Sending out emails to hundreds or even thousands of people can be a time-consuming process, but it can go from bad to worse if your email lists aren’t in order. Misplacing contacts, sending duplicate emails, not sending emails to contacts who have subscribed, and sending emails to unsubscribed contacts are all prevalent problems that arise in email marketing.
Here are three tips for email list management from GOA-TECH, an email marketing company in Miami.
Find a System That Works
The first step to taking back control of the spreadsheet email list monster is to find a system that works for you. If you’re starting off with gathering new subscribers, stick to one method. Two of the most popular and most effective ways of getting new and existing customers to subscribe to your mailing list are 1) “Text-to-join” and 2) Signing up through your website.
Our website developers here at GOA-TECH love to use the latter method, as they’re able to set up a pop-up contact form for users to see every time they’re on the site. This pop-up often shows a discount or other eye-catching perk that comes with subscribing to a business’ email list (early access to new releases, early access to sales, etc.). The contact form allows users to submit their email address and name right there through the pop-up. Fast and easy!
“Text-to-join” is precisely what the name suggests: Customers can text a word to a short number, and then they will often be redirected to a link where they can enter their email address and other contact information. This method can be slightly more tedious for customers, but it’s still an effective method of getting new subscribers.
Once you’ve figured out the primary method you’re going to use to get new subscribers, decide where in your email lists they should go. Try to have a “general list” for monthly newsletters, announcements, and broader promotions. That way, when you need to send an email to everyone, you can choose one list rather than multiple.
Utilize an Email Software
Our favorite email software is Constant Contact. Unlike sending a regular newsletter through Gmail or Yahoo!, Constant Contact is optimized to send eblasts that look better, work better, and are more organized.
In one software, our GOA-TECH team manages eblasts for multiple businesses, and we can develop your newsletters from scratch to give you a custom look that matches your branding and voice. In addition, Constant Contact allows us to set up automated email messages, whether it’s a welcome email for new subscribers or an important deadline notice. In addition, Constant Contact makes email list management easy. When you get new subscribers, they’ll be added directly to your lists on the software. Automate the email marketing process as much as you can; your team will thank you later.
Clean Up Your Lists Regularly
Regular maintenance is among the more forgettable and annoying parts of life, whether it’s maintaining your car, your house’s A/C, or your business email lists. It may not seem that important, but “list hygiene” is like any other form of hygiene or maintenance—it saves you from having to do a complete overhaul later.
Our email marketing company in Miami recommends cleaning up your business email lists a few times a year or if there comes a time where you notice a sudden increase in bounce rates. When you clean up your email lists, remember to:
- Remove duplicate addresses.
- Remove addresses with typos, or fix the typos when possible
- Update invalid addresses or remove them.
- Delete emails from hard or soft bounces.
It’s normal if you see a lot of invalid email addresses. People change jobs or make new accounts all the time, so they’ve likely forgotten to update their subscriptions. It’s imperative to remove invalid addresses from your lists, as the higher your bounce rate is, the more it hurts your sender reputation and the less likely your mail will get delivered. You don’t want to end up in the spam folder!
Email List Management | Email Marketing Company Miami
Email marketing can offer a tool that builds relationships while increasing profit when properly implemented. How does one go about setting up email blasts? We’ll take care of it for you. Give us a call today and get a free consultation!
