It’s hard to get new B2B clients without spending money on advertising, spending a lot of time on social media, and networking. You know that.
Have you tried increasing your email efforts to land new prospects and leads? Here are 10 email list-building techniques that work. But, they aren’t for the faint of heart.
Before implementing any of these techniques, however, it’s important to know what content people are looking at on your site and how they are finding it. You can do this by viewing your Google Analytics Behavior Flow diagram. What this tells you is how people enter your site (by which medium) and the page in which they start. It also shows you what pages they visit after the entry page. This is good to know in case you want to add any pop-up sign-up forms on your site.
Pop-Up Box
Adding a pop-up registration box that is triggered after a certain amount of time on the site, or when a specific action takes place (such as visiting 3 pages) is a great way to draw in leads. You know the person is interested in what you’re offering because they are spending time on your pages. You also know what they are looking at. Exit-Intent pop-ups are also popular to gain subscribers or to acquire email addresses as people exit your site. Triggered WordPress pop-up plugins are not too difficult to implement and can be turned on an off.
[Source: https://www.optimonk.com/20-awesome-popup-examples-to-get-more-email-subscribers-easily/]
Form Placement
If someone is trying to join your email list and they cannot find a sign-up form, that’s a fail. Make is as easy as possible for them to join your email list. Place a form in the website footer and on the interior page’s sidebar. A short form is best, with 1-3 fields to complete, including email address, first name, and another field you find useful. If your site has an infinite scroll, a footer form won’t make sense. In that case, use a hello/notification bar, or leverage a pop-up.
[Source: https://optinmonster.com/14-high-converting-places-to-add-email-signup-forms-to-build-your-list/]
Landing Pages
These pages are designed to have one piece of content on them—no sidebars or extra links to other content, etc. The goal with landing pages is to drive traffic to them and for visitors to complete the displayed call to action, e.g., completing a form, register for an event, share the content, call for a consultation, print a coupon (that has a code you can use to track and contact them), etc.
Hello / Notification Bar
This bar is often located on the top of the page, near the navigation bar. It is one line of text with a call to action. It’s often used in place of a pop-up. You can A/B split test them, which is nice when you first try to them gauge color and call to action text. Hello bars often require you to connect it to your Google Analytics account or pay for the tool. However, for WordPress sites, there are some free alternatives.
[Source: https://optinmonster.com/14-high-converting-places-to-add-email-signup-forms-to-build-your-list/]
Content
Yes, you’ve heard that content is king. However, when was the last time a piece of your content converted? Was that because it wasn’t promoted effectively (or…gulp…not at all); was the call to action too passive; it was hidden within another piece of content; it wasn’t on a landing page and visitors were distracted and went elsewhere? There are many reasons it may not have worked, but if you are unsure, then how can you fix it? Promoting lead-generating content is simple with this four-step process:
- Create content that addresses a target-market pain point.
- Put content on a landing page with a lead-generating form.
- Promote the content through social media, email, paid ads, etc.
- Follow-up with captured leads within a few days.
Content upgrades (or VIP/Premium content) are also a great way to increase serious leads. Those visitors would be required to give more than just a fist name and email to gain access to the content. They may have to pay for it, receive something extra for it, or get more than one content piece for it (like a 2-For or BOGO promotion).
Facebook Call-to-Action Button
On your company’s Facebook page, you have an option to set a call to action button that appears just below the page’s banner. There are several options to choose from, including Call Now, Send Message, Get Quote, Contact us, Sign Up, and Send Email. The Sign-Up option can help you to increase your email list. If you don’t choose this for the sign-up feature, at least choose one call-to-action button for your company page.
Facebook Lead Ad Forms
You can create more than one lead ad form on your company’s Facebook page either through the page itself or through the ads manager. A lead ad form allows you to collect information from people who are interested in your services or would like to be added to an email subscription list. There are a lot of data fields you can choose from to collect information, e.g., email, first name, city, zip code, job title, marital status, gender, work phone number, company, and more. I’d start out with a few different forms to see which works best for your goal.
LinkedIn for B2Bs
When sharing posts on this platform, either on your company page or personal profile, be sure to add a link to content that has a landing page or leverages one of the pop-up features shared earlier. Content may also be shared in LinkedIn Groups, not from the company page, but through your personal account.
Email Signature
Does your company email signature have a link to a list-building page? If not, it’s an easy, free way to promote your subscription page or a lead-related piece of content or video. Simply add a link and a catchy phrase to help draw attention. HubSpot offers several tips about adding content links, photos, and relevant information for professional-looking and click-worthy signatures.
Hosting an Online/Offline Event
It’s a traditional marketing technique that works to this day. Webinars, podcasts, and video subscription channels, along with in-person events can be a gold mine for email lists. In order for someone to participate, they must provide an email to ensure they get the login information, registration updates, and post-event content.
Now that you have the 10 Best Email List Building Techniques, which will you add to your lead-generation arsenal?
