Anatomy of an Effective Email Opt-In Campaign

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA10 years ago

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Your business’s email contact list is a valuable tool that allows you to directly reach your target audience.

You can grow your email contact list by implementing strategies that motivate potential customers to sign up. These strategies make up your email opt-in campaign.

Teresa Cleveland, business development strategist and owner of The Entrepreneur’s Toolbox, identified these strategies in her free workshop, “Anatomy of an Effective Email Opt-In Campaign.” Her workshop was held on September 4, 2014 at the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center through Awesome Women in Business.

Teresa began the workshop by leading a discussion about the definition of an email opt-in campaign. It is where business owners offer something for free – such as a report, an ebook, a white paper or a checklist – in exchange for an email address.

Teresa explained that the key to success is offering a giveaway. It’s not enough to simply ask potential customers to sign-up. You must provide an incentive for them to do so, by offering something in exchange for their email addresses.

Your opt-in campaign will look different depending on your business, but they all have the same three key components: (1) the giveaway, (2) an email marketing service and (3) a place to host your opt-in form and giveaway, preferably your website.

Teresa identified the content pieces you’ll need to create as part of the opt-in campaign. This includes the giveaway, the offer content (both short and long), the opt-in form, the opt-in widget, the opt-in page, the welcome email content, the delivery page and up for four follow up emails.

She advised participants to develop the content first, and then add it to the email marketing service you choose to use.

Once you’ve developed your opt-in campaign, you should promote it through social media, your email signatures, your business cards, your advertisements, and even in your invoices. To achieve success in your opt-in campaign, you must give people the opportunity to say yes.

Throughout her workshop, Teresa answered questions and offered helpful advice and suggestions to get business owners started with their email opt-in campaigns. Each participant left with an action item that they learned from the morning’s workshop.

The Entrepreneur’s Toolbox is a resource for start-up and small business owners. Teresa and her team offer branding services, logo creation, business cards, niche discovery, newsletter templates, website development, program creation, and much more.

You can learn more about Teresa and The Entrepreneur’s Toolbox by contacting her at Teresa@TheEntrepreneursToolbox.com or by visiting her website at www.TheEntrepreneursToolbox.com.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.