Increasing the size of your email list has always been one of the most dependable ways to increase email marketing results. A bigger list size while maintaining the level of conversions increases results. And not to forget the number of contact moments.
We tend to forget, but the smartphone is an extra channel / device to leverage in growing our email list. And especially now that there are more and more people are using smartphones, it is extra interesting to look at email list growth via mobile.
The mobile email sign-up funnel
Email list growth via mobile is less about the email and more about other contact moments that we have with people using a smartphone. You can look at it as a traditional sales funnel, where a user can, for instance, go from a search engine > your website > opt-in form. These funnels have different starting points, it is not always a search engine. It could also be a tweet, a banner, etc. The starting points for mobile email sign-up funnel are:
* Stimulation to take the phone out of his pocket, interact and opt-in
* Stimulation to opt-in when the customer is already using its mobile for a different reason
Putting the carriage before the horse
The technical part of the subscription process is often wrongfully put in the center of the mobile email strategy. That is putting the carriage before the horse, even when we are solely talking about list growth. The first steps are defining a target audience, sign-up reasons and also very important: location. Technology like QR-codes come later. Tomorrow a new technology might break through and be quickly picked up. Technology will evolve and change, but your customers stay at the heart of your business.
Locations to stimulate smartphone sign-ups
Guiding customers from their desktop internet to their smartphone, is adding an extra hurdle. We want to stimulate subscribing when people are using their smartphone, not to send them to use their mobile when they are using their desktop computer.
Stimulating list growth via mobile can be anywhere in the physical world or using broadcast media. Locations can include a local brick and mortar shop, a tv ad, a roadside banner, an event, use of flyers, radiobroadcasting, etc. Anything that can be heard or seen can convey smartphone opt-in stimulation.
From location to your mobile
First define the target audience and think about their sign-up reasons. After that the locations were chosen. But there is an extra challenge to get them from the location into using their mobile to sign up. How will they get there? It is not enough to ask “sign up for our email program”, you also need to give them the ability to do so, easily jump to your sign-up (page). Although technology is just a piece of the puzzle, it needs to be correctly implemented, otherwise the sign-up isn’t going to happen.
Technology to get from a location into the mobile:
* Scanning QR codes or barcodes
* Texting / SMS
* Use of Mobile urls
* Near field communication like RFID
* Bluetooth technology
Mobile Email list growth strategy: The deal isn’t done yet
Once the smartphone user walked through the previous step correctly, he still isn’t subscribed. In most cases he will be lead to a sign-up page. Sign-up pages on mobile devices have their own challenges. Typing and navigating on a smartphone isn’t very easy. To prevent drop off, the subscription forms should be extra easy to fill and very, very clear.
