Inexpensive Methods for Building a Mailing List

When you are trying to build a mailing list, you can always shell out your hard earned money for data on people or even buy specially made or general mailing lists, but what if you’re on a tight budget? Well, there are still some ways to work on building up that mailing list, and not have to break the bank. 

Easy Does It

First, make signing up to the mailing list fast and easy. Nothing turns people off faster than a website that is complex and confusing. It’s said that the average person only peruses a website for a few seconds, before moving on. So, complexity will lose you people and they won’t sign up to your mailing list. Make your opt in box obvious and easy to fill in.

More is Better

Along those same lines, put a link to joining your mailing list all over your website! Put it on the homepage, on your blog, in your archive etc. – put it everywhere. Don’t rely on people clicking on your mailing list subscriber link the first time they see it and definitely don’t fool yourself that they will click back to a previous web page in order to find that elusive mailing list link. They won’t do it!

Offer Something for Free

Next, in building your mailing list, make use of the fact that people love to get things for free. So, put little blurbs on your website saying that anyone who signs up a certain number of people in a week will get a prize. It can be something as simple as a picture, a gift certificate, or free membership (if you charge for that). After all, websites like Amazon.com make it very easy to get and send gift certificates. So you can easily buy one and send it to the winner.

Friends and Family

Finally, you will want your subscribers to get their friends and family members to join. So, make it easy for them to forward your newsletter to other people. Add the old “forward to a friend” link to anything you send out. As with everything else in your website, building your mailing list comes down to that key word: easy. The easier you make your mailing list to use, to join, and to spread the word about, the more likely it is that your mailing list will grow, and with it, your online business and profits.


