How To Boost Email Sign-Ups And Effectively Use Them For Marketing
Many business owners are hesitant to increase sign-ups for their newsletter or contact database because they are unsure about compliance under UK GDPR and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
It’s a marketing tool that is easily available to businesses – they hold data, they know who has bought their products or services and they can, if they have permission, tell them more about how they can help them.
Those not using data could be missing golden opportunities to develop relationships with their current, existing and potential customers, and grow their business.
The good news is that there are lots of ways to grow your email list and run targeted email campaigns while complying with data protection rules – as Business Tamer’s GDPR and data compliance expert Judith Andrews explains.
1.Create a simple, compelling sign-up
Most businesses’ sign-up points are on their website – make sure yours stands out with an enticing call-to-action such as, ‘Exclusive tips straight to your inbox’ or ‘Get early access to special offers’. It has to appeal to your target audience – do they want something for free, advice, education, insights? Offer what they want – which might be different to what you want to offer them.
Make sure you gather useful information. A first name and email at least, plus more without using too many data fields – too many questions is off-putting!
Include reviews from others, to demonstrate the benefits of signing up.
2.Drive sign-ups
Now you have a great sign-up form, make sure customers see it! Promote it via links included on your social media posts. Consider using paid targeted ads tailored to your different audiences on the relevant channels.
A pop-up on your website can entice people to find out more.
A mix of interesting, helpful content such as blogs on your own site and as a guest on others, videos, podcasts and webinars are a great way to demonstrate your expertise and tease tips to encourage your audience to want to find out more – and encourage sign-up. Further increase SEO by including key terms on your website that allow search engines to easily crawl and index your content. Partner with similar or complementary companies via ads, social media, and sharing information to your databases to expand your reach.
3.Maximise sign-up form visibility
Some of the best spots on your website to include your sign-up form are: –
– Home page – the top half with a clear call-to-action
– In the header menu
– In a pop up
– Footer area
– Sidebar
– At the end of a blog post
4.Opt-in and Opt-out
It’s important to remember that you must allow contacts to opt-out of communications. Your privacy notice is key to the opt-in process and should be clearly available, outlining why you want their information and how you will use it. Make opting out easy, and act quickly on unsubscribe requests. Keep your privacy notice visible and up to date.
5.Compliant email marketing
Now you’re ready to get creative and start sending some targeted, appealing emails to build relationships, grow your brand and drive loyalty and sales, there are a few tick boxes to check to ensure you’re data protection compliant:
– A footer containing legal, functional and best practice information around data protection & privacy
– Statement of origin – remind the recipient how you got their details – online or at an event
– An unsubscribe link is a legal requirement and is usually best placed at the foot of an email
– You must provide your company registered name, number, place of registration and registered office address
– Include your privacy notice, a link is fine
– A quality list – any old, inactive, or non-permissioned email addresses can get your email deferred, blocked or blacklisted
– Monitor for bounce rates, blacklist entries or spam traps
For more in-depth tips and guidance on how to collect, use and share data to help grow your business, Judith’s handbook, The Business Owner’s Guide to GDPR is available to buy on her website.
businesstamer.co.uk
