Let's cut to the point: 

Without an email or sms list, you're dead in the water. 

An email list & sms list is the most cost-effective, most reliable, highest-converting marketing asset you have access to right now. 

Hands down. 

Which means investing time, energy, and resources into growing that list is always worth your time. 

I've worked with over 100 e-commerce brands and the ones that are the most successful always (always) focus on list growth. And when list growth comes, so does revenue and so does profit. 

So here are the fastest and most reliable ways to grow a list, based on all of the methods I've seen brands try over the last four year. 

1. Paid Ads

Once you have a proven product, ads almost always make sense. Pay to target your ideal customer, drive them to your site, and pop up an opt-in with an irresistible offer to subscribe. Aim for nothing less than a 5% opt-in rate (I would actually aim for closer to 8%-10% if you have the bandwidth to test and optimize). This will lead to an immediate increase in list, and in return, an immediate increase in new customer revenue. 

2. Micro-Influencers and Paid Partnerships

Brands that work closely with affiliates, partners, and micro-influencers tend to see fast and loyal growth. It can be a bit tricky to navigate these relationships, but carefully curating a team of advocates can pay off big. 

3. In-person QR Codes

If you sell in person, displaying promo material with a QR code works, but you need to offer an incentive that is immediately available to the buyer. Think 10% off, a free product... something. We've seen this work really well for brands that have kiosks, sell at trade-shows, or a any physical space. 

Here's what I don't recommend doing: 

1. Giveaways

I've tested this multiple times and it just never works. Sometimes, you'll see a higher opt-in rate than offering a discount. However, I have never seen both a higher opt in AND a good conversion rate. These people typically aren't there to buy. You'll grow your list, but you won't end up making additional sales. 

2. Pooled Giveaways

This is even worse. I've seen so many brands work with other brands to collect emails that they all pool together and market to them. These segments rarely ever convert well and often lead to increased spam and high unsubscribe rates. 

How to Afford Ads

Without a doubt, paid ads work the fastest and convert the best. 

But that game can feel intimidating. 

So here's the catch: 

You want to set up ads, BUT you first want to install the following onto your store and your email service provider: 

1. Irresistible Opt-In

2. Quick-Conversion Welcome Flow

When you have those two pieces of the puzzle, you can send ads to your site with confidence because you're going to get sales. Not just leads... but actual sales. 

I honestly wouldn't even bother sending traffic over to a site if an opt-in isn't converting at 3% or higher and I wouldn't attempt to scale until it's converting at 5% or higher. 

Otherwise, it's just wasting money. 

When you're ready to commit to growing your list, let's work together to get your systems set up so you can confidently send traffic and convert those visitors into buyers so you can grow your list and your revenue at the same time. 

Book a call to see how we can work together to grow your list in the next 30-90 days. 

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