Most businesses wouldn’t believe us if we told them that they don’t need to spam or deceive people to acquire their email addresses. Online marketing has earned a shady reputation because businesses have already walked down that road.
In the physical world, people are not much bothered by uninvited mail as they can get rid of it quickly by tossing it into the bin. Unwanted email messages, however, are considered an inconvenience and considered an intrusion of privacy. As a result, people are quite protective of their email addresses.
Without spamming as a strategy, businesses may need clarification about how they can obtain the email addresses of their potential customers. Following are some tips that they can consider:
Email signup box on the home page
It is better to be honest than be sneaky about what you want. Why not let your visitor know that you need their contact information? All you need to do to make the visitor give it up willingly is to give them something valuable to them.This can include free advice and tips, newsletters, news alerts, and/or new product information. Giving people the option to discontinue their subscription to such material is important, too.
By being creative in your customer interaction and relationship with them.
This strategy is sure to work for most online businesses providing a product or service that adds value to people's lives.
Therefore, putting up a signup box on their homepage should be the first step that online businesses should take if they aspire to lay their hands on the precious email IDs of potential customers.
Special Offers and Promotions
A relatively easy bait to get more signups is to organize contests for free trips or cash prizes. The offer should be lucrative enough to make customers want to sign up for them, and the best way would be to advertise them through newsletters or banners.It is still debatable whether this strategy works because such signups are often for selfish gains. Once the offer is no longer valid, those who have signed up may consider unsubscribing to your services. But it is still the quickest way to build a customer database.
Being honest about renting customer lists
Buying lists of customers from another organization puts your company at risk of being flagged as spam. As we mentioned earlier, people tend to be protective about their digital identity. They may instantly recognize you as one of the many companies which obtain customers' contact information by unfair means.However, if you have no option but to pursue such a practice, you should clearly specify in your emails that you have acquired their contact information from a particular organization. Customers may appreciate your honesty and be more willing to invest in the relationship.
Distribute your newsletter
If you have valuable content to provide your customers, then rolling out regular email newsletters can be an excellent strategy to keep people in touch with you. Besides blowing your own trumpet (which is necessary, too), you can give away resources, tips, and other information in your newsletter to keep them interested.Think geographically
Even though having an online presence helps businesses reach a wider audience, most of them need to acknowledge that most of their customers will always comprise those who are located nearby. It is good to have aspirations of reaching out to the entire globe with your product, but first, you must think locally.You should be aware of the publications distributed in your locality and where most of your neighborhood can be found online. You can strategically place advertisements in these publications, connect with local editors, and write articles with your website URL and business name.
Besides the strategies given above,, businesses can also consider collaborating with other companies in the same niche. For example, if a person has enquired about how to write a Will, they may be interested in knowing more about legacy probate services.
