Contemplating if you should be building an email list for your business? 

Let’s start with a few obstacles why you might not be using and building your email list:

Many bloggers and business owners do not realize how important it is to build an email list when they start out first. Usually, most people change their minds when they see the effect that email lists can have on traffic and revenue from someone else.

You might even know how effective it is, it can sometimes be difficult to convince others, like your boss, because with social media marketing, growth hacking and all the other cool and trends out there, they become a priority.

The truth of the matter is…

An email list can boost the bottom line of any business. Whether you are an affiliate marketer, ecommerce, local business, Saas (sofware as a service), if you’re selling information, services, or products, you need an email list.

You might be wondering, is it still an effective strategy to build a list?

Yes, it is!

Email lists are important because the best way to connect with customers vs. social media. In fact, you’re 6x more likely to get higher click-through rates via emails rather than tweets. Email marketing is the king of the marketing kingdom, according to Direct Marketing Association, email marketing on average sees a 4300 percent return on investment (ROI) for businesses in the US. In addition, email acquires new customers 40 times more effective than Facebook or Twitter.

Today we would highlight why you should be building an email list and what its benefits are.

Why build an email list?

Let us first start with the reasons why you should build an email list.

1. Easy to reach a large number of customers:

Are you aware of the total number of worldwide email users?

According to a Radicati report, the number is 3.9 billion. It means that when you’re using email marketing is a tool, you have the potential to reach a subset of this large number.

Which other marketing media can provide you with this opportunity?

There are hardly a few other platforms that have this many numbers of users. It is one of the main reasons you cannot ignore building an email list any longer.

2. Personalized communication solution:

Even if you find another platform that provides you with such a reach, personalizing your communication is very difficult on those platforms.

Have you read any of the commercial emails which you have received lately?

The bulk of them would address you by the name. They are likely to send you offers, discount codes as well as promotions that are relevant to you. That is the level of personalization that email lists can provide you with.

You might be thinking, what’s the big deal about that?

The answer is, consumers simply love personalized emails. A research report by SmarterHQ states that consumers are likely to buy through personalized communication channels. Since email lists allow you to do that, it is high time that you think about building one.

3. Complete control over the list:

Wouldn’t you want to use a marketing medium that you have full control over.

If yes, this is the control that an email list provides you with. Apart from your website, it is only your email list, which you have complete control over. Even if you have large communities on social media websites, you have to abide by the guidelines and the changes in the algorithm of the platform. When it comes to email lists, you can migrate to another email auto-responder or handle your email marketing on your own. You have complete control over the data as well. It is one of the primary reasons why you should prefer building an email list over other marketing mediums.

4. Ability to build trust:

Most business owners, as well as affiliate marketers, know that if you want the consumer to buy something from you, you need to build trust. For building trust, repeated interaction with the prospective consumer is required. An email list can help you achieve that. That is why it can significantly increase the chances of gaining a conversion.

These are the four reasons why building an email list is one of the best steps which you can undertake to expand your business online.

Reasons why it’s successful:

Now that you are aware of the reasons why you should build an email list, we will highlight below the reasons why email marketing is so successful.

5. Ability to reach across devices:

These days, many consumers, affiliate marketers, as well as business owners use their smartphones to browse the Internet. This prompts the question, does email marketing help you reach these users?

The answer is a resounding Yes!

As per a report from the Pew research center, 52% of smartphone users in the United States use smartphones to access their email. Since practically almost all the consumers have a smartphone, you can be sure that this subset is pretty significant. [3] When you can reach out to this subset, the probability of running a successful email marketing campaign increases significantly. It is one of the primary reasons why email marketing is so successful.

6. Faster and higher conversion rate:

Most business owners and affiliate marketers use coupons to convert subscribers on their email lists. However, if the conversion is not instantaneous, you would seldom be able to gain much from your email list.

According to research done by Deloitte, 27% of US consumers subscribe to an email list to save money. It means that when you’re sending them coupons, you are more likely to gain a conversion. Similarly, in some subsets like grocery shopping, this percentage can go up to 65%. It means that if you can send offers as well as promotional material to users over email, the conversion rate is not only fast but on the higher side as well.

It is a clear testament to the success of building email lists.

7. Great ROI:

When you’re calculating an ROI for any marketing technique, there are two aspects involved. The first one is the return, and the second one is the cost. We already highlighted how the conversion rate is on the higher side, and therefore the return would be higher as well.

On the other hand, when you compare it with other marketing methods like TV, radio, email marketing is more affordable. Due to this very reason, the ROI which you get is on the higher side.

When you look at all these reasons, it is easy to understand why building an email list and indulging in email marketing to gain new customers is so successful.

Power of an email list:

Now that you are aware of the benefits of an email list, it is time to understand what it can do for you. We will highlight the power of an email list below.

8. Can help you launch a new product/service:

How much do you usually invest to launch a new product off-line?

The answer is likely to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can do the same by building a sizable email list. You can easily promote your product/service digitally to that email list and let them order online. It will help you launch the same product for a few thousand dollars. That is the power of an email list.

Usable for market testing

Want to test a new product?

Worry not! You can provide free samples or discounted samples to your email list in return for feedback. You can provide them with an added incentive to give you feedback as well. It means that by spending a few thousand dollars, you can get real consumer feedback. It will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars on failed product launches.

9. Helps you build a loyal visitor base:

How do you value a loyal visitor base?

What if you could generate traffic for your website or your blog at will?

How much would such a visitor base be worth to you?

We are sure most of you would know that it is priceless. An email list can do that for you quickly. When you have a sizable list, you can easily generate visitors as well as readers for your blog at will. You can also promote products at will. It means that whether you’re looking for new customers or whether you’re looking for new readers, you have them at hand.

These three aspects clearly show the power of email marketing. They highlight why building an email list is much more lucrative than investing in any other marketing technique or medium.

What you get out of an email list?

By now, we are sure that you would be convinced that building an email list is a good idea. However, now we will highlight what exactly you can get out of it.

10. Customers:

As we highlighted above, most consumers prefer personalized offers and emails to buy something online. It means that gaining consumers is comparatively easy when you build an email list.

11. Readers:

Are you looking for readers for your blog post?

Worry not! As long as you have a targeted email list, you can include a call to action to your blog post or your website to get these readers. It will ensure that you can increase the readership of your website or your blog. Sure enough, building an email list can take some time, but the loyal reader base is undoubtedly worth it.

12. Community leverage:

One of the most underestimated advantages of building an email list is the community leverage, which you would get out of it. Many affiliate marketers and business owners think that in today’s social media age, you cannot get that community leverage. However, that is not true at all.

A recent report by Optinmonster clearly states that even today, most consumers, 58%, precisely check their email first thing in the morning rather than social media. [5] It means that email hasn’t lost its appeal. With such high viewership, you can certainly leverage your email list as you can leverage your social media communities. It is one of the primary benefits of building an email list.

13. Social traction:

Are you looking to gain more traction on social media?

An email list can help you with that as well. Surprised?

All you need to do is to integrate your social channels into your email newsletter. A proper call to action, along with the right message, can help you gain more traction on social media quite easily. Thus, an email list is a tool that can help you on other platforms as well.

Once you look at these benefits, it is easy to understand what you can gain from an email list.

Now, we would answer the million-dollar question once and for all.

So, are mailing lists effective?

Yes, mailing lists are effective. Another feather in the cap of email lists is that the CTR rate of an email list is much higher than social media. The evidence of this was presented in a report by Optinmonster. The report stated that the email CTR is 3.71%, whereas the CTR on social media 0.58%. [5] It means that in today’s social media age as well, email lists are effective.

All in all, if you’re in 2 minds regarding building an email list, you should go for it. The advantages and the benefits which you can get out of the building email lists are enormous. You can ignore building an email list only at your peril.