Creating long-lasting connections that keep customers coming back is every business owner's goal. One of the oldest tricks in the book is building an email list.
Sending emails is personal and can urge many people to return to your business. In fact, email delivers the highest return on marketing investment (ROI) for marketing. In other words, email marketing gets your company the most bang for its buck! For every $1 spent, email marketing generates $38 in ROI.
Emails lists can save you so much time and energy by having a continually growing list of customers already on file. To make your life even easier, Castiron has released brand new email templates ready to be customized to your desire — no template selection, coding knowledge, or email marketing experience needed!
Now that you have the tools to compose and send flawless emails, it’s time to learn how to build your email list.
How to Build an Email List for Your Food Business
It's no secret that email is one tool in your marketing toolbox that can drive serious sales for you. When you send an email to your customers, you're getting a direct line to them — none of the endless-scroll of social media, and none of the serious bucks you have to spend to get in front of customers via ads.
When you send emails to your supporters, you'll make sales, period. We know this to be true because we've seen it happen for the food business owners who use Castiron.
But the hardest part is getting started. How do you send emails to customers (and in turn drive sales) if you don't have any email addresses?
It's time to start building your email list. Here's how.
Use Sign-Up Sheets at In-Person Events
If you are hosting classes, selling at holiday markets, or attending any in-person events with your customers, printing out a sign-up sheet is a quick and easy way to collect your customer’s information. Click here to download a customizable sign-up sheet template.
Add an Opt-In at Checkout
To increase the likelihood of a customer returning to make additional purchases, include a pop up as they check out asking them if they’d like to stay informed about your exciting upcoming products. To boost incentive, you could even mention that your newsletter is the first place you announce pre-sales or discounts.
If you use Castiron, this feature happens automatically!
Add CTAs to Your Site
A call to action, or a CTA, can be anything on your site that encourages viewers to take some kind of action. Email signup CTAs are already built into Castiron stores, so you can build your email list without any extra effort.
To optimize sign-ups, ironically, you don’t want to use words like “sign-up” or “subscribe.” Instead, you want to highlight the value you can offer upfront by using language like “download”, “featured”, “exclusive”, and “access”. For example, instead of saying “Sign up to my newsletter!”, you can say “Access all of our exclusive offers and discounts!”
Offer an Exclusive Discount
Have you ever visited a clothing site and been offered 10% of your order if you enter your email? This is a brilliant way to build your email list by offering immediate gratification (and a deal!) to a potential customer in exchange for their email.
On Castiron, adding this feature to your store is easy as just one click. On your Castiron’s store homepage, on the left-side column click Marketing, under Automated Emails find New Subscriber Coupon and click Activate! You can also edit the coupon to your liking by selecting Edit. Now every time a visitor to your store subscribes to your email list, they’ll receive a coupon code via email.
Use Social Media
Pitching your email newsletter on Instagram, Facebook, and other socials can broaden your reach and invite pre-existing customers to become closer with your business. Make the most of your social media reach by creating an email list of your most loyal and/or curious customers!
It’s never too early or late to start building your company’s email list. Get started with these 5 tips and start reaping the benefits and building deeper connections with your customers! Plus, now you’ll be able to keep in contact with your customers if you ever lose access to your social media accounts (it happens sometimes!).
Now on Castiron
Check out some of the latest additions to the Castiron food business management platform:
- Put more money in your pocket. Turn on tipping in your Castiron store — available for both custom orders and instant checkout products!
- Add a photo gallery to your store with just a few clicks — even on mobile!
- Do you take custom orders? Send a quote to your customers instantly, without making your customers submit an order request form.
- Build out your store in seconds with our product templates. Whether you sell cookies, cakes, charcuterie boards, macarons, or something else, you can get a head start on building your order forms with pre-made templates.
- Start building your first product announcement or custom order availability email on Castiron!
Don’t have a store yet? Build a digital storefront for your food business today.
