How to Build Email List on budget: 8 cost-effective ways for businesses to grow their Email Lists

How to Build Email List on budget: 8 cost-effective ways for businesses to grow their Email Lists

Businesses always seek to engage their Target audience, be it through social media, calls, live chats, or emails. However, out-of-the-lot, email outreach or email marketing has gained the most prominence owing to their professional, yet non-imposing means of communicating. For this reason, LGR Data has compiled 8 ways to Build an Email List on a budget.

In this digital age building an email list has become crucial for businesses to engage their audience, drive sales, and build loyalty with existing customers. Furthermore, a study conducted by Hubspot blog research noted that 38% of the brands are increasing their email budget against only 10% of them making cuts. 

Here is the link to the complete study Hubspot: Email Marketing Stats #B2B

However, many businesses might find it hard to maintain a steady budget to keep up the traditional email marketing services and list-building strategies. Fortunately, there are many budget-friendly ways to grow your email list. Here are 8 proven ways to shw ‘How to build email list on a budget’.

Let’s dive straight into it.

Table of contents
  1. Make the most of your existing network.
  2. Create persuasive lead magnets.
  3. Optimize website and Blogs for conversions.
  4. Leverage social media for better engagement
  5. Collaborate with complementary businesses.
  6. Utilize exit-intent popups.
  7. Host webinar/workshops
  8. Invest in a Email List Provider. 

1. Leverage your existing network of customers, friends, and family members.

Before diving into other advanced options, squeeze out the best out of your existing network. Start by directly reaching out to previous customers, friends, family members, and anyone who you know in person. People love personalized messages. Write a personal note to each segment explaining the value they’ll receive such as exclusive updates, customized offers, referral discounts, or helpful content. Make the process convenient by including sign-up forms on your website and social media profiles.

Actionable tips on how to build email list on budget from existing network

Tip 1: Breakdown your network into segments
  • Categorize your existing network (friends, family, colleagues, clients, social media followers) and determine what each segment is interested in your niche.
  • Use personalized messages to reach out to each segment, to make it more engaging and relevant.
Tip 2: Add value through your content
  • Offer incentives such as free E-books, webinars, discounts, or regular updates, to tempt people to sign up.
  • High-quality content: Ensure your content is Trustworthy, Informative, and Engaging to make it worthwhile to subscribe.
Tip 3: Leverage social media and include social proof in your posts
  • Share testimonials and endorsements from satisfied customers to build credibility. This can work as a hook to get more sign-ups.
  • Promote your Email Sign-up Forms on social media profiles and in your posts.
  • Run contests and giveaways to encourage your audience to sign up for your email list.
Tip 4: Engage directly, make use of referral programs
  • Send personalized invitations to your target audience to join your Email List.
  • Create attractive referral programs where subscribers are rewarded for referring you to their network.
  • Sharing Convenience: Make it easy for subscribers to share your content and sign-up forms with their network.
  • Attend networking events: Interact and Collect email addresses at webinars, public events, and meet-ups.
Tip 5: Track, Optimize, and do routine follow-ups
  • Use analytics to track the performance of your email list-building efforts and identify what works best for you.
  • Engage new Subscribers with value-added content. Maintain engagement by regularly sending high-quality content to keep them from unsubscribing.

2. Create Compelling Lead magnets

A lead magnet is simply a value offered to your audience in exchange for them signing up. A lead magnet can be anything from an E-book, Downloadable Template and PDFs, or just a discount code or free trial. The idea is to provide something that your audience would be interested in.

Actionable tips on how to build email list on budget from Lead Magnets

Tip 1: Choose the type of Lead magnet

Select a format that compliments your business and best suits your audience’s interests. Some of the most used lead magnets are

  • E-book or Guides: in-depth information on a particular topic.
  • Case Studies: showcase your success stories to build trust through demonstrating your expertise.
  • Free trials and samples: customers get to have firsthand experience of your products and samples.
  • Checklists: offer a List of items or steps for a specific task in your niche.
  • Templates: Offer ready-to-use templates that simplify their work.
  • Workshops and Webinars: conduct training and offer insights through live or recorded sessions.
Tip 2: Understand your audience and create relatable valuable content
  • Identify pain points: conduct an in-depth analysis of the problems and needs of your target audience. Tailor your lead magnet to cater to these needs.
  • Focus on quality and actionable tips: Ensure your Lead magnet addresses the pain points of your audience and provides practical solutions or tools that can be applied immediately.
Tip 3: Craft Compelling offers
  • Write a persuasive Headline communicating the benefits of the Lead magnet.
  • Include a call to action (CTA) which encourages users to act and provide their information.
Tip 4: Optimize delivery mechanisms
  • Optimize landing pages where visitors can access and download the lead magnet.
  • Have an email template ready to deliver the resource with CTAs and info on your business.
Tip 5: Optimize and Promote your Lead Magnet
  • Use social media, leverage paid ads, and partner with influencers to promote your Lead magnet.
  • Monitor key metrics such as Email open rates, Conversion rates, and Click-through rates and refine your strategy accordingly.

3. Optimize your website and Blogs for email sign-ups

By writing engaging content, you can attract readers interested in your niche. It’s no secret that Blogging is an effective way to drive traffic and build your email list. This can be achieved by having an easily accessible sign-up form, using CTAs in strategic locations, and using sign-up form popups or placing them in high-traffic areas of the page.

Actionable Tips on how to Build Email Lists on budget from Blogs and Optimize Webpages

Tip 1: Add sign-up forms to your homepage, blog sidebar, and footer
Tip 2: Include a call-to-action in every blog post, encouraging readers to subscribe
Tip 3: Provide downloadable resources related to your topic.
Tip 4: Share your blog posts on social media to drive traffic and sign-ups

4. Use social media platforms for more engagement

Social media is a powerful tool for driving traffic and increasing email sign-ups. Consistently promote your blogs, products, and lead magnets on platforms where your target audience is active. Highlight the benefits of subscribing to your email list and use social media advertising to target key demographics.

Actionable tips on how to build email list on budget through social media

Tip 1: conduct contests and giveaways
  • Have Email sign-up forms as an entry requirement. Promote the contests on various social platforms for more reach.
  • Keep the subscribers engaged and interested with routine follow-ups after the contest.
Tip 2: Share Testimonials and Case studies
  • Attract new subscribers by showcasing testimonials and Case studies from subscribers who have found value in your business.
Tip 3: Make use of social proof
  • Share posts on Milestones achieved. Include projections of growth in your revenue and of your digital community. This creates a sense of missing out among the audience.
Tip 4: Promote exclusive content, contests, and info on your products. Leverage social media ads to increase reach.
  • Content Upgrades: Offer exclusive content like case studies, E-books, and reusable templates in exchange for email sign-ups.
  • Run Target campaigns: use the custom audience feature of Facebook and Instagram to run targeted campaigns designed to drive sign-ups.
  • Use built-in lead generation forms on Facebook and LinkedIn, which lets users sign up directly from ads.

5. Collaborate with complementary businesses

Partnering with businesses that offer complementary products is a great way to reach a wider audience. Co-host events, partner up in content creation, or indulge in guest blogging with partners to tap into each other’s audience.

Actionable tips to Collaborate with business to build email list on budget

Tip 1: Identify businesses that are not directly competitors but have similar target audiences.
  • Keep in mind the partnership should complement your business.
Tip 2: Co-host events
  • Identify topics relevant to both audiences. Conduct joint workshops, webinars, or live events.
  • Promote the event on both partners’ channels and require email sign-up to register.
Tip 4: Jointly carry out Contests, giveaways, exclusive discounts and deals
  • Collaborate with a business to create a special offer, deals, contests, and giveaways available only to those who sign up.
  • Promote the offer through both businesses’ marketing channels like email, social media, and websites.

6. Implement exit-intent popups

Exit-intent popups are the last opportunity to capture the contact details before the visitor exits the website. There are many low-cost tools to set up these popups without having to invest much.

Actionable tips on how to build email list on budget with exit-intent popups

Tip 1: Offer a discount or freebie in exchange for signing up.
Tip 2: make sure the popup is well-designed and catches the eye of the visitor
Tip 3: Test different types of offers, messages, and designs to see what works best for your niche.

7. Conduct free webinars and workshops

Workshops and webinars are good means of promoting your content and by extension your business. These are powerful tools to attract new subscribers if done right. Promote these events on your website and social media channels, and have a requirement to sign up to participate.

Actionable tips to start webinars or workshops to build email list on budget

Before the webinar/workshop

Tip 1: Identify the pain points and interests of the target audience for topic ideas. Frame catch titles that promise to address these interests or pain points.

Tip 2: Design landing pages with the event title, details, and compelling call-to-action. Add email sign-up registration, to attend the event.

Tip 3: Promote the event through website, blogs, and social media channels. Offer freebies or resources to those who attend the workshop.

Tip 4: Include social proof from previous events to encourage more signups

During the webinar/workshop

Tip 1: Foster anticipation in attendees. This can be done by including a calendar invite to save the date or by sending reminder emails leading up to the event. Include details about what to expect and how to prepare.

Tip 2: : Improve engagement by including interactions like polls, chats, and Q&A sessions. This can be followed up with a compelling pitch on your products and services. 

Tip 3: Ensure the webinar/workshop delivers on the promises made during the promotion. Provide actionable tips and insights into topics, attendees want to learn more about.

After the webinar/workshop

Tip 1: Ask for feedback. Use this opportunity to invite them and stay connected through emails. 

Tip 2: Send follow-up emails. Thank the attendees and include a link to the recording of the session with a CTA to join your email list for more updates. 

Tip 3: Segment attendees based on their engagement levels or interests. Tailor follow-up emails segments-wise to address their specific needs and preferences.

Tip 4: Use analytics to track, analyze, and optimize sign-up forms and promotional approaches to improve future events.

Before we move on to the final proven method for building your email list, I’d like to remind you that no matter which strategy you use to grow your email list. Promoting it across multiple channels and levels is critical to its success.

Take the time to analyze your target audience and craft messages with strong, compelling words that address the needs and pain points of the prospect.

Now for the last proven method which will help you shorten the above-mentioned steps or skip some of them altogether.

Are you ready to accelerate your lead generation process?

let’s jump right in

8. Investing in an Email List Provider while knowing exactly what you are looking for.

Now the reason why “knowing exactly what you are looking for” is stressed upon because this is the most important step to building email list on a budget. Although you might not have to invest a lot of time in acquiring emails. You still have to work on the following

  1. Defining your target audience: characteristics of your ideal contacts, such as demography, industry, location, and interests. This greatly helps in picking a list that matches your target market.
  2. Set clear objectives: Are you looking to generate leads, increase sales, or build brand awareness?
  3. Prepare your Email campaign: Ensure that emails are personalized and relevant to the recipients. Develop a strategy for crafting high-quality content, designing engaging email templates, and planning follow-up sequences.

Not very sure how to go about these steps?

Write to us at sales@lgrdata.com and we can assist you in building a responsive email list as per your business requirements.

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Submit your requirement and we will get back to you

    Investing in an email list can benefit a business in several ways and help speed up customer acquisition. Its also one of the proven ways of building email list on budget.

    Some of the benefits of purchasing an email list are as follows:

    1. Quick access to target audience: Purchasing an email list gives immediate access to a large pool of prospects who fit your demographic and interest area. This can help you quickly expand your reach.
    2. Speed up lead generation: Building an Email Marketing Database organically takes considerable time and advertisement costs only shoot up when you are unsure about whom to target. Investing in an Email List provider gives you a head start in building your email database and jump-starting your lead generation.
    3. Increased market reach: Tapping into new segments and geographies to broaden your market is much easier with a purchased email list. You can skip the efforts put into acquiring their contact and start working on how to introduce and compel them into looking at your business.
    4. Cost-Effective Marketing: Acquiring email sign-ups organically takes a lot of time and effort. Even though you don’t have to pay for the traffic, delivering quality content in a competitive market will take significant resources and needs to be fulfilled consistently. On the other hand, a one-time purchase from an email list provider delivers a significant number of contacts at a lower cost in comparison with the ongoing cost of expenses of other lead generation methods.
    5. Quick way of getting results: Marketing efforts will get relatively quick results with a targeted email list. You will see immediate feedback, increased traffic, and increased conversion rates helping you optimize and scale your business much more effectively.
    LGR Data email list building process

    Conclusion

    Building an email list on a budget doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By employing cost-effective means like optimizing your website for lead generation, creating relatable quality content for the audience, and leveraging social media, you can steadily grow your email without much investment. 

    Remember, the key ingredients to achieving success in email list building are creativity and consistency. Engage with your audience with exciting offers and value-added content, test the results against one another, and continuously refine your approach to nurture your list of leads into paying customers.
    LGR Data understands a well-developed email list can become the most valuable asset for a business, driving both engagement and sales. To save time and give a quick boost to the process of acquiring leads, our team of data scientists has built a robust database with the most relevant and latest information. We have successfully served more than 12 thousand customers since our inception and specialize in delivering highly responsive email lists guaranteed to maximize your resources and marketing efforts.

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