Hot on the heels of the new Subscribe Button, today we’re happy to announce another simple tool that makes it easy to grow your audience with eConnect Email. As of today, every list in your account now has its very own Subscribe Page, a simple, customizable page that lets anyone join your list – no coding required.

Unlike the Subscribe button, or our copy/paste forms, which you need to integrate into your site and touch code, the Subscribe Page is just a simple, webpage/URL that you can easily share with anyone. Check out a real-world example of it in action.

Customize everything

We’ve made it easy to tweak everything on this page so you can keep it consistent with your own brand. Change the background color, choose from a range of font styles, or add your own logo.

Just like the subscribe button, you can also choose which fields you’d like to show, in what order, and even set certain fields as required. You can also customize the confirmation message when a new person joins your list.

Looks great on mobile

Just like our Subscribe Buttons, we made sure every Subscribe Page looks great on any mobile device but still stays true to any customizations you’ve made.

Easily track signups

Just like we do for the Subscribe Button, we’ll keep track of how many subscribers have joined your list via the subscribe page so you can see at a glance how it’s been working for you.

Subscribe Pages are live and available in all accounts now. You can find them in the Grow your audience section in the sidebar for each of your lists. We can’t wait to see how you guys start using them.

Recently we talked about why co-registration is a bad idea when it comes to building your subscriber list. Along with purchased and rented lists, co-registration falls into the category of questionable or downright unethical list building tactics. This month, let’s take a look at some creative and legitimate ways you can beef up your subscriber numbers and make sure your email reaches as many inboxes as possible.

Obvious ideas such as asking for registration during a purchase and including a registration page on your website still rank among the most effective tactics for increasing your email list subscriber numbers. But beyond that, in order to reach the less reachable segments of your audience, try implementing one or more of these ideas:

Pair sign-up requests with fabulous online content.

A webinar, YouTube video, or embedded video demo on your site can all provide enough incentive for someone to sign up for your newsletter. Just be sure to follow-up with equally engaging and informative email content.

Experiment with off-line events.

If you own a brick-and-mortar store, put a fishbowl at the checkout counter where people can enter to win a drawing. Make sure it’s clear that they’ll be signing up for your email list by doing so, however.

Refer a friend.

Include a “forward to a friend” button in your emails and on your blog or website content pages. Make it easy for people who already love what you have to offer to share the love with their contact lists.

Implement social media sign-ups.

Place a sign-up option on your Facebook registration page and blog registration page, and consider adding social media sharing options within your email campaigns and blog content.

The bottom line is if you’re following the cardinal rules of list building (provide great content, be memorable, and get permission) you can let your creativity drive your list building efforts. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box and try something new. You can use testing and analytics to determine which efforts are the most effective, and then keep tweaking your approach for maximum results.

At eConnect Email – a full service email marketing agency, we’re all about helping you get your email content in front of as many eyes as possible. We’ll help you build your subscriber list, manage your contacts, and optimize content in order to ensure the success of each email campaign you design.

Do you have some creative ideas on how to build your subscriber list?  If so, we’d love to hear them, please share them below.

Sales are down. Money is tight. You need to increase your bottom line. But you don’t have the money to launch a full fledge marketing campaign. In the past, you would’ve had only a few options: buckle down and spend the money, launch a mediocre campaign, or simply go without and pray for the best.

In today’s market, technology has changed the playing field. Businesses now have an inexpensive and extremely effective solution–email marketing. To launch a successful email marketing campaign, consider the following tips first.

Get Subscribers

To actually start your campaign, you’ll first need subscribers (people who want to hear from you).  An easy way to start building your subscriber base is to reach out to the people you already interact with professionally and personally and ask if you can add them to your contact list. Be ready to give them reasons for subscribing though. No one wants more junk mail. Also, don’t think you’ve arrived once you have an email list. Getting subscribers is easy. Keeping them, however, is the key and getting them to engage is the golden egg.

Make it Professional

Consider your design. Remember, your subscribers have no obligation to read your email. If they click on your email and find it cluttered, ugly, or disorganized, they likely will delete it without reading. Setup an account with an email marketing company (like eConnect Email ). We can provide our users with a library of professionally designed email templates that can be customized to fit your existing branding.

Say Something

Make sure your newsletters actually say something. Your customers don’t want another pointless piece of mail.  In addition to alerting them about your specials and promotions, keep them informed about your industry.  Set yourself up as an industry expert your subscribers can trust. Once you build a rapport with your audience, they’ll want to be in the know.

Respond to Criticism

Finally, be willing to respond to criticism. Criticism can come directly or indirectly. Direct criticism may come as a customer responding to your newsletter with things he or she disliked. Take their comments seriously but don’t overreact. Indirect criticism could come by monitoring how many people are viewing or possibly unsubscribing from your contact list. This is where we can help. Our software keeps track of the number of times an email is opened and by whom.  If overall readership starts dropping, it’s time to start making some adjustments to keep your subscribers engaged.

Of course, these tips only skim the surface.  Be willing to make changes and adapt to the ever-changing market place.  If you have questions or need help getting started we’re happy to give you a helping hand.