Everyone can grow their business with an email list - especially the agriculture and seedstock industry. It's cheap - even free. It's simple. It's effective. And, the data you get back is priceless.
What would you do if Facebook was gone tomorrow? Or imagine it gets increasingly harder to reach your followers (not hard to imagine, right?) Does that connection you've built with your followers vanish? *Cringe*
Consider this: What is the process to gain a new bull or heifer customer? An oversimplified version might look like this:
This process could take 6 months, or it could take 2 years, but if you don't start, it won't happen ever. Email is my secret link to transform a luke-warm social media follower into a buyer. Email gives YOU the control to direct your message to a specific audience at a specific time without the unreliable middleman (social media). Also, consider that you don't always have the same message to a new subscriber as you do to someone who is a longtime-buyer. Email allows you to segment and give each subscriber the message they need from you.
So, you might be saying:
That's okay, I'll just have my association send an e-blast.
Building your own list means you are talking to people who know who you are, what you sell and still WANT to learn more.
Would you rather pay a premium to talk to 10,000 people who don't know you OR 100 people who are engaged and literally asking to hear from you (at no cost to you)? If you picked the 10,000, we need to have another conversation...
Plus, the most valuable element you are missing from an e-blast to a list you don't own is the results from your campaign which you can utilize to better serve your audience. When done properly, there is tremendous value in knowing the details of your campaign and many organizations are not able to or will not share that most valuable data with you.
Ok, but Kristin, it sounds too complicated.
Actually, there are systems out there that manage all of this for you and are as easy to use as writing in a Word document. Services will keep your lists up to date, help you target your subscribers better and help you easily create emails.
That sounds expensive.
Are you ready for this? It's FREE. There are programs out there that are 100% free. While you may get better results if you want to opt for one of the paid platforms, the free options are definitely a great place to start and build your list.
I don't have very many customers or email addresses.
Even better. Start small and build your list steadily. Those 5, 10, 50 customers deserve the same communication as they would get if you had 500. Get into the mindset of growing your list and set goals and processes to capture new subscribers. To get to 500 customers, you have to represent yourself like you already have 500.
There are countless benefits to building your own list. Not only do you have something to fall back on in case Facebook goes up in smoke, you have data that is so powerful and further connects you to your ideal buyer, allowing you to serve them better. The ability to capture information about what your buyers are truly interested in, is worth more than what you would spend on 100 e-blasts. If you take one step towards marketing your business this fall, make it building your email list.
If you're ready to take the next step:
Add an email sign-up to your website.
Ask for email addresses from your buyers at registration or as you market to them.
Consider a give-away on social media for people to subscribe.
Email me for a free 15-minute consultation.
REMEMBER: This is a marketing tool, but also a major responsibility. People are trusting you not to abuse their email address with unnecessary and unwanted emails and we must respect that above everything.
As always, I'm here to answer any questions or guide you through this process. Please feel free to call or email if I can help.
Thanks for reading!
Kristin
Comments