When your email list is small or you’d just like to add more people and get higher open rates, it’s smart to grow your list through personal contacts. Begin with the obvious: ask friends, family, and business contacts to sign up. Everyone has a pool of people who might be happy to hear about your business via email. All you have to do is remember to ask. Put a note by your phone or computer with a couple of sentences so you don’t have to think about asking each time. After you’ve worked through your personal and business contacts, it’s time to get creative.
From a fishbowl at the register to sandwich boards on the street, there are ways you can let customers know you have an email newsletter. Offer a monthly prize drawing to encourage putting a business card in the fishbowl. Advertise exclusive deals and discounts to email newsletter customers on your in-store chalkboard.
If you have in-store Wi-Fi, put your sign-up form in front of people when they login to use the Internet. There are several services that help make this easy, so talk to your service provider to see what you can do.
The old standby, a paper form, still works. Rather than just ask for a name and email address, get more interactive by providing checkboxes that ask for feedback on products and services, what kind of content they’d like to receive, etc. Put the title of your email newsletter right on the form so people will remember they signed up and not mark your messages as spam later.
People are more willing to share their information when they feel they’re getting something exclusive from your business. They’re also happier to share if they know they can unsubscribe from your emails whenever they choose, so keep that in mind.
In-person customer contact is the best way to grow your list. But if you don’t ask in the right way, you’ll get a lot of “no, thank you” answers. To get more positive responses, have a conversation about the benefits of a subscription: updates on new arrivals, limited-time discounts, and holiday promotions; tips on complimentary products, how to use products better, and why it’s good to keep coming back to your store. Tell them what’s in it for them if they simply share their email address and open your emails.
Train yourself and all your employees to think of the email newsletter as an important customer service touchpoint. When you’re working with a customer and delivering the best experience possible, extend that into future contacts through email.
You publish an email newsletter so you can bring people back to your products and services and increase your bottom line. But always focus on the people on your list and what they want, because having a big database isn’t the same as having high open rates.
Deliver great content, have conversations, and ask for feedback. Share stories from people who have found your newsletters useful. And finally, always talk about why it’s a great idea to receive regular emails from your business. Keeping these points in mind will grow your list quickly and easily with contacts who already know you.
Donna Bordeaux, CPA with PYOPAccounting.com
Creativity and CPAs don’t generally go together. Most people think of CPAs as nerdy accountants who can’t talk with people. Well, it’s time to break that stereotype. Lively, friendly, and knowledgeable can be a part of your relationship with your CPA as demonstrated by Donna and Chad Bordeaux. They have over 50 years of combined experience as entrepreneurial CPAs. They’ve owned businesses and helped business owners exceed their wildest dreams. They have been able to help businesses earn many times more profit than the average business in the same industry and are passionate about helping industries that help families build great memories.
