12 Classic and Innovative Ways to Grow Your Email Marketing List

1. Don’t get fined

All companies are required by law to comply with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) regulations. Therefore, receiving implied or expressed consent from all members of your list before pressing send is a must.

2. Never underestimate the power of “Power Words”

Use psychology to write high-impact subject lines and emails. Words become so overused that they lose impact on the over-scrolled and over-stimulated, so choosing words that evoke emotion is everything.

They are called “power words” because people can’t resist opening your email, taking action, and supporting your business. For example, use “leading” instead of “best”, “exact” instead of “right”, “critical” instead of “important”, “gruelling” instead of “difficult”, and “transformational” instead of “great”. You get the gist.

3. Safety and curiosity

Speaking of psychology, remember these two words while writing your emails: safety and curiosity. A story of safety builds a relationship of trust: “Cancel anytime”, “Return with no questions asked”, “Melissa had… [insert positive anecdote here].” A story that plays on our curiosity will grab your readers’ desire: “Behind the scenes” or “What if… [insert unprecedented or interesting scenario here]”.

4. Use all caps, but not all the time

Never use all caps for all of your words, even in a subject line. Power words do not mean shouting at your reader. Remember, positive relationships and stories will add value to your readers’ lives and create a feeling of trust and safety. If you use all caps, make sure it is used sparingly to punctuate a critical point.

5. Use their first name in the subject line

Make it personalized using email template builder software. Use the person’s name in your subject line, and it will feel as if your reader is receiving an email just for them. For example, “Hey [Name], I have something to show you”. It is also effective to personalize emails on birthdays.

6. Numbers talk

Use numbers. Writing “Save 10%” is more impactful than saying “Save Money”.

7. Call-to-action buttons

Commonly referred to as CTAs, always include at least one prominent call-to-action in your correspondences. In addition, don’t be afraid to have the same CTA in various locations of the same email.

8. Social media and shareability

Always include a straightforward way to share everything you create with your social media accounts. By incorporating buttons to share email content to social media easily, you have your readers marketing for you. The opposite also works: posting interesting videos and reels on your social media will attract people to sign up on your email list.

9. The Kiki and Bouba effect

Use a unique layout that’s specific to your brand. Harken back to the graphic design trick, the “Kiki and Bouba” effect, or the idea that we associate sounds and feelings with shapes.

“Kiki” sounds like a spiky shape with hard edges, such as a pineapple, and “Bouba” is a rounded shape, like a cloud. The shapes and colours you choose for your email marketing are important for telling the grander narrative of your business. Be as intentional as possible with these choices while creating your email template.

10. Human-centred storytelling

The public cares more about people than business. Stories about people create loyalty: if the public loves your story, they will sign-up and read every email you send to them. So how do you make it more about personalities than business?

Ask yourself the following questions: What are the most valuable aspects of your business? Why was your business started? Who are the types of people who need or want your business? Find the story about a human being with these questions, and you’ll find some powerful stories.

11. Benefits and features

Focus on benefits as well as features. A feature is what a product or service does, and a benefit is why it matters. The benefit is the story; for example, a feature of a water bottle is it’s triple-insulated, and the benefit is that your water will stay cold all day, from taking your kids to school to the office, all the way until an after-work run. Connect the dots for your customers by focusing on benefits, and a story will begin to form.

12. Brevity

Keep it brief but consistent. People want to quickly get to the value of what you are saying in the email. So keep it short, but ensure you are emailing your subscribers enough to stay on their radar. Once or twice a week is a good rule of thumb.

Protect Your Business: Get Insurance

Treat emailing your customers as a privilege to connect, not a transaction, and you will grab their attention and retain it.

The internet has provided the opportunity to attract customers worldwide, but it doesn’t come without risks. Now that you’ve put all this hard work into building your business ensure its survival and protect it with cyber insurance as part of your business insurance policy plan.

Fill out an application for business insurance and get a free quote. Then, speak to one of our insurance experts to find the best policy that suits you and your business needs.

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