Picture this: you're hosting the party of the year and your guest list is blank. That would be frustrating. The same feeling resonates when building an email list for your business from scratch. But what if there was a guide to help you craft that perfect guest—or in our case, email—list?
You can be full of great ideas and ways to reach out to potential customers. But if you don’t know who those people are—or, if you don’t have an organized way to reach them, you’re going to be stalled before you can begin. It’s why having an email list is so important.
An email list can be your easily-referenced guide to the people who have indicated they are interested in hearing more about your business. Or, it can refer to those who are past customers who might want to book with you again. Here are some guidelines and tips for building out an email list that can guide you on your way to lasting success.
Networking Leads to Leads
Networking is a tenet of good business practices. So consider the contacts that result out of that networking as the fruit of your labor. Make sure you tend to them and arrange them in a way that makes sense and allows you to further your business.
What’s more, your email list isn't just a group of addresses—it's also insight into the lives and requirements of your prospective customers. It is essential to understand who you are connecting with and what they anticipate from you.
To organize your email list, start by dividing it into groups based on factors like travel history, budget constraints, preferred destinations, or age demographics. For example, if someone often books luxury cruises in Europe, group them n one segment. If another traveler prefers backpacking across Asia on a shoestring budget, there’s another distinct group.
Arranging your contacts this way allows you to tailor content that appeals directly to each segment’s unique interests and desires. So, rather than casting wide nets with generic emails that may get ignored, you're now firing targeted arrows likely to hit their mark.
Growing Your Reputation Through Emails
Building an engaging email list is like planning a unique travel adventure. Your audience are your eager explorers, ready to discover new insights and offers from your business. Of course, the way they find out about these insights and offers is through the actual emails you send them.
When you’re crafting your email strategy, think about the different email lists you’ve created. By segmenting your contacts, you can gather inspiration for email topics and start to create an email content plan.
A successful email content strategy needs variety and creativity, just as a memorable journey includes diverse experiences. You might share educational resources, customer success stories or exclusive deals—the possibilities are endless. Think about the audiences you have and what they might want, and don’t be afraid to get personal.
Email personalization can make readers feel special - much like personalized itinerary suggestions add value for travelers. Plus, by tailoring specific emails to specific groups within your email list, you can display the attention to detail you apply to all aspects of your business.
Measuring Your Impact
Sorting your email list is a good and necessary step in your business maintenance, but it’s not the only one. In addition to organizing your email list and sending emails around these lists, you should also analyze the effectiveness of your ongoing email strategy.
If you find that your emails to specific contacts aren’t being well-received or have low-engagement, that should signal to try something new. Perhaps you could create new segmented contact list and see if an email you’ve created is better suited for that audience.
Tweaking and continuing to improve your email strategy is simply good business practice. As you begin to add new customers, knowing what works for you allows you to better welcome them into the world of your business and what you offer. Numbers are your friend, and con provide insight into the tangible impact your ideas and strategies are having on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Take your email list and consider the person behind the computer—how are they interacting with your content? Could they be better served? What is the return on investment for your labor in this area? Asking these questions are all a part of tending to the health of your business.
It's a common saying to open an email with “I hope this email finds you well.” When it comes to your business and building out a contact list, if you do your homework, you can ensure that this wish comes true more often than not.