“Email? That’s old school. I use Instagram. That’s where everyone is these days.”
If that’s you, you’re not wrong. But you’re not right either.
If you’re in business for yourself, it’s wise to go with the trends and follow your target market to whatever social media platform they’re currently using. Keeping top of mind is important.
BUT what happens when they shift (again)?
You follow. And you re-learn new systems and tactics.
Facebook – Snapchat – Instagram – MySpace – Pinterest – Google+ – Friendster – LinkedIn – Twitter…
Some are trending. Some have been here awhile. Some are fading. Some are gone. More are being developed.
How are you supposed to build a following and make sales when everything is constantly changing?
Answer: Build an email list.
Top 5 Reasons You NEED An Email List
5. Reliability
Were you affected by the Facebook and Instagram failures last week?
If you’re one of the countless entrepreneurs who rely on these social media platforms for all or the majority of your business communications, your heart no-doubt plummeted to your feet.
“Just a fluke. It won’t happen again,” you say?
Think again.
A few days later, Siri wasn’t working properly in my area.
Last year, a service I was using for landing pages and which I used to create my entire website went down for two days. Then later hackers spammed me Big Time! (I’m no longer with that service.)
I’ve also had notices from apps saying my data has been breached.
With so much reliance on technology, it can be crippling to our business if we rely only on social media for our communications.
Email, however, has been around for quite some time now and isn’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon.
Instagram? Facebook? Who knows?
4. Connectivity
Good marketing strategy is about creating authentic connections.
That can be difficult to do with “Like & Swipe” technologies like Instagram and Pinterest where it’s all about the photos.
Do people even stop to read your post, or are they merely liking your pic and going on to the next one?
With email, your message lands in their inbox, they see your name and subject line and if it sounds intriguing, they open it. Now they’re reading what you’ve sent them (at least some of it).
With an email list, you increase your chance of creating a valuable and memorable connection and can easily share how you can help them.
3. Staying Top Of Mind
Regardless of how often you send out a newsletter (and the right frequency is debatable), whenever you pop into their inbox, you’re reminding people that you’re still out there.
With social media, in order to remember you, they’d need to frequently be on their feed to see if, when and what you’re posting.
Even still, do they really notice it’s YOU?
Think about how many times you simply scroll through your feeds going “Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Nice. Ya-da-ya-da…” without really noticing whose post it is?
There’s an almost numbness that we can fall into when we’re scrolling through social feeds.
Email catches their eye and keeps your name memorable, regardless of whether they open every email or only the occasional one.
2. No length restrictions
Twitter: 280 characters/tweet
Pinterest: 500 characters/post
LinkedIn: 600 characters/post
Instagram: 2,200 characters (about 300 words)/post
All of these include #hashtags. Some restrict in-post links.
Email has no limit to length.
And you can include multiple links to external pages (website pages, sales pages, blog posts, video links…). Some email service providers allow video embedding within your email.
This means you can customize your message however you like to suit your audience, your brand and your specific needs for each and every message.
Drum roll please…
And the #1 reason you NEED an email list…
1. Permission granted
If they are on your email list, they’ve given you permission to contact them. (If they haven’t given you permission, don’t simply add them to your list. That’s considered spam and is a big no-no.)
How do they give you permission and therefore get on your list?
By signing up for something you offer either for free or for purchase. Or they’ve given you their business card at an event with the knowledge they’ll be added to your list. Or they’ve given you verbal permission to add them.
Why is this permission important?
Because by the act of giving their permission, they are actually indicating that they’re interested in your product or service.
This is HUGE! You’ve crossed the first hurdle.
In effect, they’re saying they like something you’re doing enough to give their email address which means chances are they’ll like something else you’ll be offering at some point too.
In the meantime, you can begin to build a relationship with them by offering them more useful information while they get to know you better.
You must always include a way for them to unsubscribe if they no longer want to hear from you. Again, that falls under the anti-spam rules.
Permission-based marketing lets you develop connections with people over time and in a more meaningful way than you can with any other social media platform currently out there.
What’s next?
Now that you know the importance of having an email list, it’s time to start growing yours.
What can you offer your people for free or at low cost so they’ll be willing to give you their email information?
Here are a few ideas:
checklist, quiz, ebook, free session, discount or coupon
Once you have your freebie created, add it to your website, add a link to it in your email signature, promote it on your social media channels and in your newsletter. Even if they’re already on your list, a new freebie may be of interest to them too and shows them more of your expertise while deepening your connection.
Don’t worry about the size of your email list either. Just start creating connections with people who are interested in what you have to offer.
A small email list with interested prospects is much more valuable to you than a huge following with very little engagement.
Keep doing what you’re doing with social media. But you NEED an email list.
.
Don’t yet have an email marketing service? I use and highly recommend AWeber.* It’s easy to use and their customer service is fabulous!
*This is an affiliate link. I only affiliate with and recommend brands I regularly use myself and trust that my clients will be happy using too. AWeber has my Joyful Approval!
Need help coming up with ideas to build your list?
Check out my How To Grow Your Email List on-demand course
