Why building an email list is crucial for your brand and business

Here's the cold, hard truth: you don't own your social media followers

Let's get straight to the point: if you're relying solely on social media to connect with your audience, you're playing a dangerous game. Imagine waking up tomorrow to find your social media accounts wiped clean or the platform you’ve built your following on gone. Would your business be toast? 

If the answer is yes, it's time to rethink your strategy.

Building an email list is not just important; it's crucial for your brand's survival and growth. Let's dive into why this is the case and how you can start building an email list today.

The Impermanence of Social Media

Here's the cold, hard truth: you don't own your social media followers. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter do. If they decide to change their algorithms, suspend your account, or even shut down, you lose access to your audience.

Social media is rented land, and the landlord can evict you anytime. Scary I know!

Example: The Great Facebook Outage

Remember when Facebook and Instagram went down for several hours?

Businesses lost revenue, missed out on customer engagement, and panicked because they had no direct way to reach their audience.

If you had an email list, you wouldn’t have been sweating bullets during the outage.

Why an Email List is a Must-Have

Ownership and Control

Your email list is yours. You own it, and no one can take it away from you. It’s a direct line of communication with your audience that isn’t subject to the whims of social media platforms.

Higher Engagement Rates

Emails have a much higher engagement rate compared to social media posts. According to Campaign Monitor, email marketing has an average open rate of around 20% compared to the 1-5% engagement rate typical of social media platforms.

Personalisation and Segmentation

With email marketing, you can personalise your messages and segment your audience to deliver relevant content that resonates with them. This level of customisation is difficult to achieve with social media.

Direct Sales Channel

Emails are a direct channel for sales. Whether you're promoting a new product, offering a discount, or sharing valuable content, your emails go straight to your audience's inbox, making it easier to drive conversions.

How to Build an Email List

1. Choose the Right Platform

Start by selecting an email marketing platform that fits your needs. Some popular options include:

• Flodesk: Known for its beautiful, easy-to-create emails, forms and workflows as well as a user-friendly interface (I'm biased! I LOVE this platform!) Get 50% off flodesk for your first year HERE

• Mailchimp: Offers a comprehensive suite of tools for email marketing, including automation and analytics, (I'm not gunna lie to you, I've found this clunky when using for clients!)

2. Create a Compelling Lead Magnet

OH HELLO AGAIN, just as well we've been over how to do this right!? Offer something valuable in exchange for your audience's email addresses. This could be a free e-book, a discount code, an exclusive webinar, or any other resource that would entice your audience to sign up.

3. Optimise Your Sign-Up Forms

Place sign-up forms strategically on your website, blog, and social media pages. Make sure they're easy to find and fill out. Use clear and compelling calls to action (CTAs) to encourage sign-ups.

4. Use Pop-Ups Wisely

Pop-ups can be highly effective if used correctly. Trigger them based on user behaviour, such as when a visitor is about to leave your site or after they've spent a certain amount of time on a page.

5. Promote Your Email List Everywhere

Mention your email list in your social media bios, at the end of blog posts, in your video descriptions, and even in your email signature. Make it easy for people to find and join your list.

6. Engage with Your Subscribers

Once you've built your list, keep your audience engaged with regular, valuable content. Send newsletters, updates, exclusive offers, and personalised messages to keep them interested and connected to your brand.

So, let's recap shall we…… relying solely on social media for your business's communication and marketing is a risky move. By building an email list, you create a reliable, direct channel to your audience that you own and control. 

Start today by choosing an email marketing platform, creating a lead magnet, and promoting your email list across all your channels. Don’t wait for the next social media outage or algorithm change to realise the importance of owning your audience. Take control and secure your brand’s future with a robust email list.

Need help getting started?

I'm a ninja with Flodesk, so if it is your platform of choice and you're just starting out hit the button below and lets chat about how I can potentially help you build out a sexy AF email platform!

Happy Email List Building