Some of you may remember a great film from 1992 called Glengarry Glenn Ross. (And if you don’t, now’s the perfect time to check it out.) It’s got Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, and Jack Lemmon as real estate agents all having to fight to keep their jobs and the competition all circles around these great leads (called the “Glengarry Glenn Ross” leads). But there’s a heartbreaking scene in it where Jack Lemmon is begging for access to these leads so that he can save his career.
For those who weren’t in sales back in the 90s, this may seem strange. But think of it this way, their business was defined by the connections they made with people that they could convert from leads to paying customers/clients.
While the days of “cold calling” clients have thankfully gone out, the importance of these leads hasn’t changed. It’s just shifted to the ever-important email list.
Your list of email addresses is your lead list.
There’s a myriad of ways to collect email addresses. Understanding the importance of not just getting emails from those who have an interest in your product or service, but the responsibility that comes with obtaining the email addresses is paramount to your business success.
The new privacy laws that are in place around the world and are being passed through legislation throughout our country is a matter for another blog post. If you’re looking to get started quickly and want to grow your list, please know and understand that emails are a precious commodity and need to be cared for in this way.
You’re going to want to grow your email list.
Email is how you can nurture a relationship with your potential and current customers.
The amount of control you have over your messaging to your email list compared to social media or ads is enormous. You dictate the message and the timing.
And while you control all of those aspects when it comes to email messaging, let’s look at best practices from professionals who’ve been in the business many years. I’m highlighting the best resources for you to check out if you’re looking to grow your email list.
Let’s look at industry best practices from the email professionals.
If you’re looking to grow your list quickly, I highly recommend you read this article from Sumo.com. Sumo is best known as THE email capture tool. They definitely know how to grow a huge email list. Some general takeaways from their advice:
👉 Pop-ups aren’t cutting it. If you have a splashy pop-up on your website that encourages people to sign up for your newsletter, you may get a few people, but nowhere near what you need. This is because a “newsletter” or something similar isn’t considered something of value by the average customer.
👉 What will attract them is if you give something of value. Maybe temporary/trial access to “premium content” on your webpage. Or special sales and discounts. That’s how you get people to sign-up—offer them something of value in return.
👉 Sumo also suggests exporting the contacts of your LinkedIn contacts. You still have to reach out to them to get them to opt-in, but it’s a great source of email generation.
When it comes to industry best practices, I trust anything Neil Patel does. He has proven time and again that his strategies and tactics work.
Neil stresses defining for your customers “What’s in it for me?” If you can 
answer that question and show the customer they’re getting something of value in exchange for that precious email address, then you’re golden.
He encourages you to use “social proof and third-party credibility indicators” to increase your list. Once you hit five figures, it’s easier to grow even more because you can show that over 10,000 others have found your offer to be valuable. Then, the fear of missing out (FOMO) will help draw in more potential customers who want to see what all the fuss is about.
There’s a lot of good information out there about how to grow your email list. For more on this, check out these articles and don’t forget to drop me a line and let me know what works best for you.
Adams Edge Marketing has been creating emails that deliver for more than ten years. It’s through the power of email marketing that Tara Adams was able to turn around a client’s hemorrhaging list of subscribers/leads. Want to know how this was possible? Contact us so we can discuss the case study with you!
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