One of the most powerful marketing tools you have at your disposal is your email list—not ads, not social media, but email. The biggest advantage of an email list is that it is yours. You could lose your social media account, or the platform could shut down. Your ad platform could suddenly start charging higher rates. In both cases, you’re on someone else’s platform. We’ve already seen the problems with relying solely on social media with Congress’s threats to shut down TikTok and Twitter rolling out one new capricious and nonsensical policy after another. While your social media platform can disappear overnight, no one can take your email list from you.
More Reliable Than Social Media
It’s been a long time since you could rely on your Facebook posts getting in front of your followers. Organic engagement has been very low on the platform ever since it transitioned from being a social media company to an advertising platform. If you have 2000 followers on Facebook, you’ll be lucky if 100 of them see your post. Of 2000 Twitter followers, about 40 will see your post. But with an email list of 2000, you can rely on 20%, or about 400 people, opening any email you send.
One thing social media does that email can’t really do is help with discovery. It’s often the first place people learn about and engage with a brand. But once they’ve discovered you, the next step is to get an email address. That way, you can reach them directly.
Gaining and Maintaining Trust
The best way to get people to give you their email address is to give them something in exchange. Start a loyalty program for in-store customers where they provide an email address to sign up. For shoppers visiting your website, offer a lead magnet—a free gift, usually an ebook on a relevant topic—that they can get delivered to their inbox.
Once you have a customer’s email address, maintain that trust by not spamming them every day. Offer a mix of promotions and useful material, such as tips for caring for houseplants and education on topics like planting zones—the same kinds of topics you would cover in your social media posts.
A mailing list is one of your most powerful marketing tools. If you’re not already harnessing the power of email marketing, it’s time to start!
