Most Triad service business email lists are people who already became customers. That is a great list, but it caps at the size of your customer base. The businesses winning with email are the ones building lists of prospects who have not yet bought, then nurturing them over months until they do.
The Free Resource That Outperforms a Generic Sign-Up Form
"Sign up for our newsletter" converts at under 1 percent of website visitors. Replace it with a specific, useful resource and conversion rates climb to 6 to 12 percent. A Winston-Salem CPA replaced "Subscribe" with "Download our 2011 Tax Deduction Checklist for Triad Small Businesses." Sign-ups went from 4 a month to 71 a month.
Resource Ideas by Industry
- →Legal: "What to Do in the First 24 Hours After a Greensboro Car Accident"
- →Medical and dental: "Triad Parent's Guide to Choosing the Right Pediatric Dentist"
- →Home services: "12-Point Home Maintenance Checklist for Piedmont Triad Homeowners"
- →Financial: "5 Retirement Mistakes Triad Business Owners Make"
- →Real estate: "Greensboro Neighborhood Guide for Families Relocating to the Triad"
Where to Place Sign-Up Opportunities
- →Sidebar of every blog post: A reader who liked your article is the warmest possible sign-up.
- →Inside the resource itself: Reference your newsletter at the bottom of the downloadable PDF.
- →After form submissions: The thank-you page after any contact form is prime real estate for a secondary newsletter ask.
- →Email signature: A simple "Get our monthly Triad business tips" link at the bottom of every email you send.
Offline Sources Most Triad Businesses Forget
- →Reception desk and counter: A small card asking customers to sign up for service reminders and tips.
- →Trade show fishbowls: Business card drop for a relevant prize. Add the cards to your list with explicit consent printed on the entry form.
- →Speaking events at the Greensboro and Winston-Salem chambers: Offer attendees a follow-up resource by email at the end of the talk.
A High Point home builder added a resource-driven sign-up to their blog and grew their list from 340 to 2,100 in 12 months. Their average construction project produces about $180,000 in revenue, so the newsletter does not need to convert at a high rate to pay back many times over.
Once your list grows, deliverability becomes the next problem. Read our piece on how to keep emails out of the spam folder, or have our digital marketing agency build your list-building infrastructure.