Your mailing list is a huge piece of your success puzzle as it gives you serious leverage in your business.
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I believe having a growing and responsive mailing list of clients and prospects is one of your most valueable business assets.
Why?
Well, for starters, it is a huge piece of your success puzzle as it gives you serious leverage in your business.
It gives you a way to stay in touch with people. It enables you to start building trusting relationships with the people on your list. It makes getting new clients easier and it that can lead to growing your business faster.
Let’s look at an example to illustrate how a list of clients and prospects can benefit your business – even if you have a brick and mortar shop.
So, let’s say you have an offline business…. e.g. an up-market Art gallery in a bustling shopping mall. You get a decent flow of walk-ins but a good percentage of people who visit your store are simply browsing. Most people really admire your art work, but since it is their first time in your gallery, it’s likely they won’t be buying anything the same day.
So how do you let these brief encounters with your visitors “stick”?
How will you get them to remember you, and think of you when they are ready to buy some art?
Well as a start, you can ask people in your store to sign up for your mailing list so they can get regular free tips about art related topics, e.g. how to care for their art pieces, different aspect of art, how to recognize a unique piece etc. Also, if they sign up for your list they’ll be the first to know about sales and special events that you host. You can even offer them a percentage discount off their first purchase if they join your list.
With this, you have a way to lengthen that first “walk-in” encounter and actually start building a relationship with your guests.
Through your regular mailings, they get to know you, they like your tips, they see you have occasional sales. And when they are ready to buy some art, you’ll be the first person they think about. They’ll even tell their friends about you too.
Also, when you for example display the work of a new artist, or branch out into contemporary art or start providing art-classes, they’ll be the FIRST to check that out.
The same is true for an online business. When people first discover your website, they are basically “walk-in’s” and they’re not going to do much. Generally, 99% of your first-time web visitors will not buy anything from you, or even take any action – unless you entice them to sign up for your mailing list by making them some type of compelling offer.
This offer is usually something you give to them in return for their name and email address and thus, it should be prominently displayed on your website.
By having something you can offer your first time visitors, you get that “stick” factor. And when they sign up to receive your offer, it allows you to build a longer term relationship with them.
So, here is what I hope you take from this article:
Continuously building your list with more and more targeted subscribers gives you tremendous leverage as a business owner and it should be one of your top business priorities.
Remember, your products and services will evolve and change, but as long as you have a list, you know you have a “built-in” audience – and all you have to do is keeping the relationship warm and continue delivering services and creating products that are perfect for them.
Start building your list today!
To Your Success
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