10 Unique Ideas To Capture Emails

In today’s business environment, nothing is as valuable as information from your audience. These insights allow you to analyze and tweak your current business model to adapt to the needs of those you’re trying to engage with.

That’s why capturing emails is one of the fundamental principles to creating a sound business. The question is, how do you get these precious accounts?

Though there are strategies you can implement immediately, collecting emails is going to take a little “outside-of-the-box” thinking to really make an impact. Consumers are already used to the cookie cutter strategies such as landing pages or subscribing through social media buttons, so it’s important to always try something new and keep tweaking your strategy until you’ve hit

1. Target Specific Users

It’s no surprise that collecting emails can seem daunting. With so much information on the web, how do you convert to get quality emails?

The key here is to actually look for the ideal email user by targeting them through digital ads. This can be in the form of a Facebook Ad, Google Adsense, and if you really know what you’re doing, a native ad.

In order for this strategy to be effective, make sure you set your parameters precisely. You want to be calculated and deliberate when launching these ads to fit the profiles of the email users you want for your business.

2. Retargeting

Similar to the strategy above, retargeting is an advanced form of targeting the users you want.

Say a customer visited your site, went all the way to the checkout but didn’t purchase anything. Well if you have a retargeting ad in place, you can now send a customizable ad only to that specific user reminding them about your company, their checkout status, or any, in this case, filling out an email form.

It’s important to remember that in order for retargeting to work, you must have a working conversion flow to work. You need to have all your ducks in a row. That way, you can catch any consumer that “slips away” and try to reel them back in.

3. Using The Power Of Social Media

Aside from social media ads, how else can your platforms capture emails? Using features like Facebook’s “CTA Button” or Instagram’s “Business Page” model can be an effective strategy in collecting emails and using social media to its full potential.

In addition to using built-in features, post relevant and engaging content that requires users to fill in their email address. This could be a link to a webinar (discussed further below) or even a special offer.

The important thing to remember about social media is leverage. If you have a sizable following, there should be no reason you can’t acquire a big portion of their emails through social media.

4. Using Your Signature

Often times, your signature is used when sending out emails or important documents online, but have you considered using it to capture your emails?

Adding a signature to your content, guest blog, eBook, or any digital medium will not only strengthen your brand recognition, but it gives you the opportunity to link it to a landing page or sign up sheet.

Consider this, you wrote a guest blog on a popular website and used your clickable signature. Now you have another way for people to find out who you are and give you their email.

5. Give An Offer

Like much of “The Godfather” film, you must give your target audience an offer they can’t refuse.

Offering discounts or a freebie is often a good place to start when trying to entice people to capture their emails. However, to really stand out, you have to go above and beyond.

Consider using experiences, such as one-on-one coaching or a free service, as opposed to digital products. That way, people will remember you more and you’re likely to increase your leads and sales because of it.

6. Collecting Emails On Site

Nothing beats a good old-school marketing tactic. In the technologically advanced world, we live in today, it’s easy to forget that the number one form of communication is face to face.

Don’t be afraid to hit the streets. Knock on every business’ door and get their information. Hold a networking mixer near your office and collect emails. Throw a dinner party with potential clientele. The list goes on.

Asking for an email in person can actually give you positive results and can give you a marketing edge when you’ve exhausted your digital strategies.

7. Hold An Online Webinar

Like points #3 and #5, a webinar is a perfect platform to collect emails. Not only is it a requirement for the viewer to register their email to watch the webinar, but you can also put an offer up at the end of the webinar to maximize your conversions.

Webinars are a great way to showcase your expertise in your industry. You can even take it a step further and use it as a tutorial to use a certain tool, explain a certain system, or test a product out.

We recommend using webinars sparingly as they do require a lot of preparation to be effective; not to mention it keeps your audience lingering for more if you do it in moderation.

8. Use Your YouTube Channel

If you didn’t know, YouTube is the second largest search engine on the web. So why not put your content up there?

One way to increase your email collection is actually through YouTube. Not only can you leave your website and email in the description for your followers, but you can also create what are known as “annotations” on your videos linking them to sign-up sheets, your website, and landing pages.

Just be sure to create high-quality content in order to persuade your audience to give you their emails.

9. Join Local Business Groups

Much like how you can be a part of a LinkedIn Group (which we highly recommend), you can also join a local business group, chapter, or think tank.

Many major cities have groups or chapters dedicated to helping budding entrepreneurs succeed in business. They hold seminars, often have a newsletter, and encourage networking; so why not collect their email addresses too?

Not only will most people give you their emails, they will also see how they can help you. If you offer value and a sincere gesture, they will likely return the favor.

10. Post On A Local Business’ Bulletin Board

Marketing essentially has everyone’s attention to you, so naturally, having more eyes on is beneficial to your overall strategy. So why not post an ad or your email address where you know there’s a lot of traffic?

Places like coffee shops, markets, barber shops and stores are a great place to start. Adding your business card or putting up a compelling flyer with rippable tabs on a busy business can guarantee exposure, but it’s up to you to attract your right audience.

Remember to always ask a business first if it’s okay to use their bulletin or public space. We recommend offering a trade for allowing them to use their facility while working hard to get emails.

These are just a few, unique strategies you can implement to capture the emails you want. Always be testing for new and improved ways to get emails, but with these 10 ideas, you should be off to a great start.