Email Marketing For Artists: How to successfully Build your Email List

How do you build an email list from scratch or continue to add quality subscribers? In this article, we will teach you how to develop a healthy email list that will deliver a fantastic return on investment and help you grow your customer base. Email is the most effective marketing channel because you can talk directly to the people who want to hear from you. This opens up opportunities to build relationships and sell your art. One major hurdle is creating a high-quality email list.

Your subscribers are the lifeblood of your email marketing strategy. You need to grow your list to keep your campaigns healthy. How? By understanding your audience's needs, you can create compelling offers that entice more people to sign up for your list. And when it's time for someone to opt-in, your website form will be there to collect subscriber email addresses.

Let's turn your followers and website visitors into subscribers!

What is an email list?

An email list is a database containing the email addresses of people who consented to receive your email campaigns. It's a collection of email addresses you collect online or in person, for example, using signup forms, an app, or placing an actual email signup form at your exhibition, open studio, etc. There are many ways to collect emails—as you'll soon find out in this guide!

The email addresses are just the data. What you do with them afterward is where the real magic happens. Every email list has the potential to grow into a source of income. You can establish a relationship with the person on the other end of the line with the right approach. When you talk to your subscribers, listen to their needs, and personalize your solutions to their preferences, your list will become a high-converting tool containing loyal customers.

Why you should start building an email list

The real value of email marketing is the long-term relationships you can build. With email marketing, you can have direct contact with your email subscribers, build relationships, and turn strangers into loyal customers. 

This isn't done overnight, but with the right strategy and enough time, you'll see that it's possible—whether you start building your email list from scratch or expanding your existing one. Websites can crash, and social media accounts can be shut down (gasp, I know our worst fear too, but it happens), but your email list will keep you connected to your audience every time. Email isn't going out of fashion anytime soon! Building your email list is the safest, most effective way to stay in touch with potential leads.

Before you start building your list

Building your email list is similar to finding a new friend. When you meet for the first time, you want to make a good impression and find shared interests. The same is true with email marketing. When someone comes across your brand, it's up to you to find a common connection and offer them something to start the relationship. 

The best email lists are built using this basic formula:

• Know what your audience wants

• Create offers that they will like

• Make it easy for them to subscribe

• Consistently share relevant, valuable content

Step 1. Audience Insights

Do you know your target audience and how to meet their needs? Once you understand your potential collectors' interests, you can start creating content and incentives that they will gladly exchange their email addresses for the value you offer. You can then use segmentation to make your emails even more targeted to different audiences.

👉 Tip: Get feedback from your current subscribers by sending a survey to see what value people get from your services. 

Step 2. Compelling offer

People are always searching for things that will help them. Whether it's knowledge, good deals, or anything that will make their lives easier, your job is to offer your audience something of value that compels them to engage.

👉 Tip: Offer people a lead magnet—things with a high perceived value that no one else can get without signing up. Things like a giveaway, freebies, podcasts, special discounts, or exclusive access to content work well to promote signups.

Step 3. Subscribe quickly

When your audience accepts your offer, you must make it super easy for them to opt-in immediately. Always have a subscription opportunity available at the right time and place.

👉 Tip: Don't get greedy and try to ask for too much information. All you need is their email address. You can get more info from them after you build trust.

Step 4. Share valuable content

Once you're up and running, you'll need to keep your subscribers engaged with regular, relevant content (otherwise their eyes might wander to the unsubscribe button)! Before building your email list, define your content marketing strategy. What will your welcome email look like? How often will you send out campaigns? How will you design the email branding? How will you keep people engaged in the long term? 

Establish a clear content strategy before building your email list so that you can offer strong, compelling content as soon as people sign up.

These 4 steps make up the basic foundation of what you need to acquire subscribers. But you'll still need to engage them at the right time when they are most likely to share their email address. 

Here are 12 best practices to ensure your opt-in forms are ready to grow your list.

In the offline world, the best time to engage a potential customer is when they come to you. You already know that they are curious about your art. It's the same in the online world! Your website, blog, homepage, and landing pages serve the same purpose online. People are on your pages because you offer something that they want. The best time to ask people for their email is when they are highly engaged with your content. When done correctly, you can transform your site into an email list-building machine with amazing conversion rates!

Add signup forms to your website.

Every page of your site could be an opportunity to build your list. Make it really easy for people to find the signup forms. The more opt-in forms that you place on your site, the more chances you'll have to convert visitors into subscribers. The key is to never interrupt their user experience. 

Here are some places on your site that convert well: The top of the sidebar is the most popular location to place a form, especially on your blog. It is one of the first things a reader will see when they visit. Placing a signup form permanently in your footer ensures that the visitors who like what they are reading have an immediate way to take action. Finally, it's a good idea to review your Google Analytics to find your most popular pages. For many sites, the About page is one of the most visited pages. Try adding a form in the middle with an enticing call-to-action or offer.

Personalize your CTAs for each page.Your CTA is the button text that persuades people to click through! You probably recognize the classic ones:

• Sign up

• Register

• Submit

• Download

And if appropriate, you could even adopt sarcasm, humor, or a more lighthearted tone. These can bring a smile to people's faces, and they might be even more inclined to click!

• Yes, I want a chance to win / No, I hate winning things

• Let's gooooo

• Be awesome

• Count. Me. In. 

Create pop-ups that workPop-ups have a mixed reputation but can be extremely effective when done right. How can you use pop-ups without ruining the user experience? There are new ways you can use pop-ups that minimize interruption. Give your visitors some time to read the content before triggering a pop-up. The sidebox pop-up is another location that catches visitors' eye without being annoying. The pop-up usually doesn't cover important content, so the interruption isn't that bad. The key is to balance a great user experience while still using your blog and website to acquire email addresses. When you use pop-ups, keep an eye on your analytics to ensure the pop-ups aren't negatively affecting your time on site, page views, or bounce rates.​

How to do pop-ups right. The world is experiencing a pop-up renaissance. When used properly, pop-ups can be your secret weapon for growing your subscriber list and promoting your business. Just don't annoy your audience. 

Optimize landing pages with best practices. All your social media channels and outbound marketing initiatives (such as advertising) should link back to a custom landing page designed specifically to capture email addresses. Social media is a powerful platform for running your online business—and so is email marketing! So why not combine their forces? For social sites, such as LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter, you can find places to include links that drive your followers to a landing page. Remember, you have to offer something of value that motivates people to click. When a potential customer clicks a link to your offer, it is up to you to make sure your landing page entices them and gives them all the details they need to ultimately convert. 

TIP: Don't make the mistake of including too much information. The goal is to make it a no-brainer to input their email address. While there is no one-size-fits-all way to design a landing page, it is good to keep these elements in mind: Strong headline. Appealing imagery. Quick form. Visible subscribe button. 

Collect subscribers offline. We've talked a lot about finding subscribers online, but what about offline? We still live in the physical world, and there are tons of opportunities to meet potential subscribers and ask them to sign up. Every encounter offers a chance to build your list. But remember, you still need their permission.

Use members-only online events. Webinars and online conferences are an easy way to pick up email addresses. When setting up your event, include a signup form to grow your list at the same time. 

Create exclusivity. When people are deciding whether to sign up or not, scarcity and/or exclusivity can play a big role in their final decision. 

Keep your email list healthy. Simply put, a quality email list is full of engaged subscribers who want to hear from you. When you build your list organically, your subscribers become a treasure trove of potential revenue just waiting to be tapped. Think about it. People who are interested in your art actually gave you permission to start a relationship. This is a fantastic opportunity! On the other hand, if your email list is full of people with no interest in you, your emails will fail to connect or, worse, get marked as spam. This happens when you buy email lists or keep subscribers on the list that have become inactive.

List quality is more powerful than list quantity. Subscriber email list management is the best way to stay on top of your list and keep it healthy.

Congratulations, you implemented the right tactics and are starting to grow your list! While your list is growing, remember the people who have already signed up. You work so hard to acquire your subscribers; the last thing you want is to lose them. While it is normal to lose a percentage of your email list every year, there are several things you can do to minimize the churn.

It is essential to keep your subscribers engaged with great content and offers, but there is so much more you can do with MailerLite to maintain a healthy email marketing program. The forthcoming articles of our Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing will help you develop the right kind of email marketing approach to keep your subscribers happy and your business thriving.

In the meantime, I wish you all the best in building your email list and The Contemporary Creatives is here to help you when you need it!