grich, CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: https://accbizsvc.com, or contact her at [email protected]