Building an email list is one of the most valuable things a growing business can do online. But when you’re starting out, it can be tempting to buy a database of email addresses and send your marketing messages to thousands of people.
Don’t.
A smaller list of people who have genuinely agreed to hear from your business is far more valuable than a large database of people who don’t know who you are.
Start With Your Website
Your website is one of the easiest places to collect subscribers. Add a simple signup form where visitors can enter their name and email address.
You can encourage sign-ups by offering something useful, such as a discount, helpful guide, early access to an offer or updates about your products and services.
Use Your Existing Customers
If customers already interact with your business, give them an opportunity to subscribe to your marketing emails where appropriate. This could happen through your website, booking process, enquiry forms or in-store interactions.
Make it clear what they’re signing up for and give them an easy way to unsubscribe.
Turn Social Media Followers Into Subscribers
Your Facebook and Instagram followers don’t automatically belong to your business. Encourage interested followers to join your email list through your social media content.
For example, a restaurant in Mpumalanga could invite customers to join its mailing list to receive information about upcoming events, specials and new menu items.
Don’t Buy an Email List
Purchased databases may contain outdated, irrelevant or low-quality contacts. Sending unsolicited marketing emails can also damage your reputation and create compliance problems.
Instead, focus on building permission-based relationships over time.
You don’t need thousands of subscribers to start. 100 genuinely interested people can be more valuable than 10,000 random email addresses.
