Social media is an entrepreneur’s best friend, right?
After all, these platforms are a great way for small business owners to connect and engage with their customers for free. However, there’s just one problem: you don’t own it. If Elon hits the self-destruct button on Twitter or Meta blasts into the metaverse before you’ve converted anyone, your entire customer base goes with it.
That’s why building an email list is so essential. But that’s not the only reason why you should build an email list ASAP.
What are the benefits of building an email list?
Collecting an email list is more than just asking potential customers for emails. Your email list is a bona fide, vetted group of people who want to hear about something you have to offer.
The email addresses on your list all belong to people who see what you have and thought, “Yeah, I think I want to know more.” Because they’ve already opted in (quite literally), they’re more likely to learn from, buy from, and support you in the future. Stats show that businesses get $36 back for every $1 they spend on email marketing — talk about ROI.
Plus, email lists are incredibly versatile.
Your email list isn’t an address book
The cool part about email marketing is that there are so many tools that can help you segment, sort, and organize your subscribers. You don’t just have a list of random people you don’t know or are unsure what they need.
Email list building (and segmenting) makes it easier to remember how they came to you, what they’re interested in, and what you can actually do for them.
Direct-to-customer selling
Your business is never going to grow if you’re not selling. And email marketing is one of the most effective ways to sell to your customer base. When you send an email, your message goes right to your customer’s inbox. You’re not competing with a competitor’s Instagram post or the latest TikTok trend.
Also: 60% of consumers will subscribe to a brand’s email list to receive promotional messages compared to 20% of consumers who will follow brands on social media to get discounts. So if you have a product-based brand (digital or physical), this can help you get more eyes on your offers and more money in the bank.
Hard data
When your email offer hits your subscriber’s inbox, you get more than just your message to a potential customer. You also get cold, hard data. With the right email tools, you can track how many people open your emails, when, and how. You don’t have to sit and wonder if your message will go viral or hit your audience. Instead, you know right away how effective it is (and what you can improve).
Relationship-building
Don’t you just love it when people remember your name? That’s because it makes you feel important and valued. When you build an email list, you can collect more than just an email address. You can also collect names, birthdates, interests, and other preferences. Using this data, you can personalize your messages to customers so they feel important.
With an email, you’re also not hindered by character counts, trends, or mindless dance moves. That means you can share more with your audience in a more “intimate setting.” You can tell stories and share details about your business and process that aren’t as easy to share in an Instagram or Facebook post.
With the right message, you can build a personal relationship with the subscribers on your email list. They’ll get to know who you are and what your business has to offer them in a more direct way. When a potential customer takes the time to read an email, it’s much more intimate than scrolling through their feed.
Longevity & ownership
When you run a small business, there are a lot of unknowns. Things can change fast in the marketplace, and you will often have to pivot and make fast decisions. Instagram’s algorithm could change tomorrow.
But when you take the time to build an email list, you get the assurance that there is one sure thing in place for your business: people who are interested in what you have to offer! Plus, as we mentioned at the start, you have ownership over the email addresses you collect. While platforms may make updates or change their pricing, you’ll have access to the people you’ve connected with.
If you want more peace of mind as a business owner, start building your email list today. It’s the simplest, most direct way to engage with your audience, build brand loyalty, and sell.
Need help with those emails?
You need the right words and images to get the most out of email marketing. Join Styled Society now, and you’ll get access to our amazing stock photo library. It’s full of gorgeous images showcasing women entrepreneurs, artists, creatives, landscapes, office space, tech, and more. We even have templates you can use for opt-ins, mockups, calls-to-action and other graphics in your emails.
With these tools, you can create engaging emails that show what you have to offer — and encourage more folks to click those links.
