Christopher Jan Benitez — June 21, 2017 — June 21, 2017
OvidiuTepes / Pixabay
For small businesses and bloggers alike, building an email list is crucial for monetization and brand growth. But it’s not always as simple as what countless online guides depict them to be.
According to a 2016 benchmark compilation, the unique open rate for marketing emails; including niches such as education, eCommerce, corporate services, and entertainment; sits at only 25%. Add the fact that the average opt-in rate for most websites can be anywhere from 1% to 5% and you have yourself a recipe for lost opportunities, delayed growth, and incessant head-scratching.
But despite these numbers, email marketing campaigns are historically efficient from an ROI standpoint – with an average return of $ 38 for each $ 1 spent. This is because successful email marketers also prioritize the size of their subscriber base to compensate for low engagement.
Without further ado, below are seven of the best tools you can use to supercharge your email lists:
1. Sumo
First off, Sumo offers a diverse suite of website growth apps that are incredibly useful for Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). The ‘Welcome Mat’, for example, can be used to emphasize your value propositions above the fold and inspire more visitors to convert.
You may be thinking; pop-ups are intrusive and have no place in today’s UI-centered world. Fortunately, Sumo’s editor includes stylish design options that can make up for the stolen seconds from your audience’s time.
Apart from the Welcome Mat, you can also take advantage of other list-building features like timed popups, a floating smart bar, and heat map tracking for optimization. Here is a post that expounds what you can do with each feature.
2. Thrive Themes
Using WordPress to kickstart your online presence has its pros and cons. Thanks to the myriad of themes and plugins available from the official repository, anyone can build a professional-looking site from scratch. However, they make it extremely difficult to figure out the right combination of conversions.
Thrive Themes can help you skip the trial and error phase by providing preconfigured setups. Its toolbox includes Thrive Leads, which is equipped with an opt-in form builder, lead management, and split testing functionality.
3. Content Upgrades Pro
Offering opt-in bribes is not a new concept, you just need a careful approach to avoid disrupting your audience’s experience. Content Upgrades Pro is a straightforward WordPress plugin that lets you create captivating ‘fancy boxes’ and popup e-mail forms that work hand in hand.
Here’s how it works: upon visiting a particular page, a compact fancy box appears to make your audience aware of your opt-in bribe. Rather than rudely interrupting their reading experience, the email capture form only appears if they click on the fancy box.
You can learn more about Content Upgrades Pro and its full features by reading this review.
4. Vyper.io
Vyper.io is a more comprehensive lead generation platform that can let you hold social media contests, offer content upgrades, and encourage engagement through gamification. The toolkit’s focal point is generating a viral reaction from the online crowd, which is why the key features are aptly named Viral Contests, Viral Content Upgrades, and Viral Leaderboards.
Unlike most mainstream CRO tools, Vyper.io is one of the choices that offer free trials. Use this to your advantage to determine which plan adequately matches your marketing goals. Of course, you can also refer to software reviews for clearer expectations.
5. OptinMonster
You can’t have a roundup of CRO tools without including good old OptinMonster. It is equipped with everything marketers can ask for in lead generation campaigns – from a drag-and-drop form builder to built-in analytics for optimization.
OptinMonster popups utilize the ‘Exit Intent’ technology to predict the best time to show opt-in forms. To spice things up, you can also take advantage of ‘Monster Effects’ to easily incorporate animations and other visual effects.
Aside from converting more visitors into subscribers, OptinMonster also helps you expedite their journey down the sales funnel. Here is a closer look on the technical know-hows to make the most out of the platform.
6. Rafflecopter
Free downloadable content may appeal to some people, but most online users can’t resist a complete, usable product for the price of none. Rafflecopter allows you to leverage their desire for freebies by launching quick sweepstakes in a few easy steps. All you need to do is choose a theme, fill in the contest details, specify the entry requirements, and monitor your campaign as it goes.
Another advantage of Rafflecopter is that it integrates seamlessly with email services like MailChimp and Aweber. This allows you to save time and focus on more meaningful tasks. If you’re new to hosting online contests, here is an articulate post on Rafflecopter and what you should expect.
7. LeadPages
Lastly, LeadPages is one of the most powerful tools that can help you create beautiful landing pages with ease. It lets you modify and personalize every single element of your page—from buttons to countdown timers—without writing a single line of code.
LeadPages is on par with OptinMonster when it comes to depth. It can help you set popup forms, conduct split testing, incorporate SMS opt-ins, and more. Despite being a lead generation powerhouse, it is surprisingly affordable when compared to the rest of the tools on this list.
Conclusion
The digital age may usher in new communication technologies from time to time, but emails are highly likely to stick around – thanks to their convenience and dependability. Hopefully, the tools above can help you grow your email list and secure your brand’s survival for years to come.
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