How to build a marketing list for your business
When I start an initial consultation, I ask a few number-based questions, including how big is your email list and…
How many customers do you have?
If you have a “bricks and mortar” business, how many people come through the door every day?
How many people visit your website or social media sites every day?
How many people give you a business card when you go to a networking event?
And the answers to these questions give me a clear snapshot of how systematic the business is in following up.
Well, this may sound cold and scientific but, research indicates that it takes multiple “touches” to build a relationship with a person who visits your website, or physical premises or you meet at a networking event.
And, if you don’t build a marketing list and follow up consistently, chances are the relationship won’t develop and you will never do business together.
That’s why I’m a great advocate of building a marketing list and following up consistently with quality content to build a great relationship with your market.
It’s an indicator of the maturity of your business.
I have observed that many new businesses start off having to sell, sell, sell, sell, sell because they are in a survival game and hunting for new clients, non-stop.
As your business matures you may start to see that the longevity of your relationships is the key deciding factor.
You start to measure your engagement with your market.
That’s why the quality of your follow up is vitally important.
I track the number of new subscribers, the number of lapsed subscribers and the number of subscribers whose engagement is low (people who haven’t opened an email in 120 days or more) every month to give me a sense of the quality of my communication with my marketing list.
In my opinion, the art of marketing is to enter into a genuine, two way conversation with your market.
Sounds simple, and yet it’s more involved than you think.
So, here’s a simple, step-by-step process to get started and build your list and start to build a long term relationship with your market…
Step 1 : Start collecting contact information offline
This may be in the form of business cards, email address, web site address.
Make sure you make a note of it.
One recent client brought in a handwritten black book full up with contact details.
Great!
We’re in the process of importing it into an email autoresponder system.
Get in the habit of asking people you meet in a business context for their business card or email address and add them to your mailing list.
Step 2 : Start collecting contact information online
We recommend creating a landing page on your website and adding a web form to ask your visitor for their name and email address.
A landing page is simply a web page that is designed to collect contact information in return for providing value to your web site visitor.
There was a fashion a few years ago where websites became a simple landing page with no additional information whatsoever.
Now, we have found that a website with a blog, an about us page, and a landing page work better.
In this way you can send paid traffic to the landing page and still get an organic listing on Google based on the content on your site.
Kind of the best of both worlds.
Step 3 : Create a lead generation magnet
We recommend offering either free information, or a free consultation or a free sample on your landing page, in return for your visitor giving their name and email address.
In marketing terms, this is known as a lead generation magnet.
Here are a few examples from our own business and our client projects…
We offer a free marketing campaign review.
This client offers a free module from their training programme.
This client offers a free video guide on the best way to prepare for your day.
This client offers a free quotation.
Step 4 : Create a Thank You Page
Typically, once your visitor completes a web form on your landing page, the next page they will see is a thank you page.
On this page you can provide the free information you promised, or ask the visitor to check their inbox to receive the information or instructions to get what they have been promised.
Step 5 : Create a Welcome Email
Final step is to send out a welcome email, thanking the person for requesting the free information or product or service and deliver on your promise.
Now this person is on your email list and you can start to deliver useful, educational content and nurture your relationship with every individual on your marketing list through time.
Want to build your marketing list, and develop a long term nurturing relationship with your market through the quality of the content you deliver?
