Your email list is one of the most important assets you can have for your online shop.
You have complete control over your email list so you can directly connect with people that want to hear about your products.
Email subscribers are also more likely to be product buyers.
They have invited you into their sacred space that is their email inbox, which means they want to hear from you.
But did you know that there are ways you can grow your email list…before even launching your online shop? It’s true!
Here are a few ways you can grow your email list before you’ve even launched your shop.
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1 | Landing page
Before we dive into the tactics to grow your email list, we first need to cover the importance of having a landing page. You must have a landing page to start gathering emails from followers.
This is the place where you will drive any and all traffic where you can gather email addresses before launching your shop.
There are many ways you can create a quick landing page for a WordPress website. There are many plugins that are available that can get the job done, but if you are looking for something more stylish, we suggest using our Elementor Landing Page Templates.
Related post: Check out these 6 landing page tips that will explode your business growth!
2 | Notify family and friends
Your family and friends are the best people to start telling about your online shop. These people already know and love you, and would be happy to help spread the word about your new online shop. You can ask them to join your email list, of course, but another way to help grow your list is to enlist their help in sharing your new online shop with their friends and family.
You can create pre-written text that they can copy and paste to share via their social networks and email that they can send to the people in their network that they think would be interested in your online shop.
We suggest creating a list of 25 people to start. Create a spreadsheet of their name, contact information, and whether or not you’ve contacted them yet or not.
Related post: 5 Ways to Boost Your Confidence in Your Business
3 | Using X (Previously Twitter)
X (previously Twitter) is a great way to start quickly growing your following before your online shop launches. We recommend tweeting regularly about related content to your online shop. If you already have a blog, start sending out tweets to your blog posts to get more traffic to your website. You can use programs such as Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your tweets in advance.
If you don’t currently have a blog, that’s okay too. Start tweeting relevant articles related to your industry. Continuously share tweets that direct people to sign up for your email list (because remember, everyone will not see every tweet you send out!). Also, have your email list sign-up tweet pinned to the top of your X (previously Twitter) profile.
Related post: 5 Ways to Extend Your Branding From Website to Social
4 | Using Instagram
Like Twitter, Instagram is a great way to start creating buzz about your new online shop. To start getting quality followers who will then sign up for your email list, make sure you are doing the following:
- Posting consistently
- Socializing with your followers and people who comment on your photos
- Post with your ideal customer in mind
- Use relevant hashtags
Following these four steps will increase your brand reach on Instagram. Make sure you link to your email sign-up page in your bio description, and also to promote signing up for your email list within the captions of your Instagram photos.
We don’t suggest promoting your email list in every photo caption, so be mindful of how often you push your email list.
Related post: 5 Tips to Turn Social Media Followers into Customers
5 | Offer a discount code
Offering a discount code for a product in your soon-to-launch shop will be super enticing for people to sign up for your email list.
Often, people will sign for a discount code, but might not make a purchase immediately. The great thing is, they are now signed up for your email list, so you can continue to nurture the relationship through your email newsletters until they are ready to make a purchase.
It’s obviously great if they make a purchase from your shop immediately, but we are planning for the long haul when promoting our email list.
Related post: Get Your Website Sale-Ready: 5 Updates to Prepare Now
6 | Host a giveaway
Creating anticipation for the launch of your online shop is a great way to connect with your followers. Doing a giveaway is an exciting way to create anticipation.
You can easily set up a giveaway using apps such as Rafflecopter. You can also integrate Rafflecopter with other social platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Related post: Learn how to create a giveaway that can help you meet your business’s goals.
Final Thoughts
Growing your email list not only builds excitement for your shop launch but it creates a long-term way to communicate with your most valued potential customers.
As an online shop owner, you want to always be thinking of how you can attract new customers, and then how you can retain and engage with them, ultimately leading to them purchasing your products and being a long-term customer.