[Small Business Advice by Lisa Barone] Using e-mail newsletters to stay top of mind with your audience and keep them up to date on what’s new and exciting at your company remains a great way to build new and repeat sales. 
However, before you can use e-mail marketing as a way to leverage visitors and direct them to your website, you first need their e-mail addresses – and you need to build up a certain amount of trust and interest to make them feel comfortable handing over their inbox to you.
How do you sell the benefits of your newsletter to make customers and potential customers feel comfortable signing up?
Below are four handy tricks I recommend.
1. Create a Compelling Offer
If you want a visitor on your site to hand over their personal e-mail address, you need to give them a compelling reason to do so. We’re (rightfully) protective over the sanctity of our inboxes. We don’t allow just anyone in there. For you to get entrance you’ll need to explain to your audience what’s in it for them. What are the benefits they’ll receive for becoming part of your e-mail list? How will it improve their day, life or user experience? Make it worth their time and the invasion of their privacy.
2. Give Them a Little Something-Something
OK, so you’ve gotten their interest. They’re thinking about it and considering whether the offer you just outlined is worth their time. Sweeten the deal by giving them a little something extra upfront. Maybe it’s a free download of a white paper you wrote, maybe it’s a tool or gadget they can download, or maybe it’s a coupon to your site or one of your partner’s stores. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate gift, just something to make their trigger finger a little itchier. We could all use an extra push.
3. Show Them What’s at Stake
Part of encouraging someone toward a desired action is showing them what’s at stake and how your newsletter or your company will help them achieve their goal or eliminate a need. That’s really what they’re signing up for – the answer to their problem. Not only must you show how you’ll be able to do that (as mentioned in the first step), but you should also be able to show what they’ll lose out on if they don’t take the action you suggest.
4. Be Open About How Their Information Will Be Used
This is really important. For someone to feel safe giving you their e-mail address, you need to be really clear and transparent about a couple of things.
• How their e-mail address will be used
• The process for unsubscribing should they want to stop receiving messages
• That their e-mail address will never be sold to other parties
These are huge concerns for the average user, and if you don’t address them, you’re going to have a difficult time getting someone to subscribe to your e-mail newsletter. You should also include information about how often visitors can expect to receive messaging from you. This helps them feel confident that you won’t spam them the death the minute you get their e-mail address.
Your e-mail marketing relationship with a visitor starts when they’re still deciding whether or not they trust you with their e-mail address. By focusing on just a few points like creating a clear call to action and calming any privacy concerns, you increase your odds of getting that e-mail address and opening up a whole new relationship with that visitor.
[Barone is co-founder and chief branding officer at Outspoken Media Inc.]
