August 3, 2018 | Blog
By now, you should know that a strong email list is one of the most valuable assets a marketer can have in their toolkit. And yet, repeatedly marketers treat their email lists as an afterthought, sending the same messages to the same disengaged subscribers that have been sitting in a list for years.
Think of a healthy email list as an ongoing project, one that needs sustained attention to stay optimized and beneficial to your initiatives. Read on for five tips and strategies to keep your email list 
in optimal shape:
One barrier for getting people to share their email addresses is trust. How many times have you come across an opt in page and felt intimidated by the language, so much so that you decided against giving your consent to be emailed? It happens all too often, and it’s an issue that can be corrected by a simple explanation. Duke Energy identified that issue (view presentation) and were able to fix it by coordinating with their call centers to have reps collect and confirm customers’ email addresses. CSRs are a great resource to answer any questions people may have about what you intend to do with their email addresses once you have them (and be more likely to trust you with them!)
This one may seem obvious, but we’ve come across many sites where it’s a hassle to find an email signup form! The easier you make things for people, the more likely they are to do what you want them to. Test out diverse ways of placing a sign-up box on your site: create a feature box, add an email sign up form in your navigation bar and at the end of pieces of content like blogs and webinars. Don’t overdo it, but you also shouldn’t be afraid to have email sign up forms in multiple places on your site!
If you already send text alerts to your customers, test out a lead generation campaign to collect email via text alerts. This type of acquisition is most effective when you’re building a specific list, like for storm alerts or increased usage emails. By staying transparent, people will be more likely to follow through and provide their email address.
Remember, the name of the game is building trust to improve customer engagement and that starts with transparency! Let your audience know what they’ll be getting and how often. If you have multiple types of communication, give your audience the chance to opt in or out of certain communications. And don’t forget—always make the option to unsubscribe clear. It’s the law!
It’s one thing to acquire a good list of subscribers, but your work doesn’t stop there! List fatigue is real and a threat to your business. While it may seem counterproductive to cut out email addresses you worked so hard to obtain, it’s the only way to ensure that you’re targeting engaged and opted-in users.
There you have it, five ways to build and maintain healthy email lists to drive customer engagement. Have you tried any of these strategies? Did we miss something that has been indispensable to your email marketing campaigns? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Prior to joining Apogee Interactive, Ann was an enterprise sales executive in the technology and consulting industries. Her career started at Georgia Power in IT and then moved to sales at Adobe, Foxit, and DayNine Consulting Services.
Ann focuses on a consultative ‘customer first’ approach driven by business needs, and value. She is a Georgia Tech graduate, having received her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management with a concentration in Information Systems. She has a passion for developing strong long-term business relationships, and finding the right solutions to maximize a client’s investment.
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