In today’s world of social media Marketing, small Business owners might assume that Email marketing is no longer relevant. But the truth is, email marketing allows business owners to create an open, direct line of communication with potential customers that is so vital to business growth. Email marketing is still a potent form of getting the word out about your business, your products, and your services.

Whether you’re just starting your new business, or attempting to expand a well-established business into more markets, email marketing could be a game changer. Aside from being a very green form of marking, (no paper wasted on your part), it’s also extremely cost effective and easy to track and measure.

It’s probably obvious that without an acceptable number of email Subscribers, the range and circulation you might be wanting for your marketing message will be out of reach. So here are a few tips to help maximize your email subscriber database.

Understand the Importance of Belonging

Understanding the importance of a human being’s need to belong to a group is the first key element in building a subscriber list. People want to see that others have become committed to your website, blog, etc., so they get that warm fuzzy feeling when they decide to hand over their email address. There are several ways to can use the “need to belong” phenomenon in growing your email list:

• Display subscriber testimonials on your subscription page
• Display post comments of other subscribers
• Display number of times visited, twitter followings, etc.,
• Make subscribers feel as they are subscribing to a specific community

Be Direct

If you’re anything like me, then you hate when people waste your time by beating around the bush. So be direct. Much like making an executive decision, speak in the active voice rather than the passive.

Don’t ask or demand people to subscribe, rather find a direct middle ground, such as: “Enter your email now to get started.” A trick to this is start the request with a definitive verb/command like, “Download your free e-book now”, rather than inanimate phrase, “Free E-book inside.”

Don’t Make Subscribers Regret Subscribing

Realize that your subscribers are a special asset; don’t take them for granted and don’t confound their in-boxes with emails that aren’t at all what they originally signed up for. Even without an actual purchase, this can still conjure up feelings of buyer’s remorse, and is also a good way to lose subscribers.

So keep the content of the email as close to the original promise. Keep the amount of emails minimal; people don’t like seeing fifteen emails from the same person in a two hour span. And always give the option to unsubscribe. It comforts people to know they could always opt out, and it keeps you compliant with Can-Spam regulations.

Understanding your readers on an emotional and psychological level will always make you prepared for moments when that subscribers list is thinning out and it’s time to recharge. More importantly, subscribers find it imperative to subscribe to a good product and this is what they are looking for when they decide to hand over email addresses. So be sincere and good luck.

Photo by Warm ‘n Fuzzy