Leveraging content marketing to grow your email list

An in-depth guide to growing your email subscriber lists by creating and optimising your B2B content marketing strategy. 

Email marketing is a powerful way to connect directly with your audience. It’s a crucial part of modern business strategies. To make email marketing work, you need a list of email addresses of people who are interested in what you offer. Simple enough?

An engaged email list isn’t just a faceless spreadsheet or database – it’s a group of real people who actively want to hear about your brand. That’s why growing this list is vital for building strong connections and growing your business.

Want to grow a healthy subscriber list organically? It’s like making sure you get your greens in; focus a little bit on it every day, and you’ll be onto a winner!

Why email marketing is the perfect supplement

Amid the noise of social media and fleeting online interactions, email stands out as a personalised and direct way to communicate. Our survey of 359 decision-makers shows that 77% of B2B businesses prefer to be contacted by email – it’s often less disruptive and can be a much more personal approach. Not only that but email marketing revenue is estimated to reach almost $11 billion by the end of 2023, with 4 billion utilising email every day for their marketing and communications! This isn’t a fleeting fad, so it’s time to start growing your lists.

Emails go straight to your audience’s inbox without algorithms deciding what they see. They have chosen to receive your emails, so when you share insightful content, special deals, or your unique offering, subscribers are likelier to trust and value what you put in front of them.

People on your email list are already interested in your brand, making them more likely to engage and become customers. While social media platforms change, your email list remains yours. You’re not at the mercy of changes in algorithms. This control lets you always reach your audience, no matter how the digital world shifts.

Organically grow your lists – from the seed to the tree

Like your five-a-day, there are good habits you can get into the swing of with your email marketing strategy. Organic growth presents a chance to engage, connect, and build trust. 

Here’s how you can use content marketing to grow your email lists:

Email: A berry good place to start

1. Start simple and encourage your pre-existing subscribers to share and forward your emails! To make it easy for your recipients, why not add social sharing icons or perhaps even an “Email to a friend” prompt? 
2. This one is important and should definitely be a part of your strategy! Segment your subscribers by their buyer persona. Identify what they might be interested in or what part of the sales funnel they may sit in. Your recipients will be far more likely to click through if the presented information caters to their interests. 
3. Utilise your outbound employee emails – at the end of the day, all communications sent out from your business always need to represent, and non-marketing emails count towards this, too. One easy win is to include an opt-in link in employee signatures. This could be a significant next step if you already have natural and personalised conversations with prospects through this avenue!

Website: A-peel-ing to all

4. Gated content could be a great option if you’re an SME gaining traction with thought leadership and making a mark on your industry. It’s a tried and tested way to improve lead generation and grow your email list. Offer your free resource on a landing page and require an email address to be able to download it. 
5. Open up the floor to your website visitors. Across your website, include a form or live chat allowing visitors to ask questions regarding your service or offering. This not only builds clarity and trust, but you can ask them to supply their email address so an expert within the team can get back to them as soon as possible. Building your subscriber list also allows you to fill any holes in your proposition – it’s a great way to improve what you’re selling continually. 
6. Guest blogging is a great tool to increase your business exposure, create relationships, boost SEO through backlinks, and position yourself as a thought leader. You can include a CTA for your newsletter while being present on an alternate business website. It demonstrates that you have a level of expertise and that it would be beneficial for visitors to access your content. 
7. Social proof is a great way to hit your prospects with a dash of FOMO while reassuring them that you can be trusted. A well-placed review or testimonial can trigger prospects who might be on the fence. Further to this, if your business is active on social media (it should be!), it’s also an excellent opportunity to encourage and share positive content shared by your community. It adds value and instigates trust.
8. Pop-ups! Done badly, these can be a disruptive tool for the user experience. But done well, they can be an effective solution to grow your subscriber lists. Include timed pop-ups for visitors who have already spent time browsing your website or have navigated through certain web pages. Make it easier by asking visitors to simply submit their email address – and propose an unmissable offering. 

Even more un-beet-able solutions…

9. Does your target audience regularly attend trade shows, conferences or networking events? Then head there! Meet with your prospective audience in the real world, answer their questions in real-time, and most importantly, encourage them to sign up for your email list there and then!
10.  More than 75% of B2B marketers have said hosting webinars is a productive way of generating new leads. It’s a great way to engage with your audience, knowledge share and brush off your story-telling prowess. To top it all off, the easiest way to get people to register and send further information about a webinar is… You guessed it. By email! 
11.  Social proof in the form of recommendations and referrals is more actively trusted and often comes with higher intent. A draw-dropping 86% of B2B buyers say word-of-mouth is the most influential factor when making business decisions, with 92% of consumers trusting recommendations from friends and family over just seeing a form of advertising. That’s why you should be making the most of a referral programme. 

Orange you glad we’re here to lend a helping hand?

Crafting compelling content is the first step in nurturing your ideal market, keeping your brand front of mind. In today’s noisy market, B2B customers are bombarded with endless content. To win them over, you need to stand out, and one of the most effective ways of initially piquing their interest is through email marketing.

Nail your inbound emails enough to support your prospecting campaigns, and those sales conversations will start flowing. You’ll be covering all bases.
Here at Sopro, we’re experts at that. Building on your foundation of stand-out content, our team will strategically position your offering and engage with ideal customers on your behalf, ensuring you send the perfect message to the right audience exactly when they need it.