There are few things more important for your marketing than getting emails from customers. Email marketing is a direct line to them, right into their inbox with whatever they need to know about what you’re doing, planning, or selling. The challenge is getting those precious email addresses and we’re here to help with that.

Getting Started
Before you do anything else, get an account with an email marketing platform. There are plenty of them and while you do need to pay, the cost is minimal and the potential value is huge. These platforms track all your subscribers, make sure people can unsubscribe properly, and store info so you don’t have to. Depending on where you are in the world, that’s anything from helpful to the best way to avoid legal trouble and data protection issues. On these platforms, you can enter the emails you have and create forms for your customers to add them to your marketing list. Some of the best platforms available include Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, and Hubspot.
That’s the storage and tracking sorted, nice and easy, now to the hard part. How do you
actually get those email addresses?

Tips for Getting Emails
Our first tip here is to create a rewards program. A one-time discount, points or store credit program can either be a reward for signing up to your emails, or you can make giving the email a requirement for being part of a long-term reward program.
If you choose to use this strategy, make sure you advertise it in-store, make your customers aware of it and showcase the benefits of joining. Do the same on social media to get as many people as possible on that all-important mailing list.

Our second tip is to run a giveaway. A product customers want to win will have them
jumping to give you their email address. You can use a signup form, post it on social media and your website and collect the email address of anyone who enters. All it costs is some product. Again, advertising this in-store too can ensure the majority of your customers are exposed to the giveaway. The example below shows a simple post that encourages customers to register for the email list. 

One final tip is to use a referral program. Giving your loyal customers a chance to send their friends toward your mailing list with the promise of discounts or store credit can help you to expand your network and quickly build that mailing list. You can even create a signup form and email it to your current list, asking them to forward it to a friend!

We hope that helps you get well on the way to having a big email list full of potential
customers!