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How to Grow Instagram Followers in 2023

Instagram has become a popular platform for businesses and individuals alike to showcase their products, services, and content. However, with the ever-increasing competition on the platform, it has become challenging to grow your Instagram followers organically. 

As we move into 2023, it’s essential to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and strategies to boost your Instagram followers. In this guide, we will share some proven tips and tricks to help you grow your Instagram followers in 2023.

Use hashtags effectively to increase Instagram followers

Your goal when building a media campaign on Instagram is not only to maintain a connection with your old customers (users who already follow your Instagram page) but also to grow your followers. Posting posts with new, unique and interesting content is the number one priority in order to attract new audiences.

Hashtag makes it easy for users to find photos with relevant content on Instagram. Hashtags are great for connecting users around a particular subject, sparking virality around a launch or sale, and raising awareness for important issues. Attaching relevant hashtags to your post will help increase your exposure and chances of getting discovered by new audiences. 

So how do you use hashtags effectively?

Like on Facebook and Twitter, Instagram users tend to use some hashtags more than others. If you tag the right hashtags, your chances of reaching new users, and improving engagement with old followers are huge.

Using hashtags is one thing, but tagging the right hashtags is quite another.

The most searched tags on the list above can help you increase likes and comments in a short period of time, but to grow the number of followers over a long period of time, you need more. A captivating caption that compliments your hashtag will help increase the relevancy of the overall content to your audience. 

Check out “8 Tips to Writing Captivating Social Media Captions”

To properly utilize hashtags, you need to find and use hashtags that your target audience searches for. This means, you need a powerful tool to both find the right hashtags and ensure that these tags have a steady search on Instagram.

For example, you can use Websta to find popular hashtags that are relevant to your post. In case you search for keywords related to men’s fashion (#mensfashion), this tool will return hashtags sorted by popularity (popularity).

You can also find popular hashtags and content related to direct Instagram posts. Often these hashtags are descriptions of the characteristics of the product/service your business is offering.

Note, Instagram only allows you to attach up to 30 hashtags for a post. Popular keywords change over time. Therefore, you should regularly update your hashtag library to find the most suitable tags.

In addition, you can completely learn and get keyword ideas from your competitors, or from related Instagram accounts to be able to form and develop keyword ideas for yourself.

Tip #1: Usually when generating ideas for Instagram hashtags, you should try to survey the most popular hashtags and see which hashtags are related to the product/service you are offering. Group them into different categories. In each category, you list about 15-20 hashtags, and filter it out into 5-10 hashtags you often use when posting real posts on Insta. In the last section, you should pay attention to geo-tagging to be able to reach specific customer groups.

Post at the right time

The “golden hour” of posting on Instagram is another important factor that helps increase the likelihood of customers reaching your posts and increasing your Instagram followers quickly.

The strategy here is to analyze and find out what time of day you should post to reach the most audiences. To optimize this factor, using Iconosquare’s tool, you will find the relationship between post time related to user behavior. This report will show you when is the best time to post on Instagram.

According to the example in the photo, the brown circles represent the interactions of Instagram users during the time of the day, during the week. The larger the circle, the more suitable time to post.

Grow Instagram followers

You can also use Instagram’s own tool (available in Instagram’s business account), completely free.

grow Instagram followers

Check out “How to Market Your Business for FREE”

You might consider using tools to schedule, organize and plan posts on various social media platforms, such as Later or Hootsuite. This tool will automatically choose the best time to post, and all you have to do is wait and enjoy the number of new followers skyrocketing!

Invest in influencer marketing and reviews on Instagram

Influencer marketing is a strategy where brands partner with social media users to bring awareness and engagement to a product or service that they provide. These can be regular social media users, content creators, and celebrities. This powerful marketing tactic has been predicted to become one of the leading social trends in the upcoming years. 

The impact of influencers (Instagram accounts that have great influence on the behavior of a large number of other users) is undisputed in their effectiveness in promoting the spread for your brand, helping you increase Instagram followers effectively. A recent study finds 81% of consumers embraced influencer marketing in 2022. 

You need to keep in mind that to implement this strategy, you may need to pay a significant amount of money. But if you do it successfully, it brings great results.

Conduct influencer outreach

There are plenty of tools that will help you find influencers in your niche. What tool to use depends most of the time on the platform you’re looking to promote. You can choose to pay or use one of these 24 free influencer marketing tools that will help you in your journey. 

It is important to note that engagement rate varies by the size of the influencer and the platform. The popularity of TikTok marketing is great news for brands who want to capitalize on influencer campaigns. TikTok influencers with fewer than 15K followers have an incredible 17.96% engagement rate, trumping Instagram’s 3.86% average.

grow Instagram followers

Besides, you can use hashtags to find influencers that talk about similar products or services as yours. Take a closer look at the followers of the influencers you’ve just discovered. If they are in line with your target audience, then you can list these potential influencers to reach out to in the future.

Another cost-effective way to find influencers is to use your followers or spy on your competition. Click on a few of the people who are already following your brand. Scroll through the accounts they’re following and see if you can find any influencers there.

You can also observe what your competitors do and who they partner with. Don’t copy, just use the information to understand better what direction you should take.

Check out “Key Strategies for Influencer Marketing”



Implement Giveaway Campaigns

One of the best ways to increase engagement and reach for an Instagram post is to turn it into a giveaway post. Most of the giveaway posts entail certain conditions that participants must fulfill in order to enter the giveaway. The most common ones are to follow the host account and to tag 3 of their friends in the comment. 

grow Instagram followers

Only then will you increase the interactivity in your post in particular, and your Instagram page in general. These comments are also very “friendly” to the Instagram algorithm, often counted as one of the most natural ways to spread your Insta page further.

Ensure consistent branding elements and content throughout your posts

This is an extremely important tip to increase Instagram followers. The majority of potential followers often revisit your previous posts on Instagram to make sure that the content you provide in the future is useful, and also to decide whether to follow your account.

The best way to make sure Instagram users hit the “follow” button is to be consistent about the content of your Instagram posts. Consider the content and appearance of the last 9 posts on your fees. Are these posts consistent in terms of filters, colors, layout, and even descriptions?

Grow Instagram followers

If you find it challenging to maintain content consistency across your social media channels, check out “The Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing in 2023”. It also saves you time and effort in growing your Instagram account by working with a social media specialist who can come up with a tailored social media plan for your business to ensure its success.  

Grow your followers with ease

Growing your Instagram following can be challenging, but with the right strategies and consistent effort, it’s possible to achieve your goals. By following the tips and tricks we have shared in this guide, you can increase your Instagram followers and build a strong and engaged community around your brand account. Remember to stay authentic, engage with your followers, and post quality content that resonates with your audience, and your Instagram following will continue to grow.

It’s crucial to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices for social media growth. If you enjoy this article, check out “Social Media Trends in 2023”

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Influencer Marketing Gains Traction with 81% of Consumers in Recent Study

Influencer marketing remains a powerful tool for driving interest and engagement, as evidenced by a recent report from Matter Communications. The report found that 81% of consumers reported that social media posts from influencers, friends, or family members drove their interest in a product or service within the past year.

The study surveyed 1,000 consumers in the United States, highlighting the effectiveness of influencer marketing in the current market. It showed that the majority of respondents had interacted with influencer marketing, with 64% of them following influencers on social media and 58% purchasing a product or service promoted by an influencer.

The study also found that influencers played a significant role in brand discovery, with 47% of respondents discovering new brands and products through influencers. Moreover, consumers tended to trust the opinions and recommendations of influencers, with 73% of them saying they trust an influencer’s opinion on a product or service more than a brand’s.

This shift towards influencer marketing can be attributed to several factors, including the rise of social media and the need for authentic content. Consumers are increasingly looking for genuine recommendations and are more likely to trust the opinions of someone they perceive as an expert or influencer in their field.

The study also found that the preferred type of influencer content was product reviews and recommendations, with 68% of respondents stating that they prefer this type of content. In contrast, only 13% preferred promotional posts.

In response to this trend, many brands are increasing their investment in influencer marketing. According to eMarketer, influencer marketing spending is expected to reach $3.7 billion in 2021, up from $1.7 billion in 2018.

Social media platforms are increasingly focused on improving their creator offerings, regardless of whether creators are influencing or de-influencing. According to a recent report, YouTube has the highest consumer sentiment and has recently launched a new process to monetize its TikTok competitor’s shorts. This new process enables eligible creators to share revenue generated from ads displayed between Shorts clips.

 

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How to Market Your Business For FREE (Proven Strategies)

Marketing is an essential aspect of any business, whether it’s a startup or an established one. It’s the way businesses communicate with their target audience, build their brand, and attract new customers. However, marketing can be an expensive and daunting task, especially for small businesses with limited resources. Fortunately, there are proven strategies that small businesses can use to market their businesses for free. 

In this guide, we’ll explore some of the most effective free marketing strategies that businesses can use to build their brand, attract new customers, and ultimately grow their business without breaking the bank. Whether you’re just starting or you’ve been in business for a while, these strategies will help you to market your business without spending a dime.

Leverage social media platforms

As of 2022, there are approximately 4.59B social media users around the world. That’s more than half of the world population! In the upcoming years, this number is projected to increase even more. 

Social media platforms are some of the most popular and effective ways to market your business for free. According to recent findings by Sprout Social, surveys ranked social media as the number one way for businesses to connect with their customers. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer your business the opportunity to connect with your target audience and build your brand trust. Here’s how you an get started:

Choose the right platforms

In order for social media to have an impact and reach your desired target audience, your brand needs to be on the right social media platforms. Each social media platform serves a different purpose and people who log in to these platforms use each of them in different ways.

Start by identifying the social media platforms that your target audience frequents. If you’re targeting consumers, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are a good place to start. If you’re targeting other businesses, LinkedIn is an excellent choice. 

By choosing the right social media platform for your brand and tailoring your strategy for each, you will be better able to reach your target audience. 

Create a business page

Once you’ve identified the social media platforms you want to use, create your social media business account. Make sure to include all relevant information about your business, such as your logo, contact information, and a description of your products or services. Make your page visually appealing and easy to navigate.

Post engaging content

Post regular content on your social media pages to keep your audience engaged. Your content should be relevant, valuable, and entertaining. Use captivating captions, images, videos, and other visual content to capture your audience’s attention.

For more tips on how to create captivating social media captions, check out “8 Tips To Writing Captivating Social Media Captions” 

Engage with your audience

Engage with your audience by responding to comments, messages, and reviews. Show your audience that you care about their feedback and are committed to providing excellent customer service.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to make your content more discoverable on social media platforms. Use relevant hashtags in your posts to increase their reach and visibility.

Attaching relevant hashtags to your post will help increase your exposure and chances of getting discovered by new audiences. All of these factors are needed to beat the Instagram algorithm.

PRO tips: In order to get the rights hashtags for your post, type “#” with specific keywords in the search bar or in your caption and Instagram will reveal to you relevant hashtags ranking from most popular to least popular.

Focus on search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher your website ranks, the more likely your target audience will find you. 

If you’re not easy to find with a quick Google search, you risk missing out on a ton of visitors. 82% of smartphone users say they use search engines to find local businesses. 

In order to get discovered locally, you must rank on page 1 because many people never go past the first page. It is not enough to just put out interesting content and hope for the best.

As complicated as it sounds, SEO is completely free! Check out “How to Improve Your Business Ranking with Local SEO”

Create valuable content

Content marketing is an excellent way to build your brand, engage with your audience, and drive traffic to your website. Creating valuable, relevant, and engaging content can help you establish your business as an authority in your industry.

To get started with content marketing, consider creating a blog and publishing articles that address the pain points of your target audience. If you have already done your keyword research, your blog is a great place to put these keywords to use to reach your target audience. You can also create videos, infographics, and other forms of visual content that resonate with your audience and publish them across your online channels. 

Leverage email marketing

Email marketing is a form of inbound marketing as well as digital marketing that uses email to promote your business’s products or services, as well as to incentivize customer loyalty. It can help make your customers that subscribe to your email list aware of your latest items or offers by integrating it into your marketing automation efforts.

In today’s digital age, email is one of the most powerful tools available to marketers to reach out to potential and existing customers. Effective email marketing can help businesses build and maintain relationships with their audiences, drive sales, and increase brand awareness.

When creating email marketing campaigns, make sure to segment your email list to ensure that each message is relevant and valuable to the recipient. Use a clear call-to-action (CTA) to drive engagement and conversions.

However, with so much competition in the inbox, it’s important to use the right strategies and tactics to ensure your email list is high quality and your emails stand out and engage your subscribers.

Check out “Build an Email List Fast – What Small Business Owners Need to Know”

Partner with other businesses

Partnering with other businesses in your industry or local community can be a valuable way to market your business for free. Look for businesses that share your values, and collaborate on joint marketing campaigns, events, or other promotions.

By partnering with other businesses, you can tap into their audience and expand your reach. You can also build relationships with other businesses, which can lead to new opportunities and collaborations down the line. Here are some tips to foster your business’s partnership:

  • Identify potential partners: Start by identifying businesses that share your values and target the same audience. Look for businesses that complement your products or services and have a similar customer base. You can also attend industry events or local business networking events to meet potential partners.
  • Develop a partnership strategy: Develop a partnership strategy that outlines the goals, benefits, and expectations of the partnership. Determine how the partnership will work, what each partner will contribute, and how the success of the partnership will be measured.
  • Collaborate on marketing campaigns: Collaborate with your partners on joint marketing campaigns that promote your businesses. For example, you could co-host an event, offer a joint discount, or create a joint marketing campaign. Make sure that your marketing campaigns are relevant, valuable, and engaging to your target audience.
  • Cross-promote each other’s businesses: Cross-promote each other’s businesses by promoting your partner’s products or services to your audience, and vice versa. You could feature your partner’s products on your website or social media pages, or include their business in your marketing materials.
  • Offer joint packages: Offer joint packages that include products or services from both businesses. For example, a wedding planner could partner with a photographer to offer a joint wedding package. Make sure that the joint packages offer value to your target audience.

Grow your business with effective marketing strategies

All the strategies mentioned above are under the umbrella of digital marketing, which helps businesses reach and connect with more audiences more effectively, as the world is going digital. By leveraging social media, focusing on search engine optimization, creating valuable content, using email marketing, partnering with other businesses, and other proven strategies, you can build your brand, connect with your target audience, and grow your business without breaking the bank.

However, keep in mind that while these strategies are free, they do require time, effort, and dedication. You need to be consistent and patient with your marketing efforts to see results. But you can definitely save a lot of your time and effort by having a tailored digital plan and roadmap for your business to make sure every step is taken with certainty and success. 

Through the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), your small to midsize businesses can get access to up to $15,000 in digital grant to work with a digital advisor to build a tailored digital action plan for you. Get in touch with us today for more information on how to get your application started. 

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The Ultimate Guide to Product Marketing in 2023

In today’s highly competitive business landscape, effective product marketing is essential for businesses looking to succeed. A well-executed product marketing strategy can help businesses build brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales. However, developing an effective product marketing strategy requires a deep understanding of your target audience, the competitive landscape, and the unique value proposition of your product. 

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the key components of product marketing and provide practical tips for developing a successful product marketing strategy. Whether you’re launching a new product or looking to improve your existing product marketing efforts, this article will provide valuable insights and actionable advice to help you achieve your goals.

What is product marketing?

Product marketing is the process of bringing the product to the market, promoting and selling it to a customer. This process involves understanding the product’s target audience and using strategic positioning and messaging to boost revenue and demand for the product. 

Product marketing doesn’t cease once a product has hit the market. The process is extended after its launch to ensure that the target audience knows about the product, how it is used. Their needs and feedback are collected and analyzed to help businesses optimize their strategy and make informed decisions throughout the product’s lifecycle.

What's the difference between product marketing and conventional marketing?

Both are promotional strategies, but conventional marketing focuses on acquiring and converting potential customers. Conventional marketing often includes branding, promoting a business as a whole, and ensuring the consistency of their on-brand messages.

On the other hand, product marketing is a branch of conventional marketing. While the latter is more encompassing, product marketing is about understanding a specific product’s audience thoroughly and developing messaging and positioning for that product to them. This process covers the launch of and marketing strategy for the product. Therefore, the job of a product marketer lies at the intersection of marketing, sales, and product in a business, all with a common goal to serve the customers and help the business grow.

product marketing

Product marketing goals

Product marketing is an important part of any business’s marketing strategy. Without this type of marketing, your launched product might not achieve its fullest potential and positioning in your customer’s mind and your target market. So what can product marketing help your business achieve?

  • A better understanding of your customers
  • Effective customer targeting
  • A better understanding of your competitor’s product and marketing strategies
  • Ensure the marketing, product, and sales teams are on the same page
  • Proper messaging and positioning of your product in the market
  • Boost revenue and improve sales

The role of product marketing

  1. Conducting market research: Product marketers gather information about the market, competitors, and customers to identify opportunities and threats.
  2. Defining target customers: The product marketing process involves identifying the customer segments that the product is designed for and developing buyer personas that represent the ideal customers.
  3. Developing product positioning: Based on market research and customer insights, product marketers create a unique value proposition and messaging that differentiates the product from competitors by answering questions such as:
  • Why launching this product
  • Who is this product for?
  • What problems can this product solve?
  • What makes this product unique from its competitors?

Check out our guide on how to position your brand for success 

  1. Creating marketing collateral: Product marketers develop marketing materials such as brochures, videos, webinars, and case studies that showcase the product’s features, benefits, and use cases.
  2. Launching new products: They plan and execute product launches, coordinating with cross-functional teams such as sales, engineering, and customer support.
  3. Training sales and customer support teams: Product marketers educate sales and customer support teams on product features, benefits, and messaging, so they can effectively sell and support the product.
  4. Analyzing performance: Product marketers track key performance metrics such as sales, customer satisfaction, and market share to measure the success of the product and make data-driven decisions.

Overall, the role of product marketing is to help the company understand their niche market and customers, develop a product that meets their needs, and successfully bring it to market.

Product marketing strategies

Product marketing strategies are essential for businesses to ensure that their products are reaching the right audience and generating sales. A product marketing strategy can encompass a range of tactics, from defining the product’s unique value proposition, launching the product and executing a targeted advertising campaign. Let’s take a look at some of the most effective product marketing strategies that businesses can use to maximize their reach and profitability.

1. Identify your product’s target audience and buyer personas

The first step in marketing a product is to define the target audience. This involves identifying the ideal customer for the product, including their demographics, interests, and behavior. By understanding the target audience, businesses can tailor their messaging and communication channels to effectively reach and engage them.

2. Determine the unique selling proposition and messaging of your product

The unique selling proposition (USP) is the key benefit that sets the product apart from the competition. It’s important to clearly define the USP and communicate it in all marketing materials to help the product stand out in a crowded market. The USP should be relevant to the target audience and solve their pain points. 

The key to differentiating your product is your product’s positioning and the message it delivers. Product positioning and messaging will answer questions from customers about your product and what makes it unique. From there, turn those answers into the main points behind your product marketing strategy.

As a product marketer, you need to make sure that your customers and audience get these answers without having to search or make assumptions about them.

Here are some example questions you’ll have to answer to develop your product positioning and messaging:

  • What makes your product unique?
  • Why is your product better than your competition?
  • Why are your product features relevant to your target audience?
  • What will customers get from your product that they can’t get from your competitors’ products?
  • Why should customers trust and invest in you and your product?

Once you have the answers, compile them into a shareable report to easily capture positioning and messaging for the product by following these steps:

  • Present these answers in a minimalistic way
  • Use appeals to stimulate customers
  • Make sure the tone of the report matches the tone of the brand
  • Focus on the benefits of the product as a whole, not just a specific feature

TIPs: It’s important to make sure that your marketing team, sales team and other stakeholders are aware of the positioning and messaging of your product, so that they can convey a consistent message and ideas to potential and existing customers. 

This ensures that the entire company will agree on the content and information they share about your products. Additionally, you can provide this information to your support team if necessary, as they can place support calls and work with your customers who are already invested in the product.

Set goals for your product

Once the target audience and USP have been defined, it’s time to develop a marketing plan. This should include a budget, timeline, and tactics for reaching the target audience. Some effective marketing tactics include advertising, social media, content marketing, email marketing, events, and influencer marketing.

The goals will vary depending on your specific product, the model of the company you work for, your overall marketing goals, etc. The goals of your product should be specific to your business and situation. Let’s take a look at some of the goals that product marketers aim for:

  • Increase revenue
  • Interacting with customers
  • Improve market share
  • Acquire customers from competitors
  • Increase brand awareness

Price your product

Pricing your product is an important aspect of your overall marketing strategy. The price you set for your product can impact your sales, profitability, and overall success. Here are some steps to help you price your product effectively:

  1. Determine your costs: Calculate all the costs associated with producing and delivering your product, including manufacturing costs, shipping, packaging, and any other overhead costs.
  2. Know your target audience: Understand your target audience’s willingness to pay for your product, their preferences, and what they value.
  3. Research your competition: Research your competitors’ pricing strategies, including their prices, discounts, and promotions.
  4. Set your pricing strategy: Choose a pricing strategy that aligns with your value proposition and business goals. Some common pricing strategies include cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, and competition-based pricing.
  5. Test your pricing: Consider testing different price points with your target audience to determine which price point generates the most sales and profitability.
  6. Monitor and adjust: Monitor your sales and profitability regularly to determine if your pricing strategy is effective. If not, adjust your prices accordingly.

Remember that pricing is not a one-time decision, it should be a continuous process that considers changes in the market, competition, and your costs. By following these steps, you can set a pricing strategy that maximizes your profits and ensures the success of your product.

Step 5: Launch your product

The long awaited day has come. This is one of the most exciting parts of product marketing–launching your product. Now it’s important to know whether you would want to conduct a soft launch of your product before a hard launch, depending on your confidence in your product. Here is the difference between the two: 

Soft launch vs. hard launch

A soft launch is a limited release of a product to a select group of customers or a specific market segment. The goal of a soft launch is to test the product and gather review and feedback before a full-scale launch. Soft launches are typically low-key, with minimal marketing and promotion. Soft launches are useful for identifying potential problems and making adjustments before a full-scale launch.

A hard launch is a full-scale launch of a product, with a significant marketing and promotional campaign. The goal of a hard launch is to create buzz, generate interest, and drive sales. A hard launch can involve advertising, events, influencer marketing, and other marketing tactics to reach a broad audience.

When to use each approach?

A soft launch is ideal when:

  • You want to test your product in a real-world setting
  • You want to gather feedback from customers
  • You want to identify potential issues and make improvements before a full-scale launch

A hard launch is ideal when:

  • You are confident in your product and believe it will be successful
  • You want to create buzz and generate interest
  • You want to drive sales and revenue quickly

For whichever launch method you choose to proceed with, there should be product-related information such as positioning and messaging so that potential customers can learn all about your product, including product features, what makes it unique, pricing, customer demos, tutorials, and any other materials you’ve created and want to share. Make sure all of this information is communicated in your product description.

Remember that this is a process that needs to be thought of and updated as products change or evolve so that they remain relevant to the customer.

How to market a product

  • Develop a messaging framework: 

Develop a messaging framework that helps your content and social media team communicate your value proposition to your target audience across all marketing channels.

  • Choose your marketing channels

Choose the marketing channels that are most effective in reaching your target audience, such as social media, email marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, events, and advertising.

  • Develop a content strategy: 

Develop a content strategy that aligns with your messaging framework and engages your target audience.

  • Develop a budget: 

Develop a budget for your marketing plan that aligns with your business goals and allows you to execute your marketing tactics effectively.

  • Set goals and metrics: 

Set specific, measurable goals and metrics for your marketing plan, such as website traffic, lead generation, engagement, and sales.

  • Implement your marketing plan

Implement your marketing plan by executing your tactics, monitoring your metrics, and making adjustments as needed.

  • Evaluate and optimize:

Continuously evaluate and optimize your marketing plan by analyzing your metrics, adjusting your tactics, and experimenting with new approaches.

Product marketing is essential for businesses looking to promote and sell their products effectively. By conducting market research, analyzing the competition, developing clear messaging and positioning, creating effective content, and executing promotional tactics, businesses can build brand awareness, drive sales, and stay competitive in their market. 

By following these key components, businesses can develop a product marketing strategy that effectively communicates the unique value proposition of their product to their target audience. 

If you find this article helpful, make sure to check out “Digital Marketing Trends in 2023” and other insights.

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Unique Selling Points: What They Are and How to Identify Yours

When it comes to running a business, having a unique selling point is crucial to stand out from competitors, attract customers and reinforce your brand positioning. A unique selling point (USP) is a characteristic or feature of a product, service, or brand that sets it apart from the rest. It’s what makes a business different, memorable, and valuable to its target audience. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into the importance of having a unique selling point, how to create one, and examples of successful USPs, 

What is Unique Selling Points (USP)?

Unique Selling Points, or USP for short, is a factor that differentiates your product or service from your competitors. Some common USPs are lowest cost, highest quality, first in the market, or some other unique factors.

Forming an opinionated and deliberate USP helps focus your marketing strategy and influences messaging, branding, copywriting, and other marketing decisions, and influences prospective customers. A good unique selling point should be concise and properly explain why it is beneficial to customers by itself. 

At its core, a USP should quickly answer a potential customer’s most immediate question when they encounter your brand:

“What makes you different from the competition?”

Your USP plays to your strengths and should be based on what makes your brand or product uniquely valuable to your customers. Being “unique” is rarely a strong USP in itself. You have to differentiate around some aspect your target audience cares about, otherwise your messaging won’t be nearly as effective. 

Why is USP important?

A good USP can be an effective tool to help you shape and focus your marketing goals to successfully establish your brand and product.

Once you have a specific USP in place, you’ll be able to identify the key elements to focus on when setting up marketing campaigns for your products and brands. The USP will act as a factor that conveys the benefits to consumers so that they can easily remember your brand and product. This is an indispensable part when implementing branding for businesses; it will help the campaign become memorable and make a good impression on the customers.

Let’s say there are 2 products on the shelf, and neither of them has any outstanding features. If they are all the same, the purchase rate will be 50 – 50. But how can the success or failure of a business be like good luck and bad luck? 

Therefore, it is necessary to know what differentiates your product from that of your competitors. And the solution here is to have a strong USP, which can help increase the chances of customers choosing to buy your product and thereby increase the success rate for the business.

To know what a strong USP looks like, we must know what USP isn’t.

What a unique selling point is not

Specific marketing offers–like 10% off, free shipping. 24/7 customer service, or a good return policy–are not USPs. Convincing and effective though they may be, they’re not unique on their own, nor are they positions that are easy to defend, as any of your competitors can copy them.

A USP is also noy just the headline on your homepage. It’s a position your small business takes as a whole that can be incorporated into your brand philosophy, your products, your brand, the experience you provide, and any other touch point your customers have with your business.

The best way to learn what good unique selling points look like is through examples. Here are the best USP examples that are done right, and what you can learn from each successful business.

Unique selling points examples

Vessie

One of the first things you notice about Vessie is their waterproof shoes. They’re not just regular rain boots but rather sneakers that can withstand rainy weather. 

unique selling point USP

Their tagline, “Weather or Not, Here You Come” immediately conveys the unique value of Vessie’s products to its potential customers. In addition, their products are said to be lightweight and breathable, unlike typical, chunky rain boots. These are their competitive advantages.

unique selling point USP

Canva

Canva's unique selling point (UPS)

The online graphic design platform Canva has one of the best Unique Selling Points examples among the SaaS industry. Its service primarily focuses on streamlining the graphic design process to let anyone design beautifully without getting stuck at the limitation bar of high-price and difficult design software programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

“Empowering the world to design” conveys what makes the service unique and better without using too many words to explain. So what else does it signify?

  • The simplicity of the product; drag and drop feature, ready-made templates, etc.
  • Low prices more people can afford
  • Competitive advantage in the market 

Starbucks

Can’t start your day without a good old Starbucks coffee? That’s precisely how genius marketing works. Starbucks is not only good at customer loyalty, but it also excels in unique selling points. 

The real success behind Starbucks is going beyond coffee. It’s getting people to connect various positive things in daily life with “Starbucks” coffee. For some people, it;s a good chat and tasty coffee with friends; for others, it means the right way to start a busy workday. 

The USP “Expect more than coffee” conveys the company mission, which is “connection”

Coca-Cola

The world-renown beverage corporation Coca-Cola diverts the focus on “refreshment” for their Unique Selling Point. Taking the simplicity of “refreshment and beverages” and connecting them to a more valuable meaning, it emphasizes the product and company difference by;

Starting the company’s vision of sustainability for our planet, which is hinted at “Refresh the world.” Focusing on the “Make a difference” part to draw in the customers to consume the products to make a difference by joining sustainability. In fact, a lot of their campaigns embody this spirit, which in turn reinforces their purpose and unique selling point.

Tesla

Tesla unique selling point

Tesla’s USP is its focus on sustainability and innovation. The company is leading the ebay in the development of electric vehicles and renewable energy. Their products are designed to be environmentally friendly and technologically advanced.

Tesla’s strategy revolves around two main points:

  • Creating an amazing driving experience 
  • Incentivizing people to switch to electric cars

The driving experience is key for Tesla. Their cars are the only ones that can be driven without gasoline, which makes them unique and exciting.

The smoothness of the ride, the responsiveness of the controls, and the overall immerse feeling make driving an electric car feel much different from driving any other type of car. 

Now you know what good unique selling points look like. You can create a winning unique selling point for your own business. 

4 steps to creating a successful and effective unique selling point

Every USP is going to be unique but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a process you can follow to put yourself on the right track. Here’s how you can write your own USP.

Step 1: Get to know what your audience wants

It’s no secret that different people want different things. You can’t (usually) target a product to millenial buyer the same way you would target a product to a baby boomer. Learning what your audience wants from a business in your industry is vital to creating a unique selling point that your customers can resonate with.

There are multiple ways in which you can research and learn about your target audience and market. Here are some places to get started:

  • Google your product or service category and analyze the direct and indirect competitors that come up.
  • Check subreddits that relate to your customers and eavesdrop on their conversations and product recommendations.
  • Talk to people who are part of your target market and ask them what brands they buy from in your space.
  • Look at the relevant social media accounts or pages your target audience follows and are receptive to.
  • Go shopping online or offline and get a feel for how your customers would browse and buy products.

Step 2: Conduct a competitor analysis

Competitor research involves identifying your competitors, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their products and services. By looking at your biggest competitors, you can see how your own products and services stack up and where the gaps in the market are so you can fill them in. 

Here are 6 steps to competitive research:

  • Identify main competitors: You can do this by searching your product or service category on the web and see what comes up, or ask your potential customers what services they are already using.
  • Analyze competitors’ online presence: You can look at their website, the type of content they are publishing, and their social media presence so you can identify opportunities where you can learn from and/or outperform them. 
  • Gather information: The best way to gather information about your competitors is by acting like their customers. SIgn up for their email list and follow their blog and social channels to get an idea of how they communicate and interact with their customers online. 
  • Track your findings: make sure you keep track of what your competitors are doing over time, potentially on a spreadsheet, so you can see how they change everything from pricing to marketing and promotional activities. 
  • Check online reviews: Try to find as many reviews of your competitors as possible. Besides learning from their positive feedback, any negative reviews will help you identify areas where you can improve your own product or service.
  • Identify areas for improvement: Your competitive research should reveal at least one area your business can stand to improve in.

Keep in mind that competitive research is never a one-time event. It is an ongoing process of monitoring and observing how competitors evolve to make sure you maintain your brand position in the market. 

Step 3: Gather data and conduct research on buyer’s behavior and motivations

You need to know what motivates and drives customers. It goes beyond the traditional way of analyzing customer demographics such as: age, gender, race, income and geographic location.

Cosmetics and alcohol companies are great examples of industries that know the value of promoting psychological orientation. People buy these products based on their desires (for beautiful, classy, glamorous women, etc.) rather than based on their needs.

So how do you get your hands on this important data?

Here are a few places to get started with:

  • Surveys: Asking direct questions to your customers is probably one of the most popular, and also an effective method of gathering data. Web-based surveys are definitely quick and easy for the respondents. They usually have limited answers to choose from with a few open questions. Such a secure form of questionnaires sometimes leaves no place to share the actual thought of one customer or their in-depth impression. 
  • Online tracking: Your website or app is the perfect tool for collecting data about customer behavior. Each person that visits your website automatically creates the data. Tracking customers’ behavior allows you to have greater insight into their preferences. What they bought, what they were interested in, what they left in the basket – all this information helps plan your business strategy. 
  • Monitoring social media: Thanks to the power of social media marketing, you can gather as much data as each person decides to share publicly. You can monitor how many times your company was mentioned or looked for on social media. Many social media sites will also provide you with analytics about the performance of your posts. This is a perfect use of the third-party data, that can give you precious customer insights.
  • Subscription and registration data: Signing up to your email list or rewards program almost always requires providing valuable customer data. It is also done with the customer’s permission. The main benefit of such a method is that your leads are more likely to convert. They have already shown an interest in your brand. You just need to remember that asking for too much can discourage people from joining your subscription, but if you’re not asking for enough your data analytics won’t be as valuable.

For tips on how to build a profitable email list, check out 

“Build an Email List Fast — What Small Business Owners NEED to Know!”



Step 4: Develop your brand position

To determine the unique selling point for your brand, you need to identify the qualities and characteristics that you target customers can identify with and that will set you apart from your competitors. 

It’s important to find your focus and let that inform all the other parts of your brand as you build it. Here are some questions to help you determine your focus and personality:

  • What is my unique position in the market? Take a look at your competition and make sure you can articulate in a concise way how your brand is superior.
  • What’s the greatest benefit of my brand? No need to be modest here. Note exactly what the best thing is about your product or service and continuously highlight this to your customers.
  • How can I prove that benefit? Once you’ve shone a light on your brand’s advantages, be sure you can deliver. Whether it’s offering a guarantee or using statistics to back up your claim, prove what you say about your brand is true.

Here are 5 aspects of a business to take into account and asses when building and/or improving your brand position:

  1. Quality of service
  2. Price
  3. Convenience
  4. Niche service
  5. Problem and solution

It is important to be realistic with your brand’s strengths and weaknesses in order to develop the best unique selling point for your business. 

Define your competitive edge with unique selling points

Having a unique selling point is critical for businesses of all sizes and industries. A USP isn’t just a persuasive line of copy on your homepage. It’s ultimately how you position your products or even your business to the rest of the world

Your products don’t need to be wholly unique in and of themselves for you to have a strong unique selling proposition. Instead, identify a niche market for your brand and look for a spot where you can plant your flag. Whether it’s a unique feature, a benefit, or an aspect of the customer experience, a USP can be the key to long-term success in today’s competitive business landscape.

If you enjoy this article, check out our other marketing insights and news.

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Lead Generation: Definition and Strategies

Lead Generation is the key to developing relationships with users and helping businesses grow  by means of influencing their buying decisions. Though this is not an easy job, the impact is worthwhile and long lasting. 

Whether you’re selling a product to consumers or business services to other businesses, customers today know what they want, who they want it from, and what they want to pay before you can even ask “May I help you?” Growing your business means reaching potential customers before they’ve made up their minds. Lead generation is key.

In this article, we will walk you through what lead generation is and guide you step by step to attracting potential customers for your business.

What is lead generation?

Leads refer to people (individuals or organizations) who are likely to be interested in the products and services of a business.

Primarily used as part of digital marketing strategies, lead generation is the process by which a business or brand finds potential customers (who can buy a product), from the stages of attracting attention or awareness (brand awareness), to interest and desire, and finally to take specific actions such as providing their contact information or starting a product trial.

Through online platforms such as Facebook or Google, businesses often use paid advertising forms to promote leads.

Lead generation is associated with the concept of the customer journey, which is the process by which a user moves from the stage of brand awareness, interest in the brand (interaction), consideration and finally performing a specific action such as contacting the business.

Lead generation is a huge part of inbound marketing with the goal to attract customers naturally and organically instead of in a disruptive way. 

How do leads differ from prospects, opportunities, and customers?

While a lead is often referred to as a customer or prospect, these terms have completely different meanings

Lead: these are potential customers, who may or may not be interested in purchasing the products or services of the business yet. For example, if a user downloads a document from a software company, this action does not mean that they have a need to consult or buy the software of that business.

Prospect: Potential customers in the true sense of the word, who have a need or ability to buy a company’s products (although they may not later buy for some reason such as high prices).

Opportunity: Also potential customers, but these people have specific indications of sales opportunities. A lead is often converted to an opportunity when the sales team contacts and identifies the opportunity to convert them into paying customers. 

Customers: People who have purchased or have begun paying for a company’s products and services.

Though it’s important to keep in mind that all definitions are relative. Depending on a particular business model, industry or strategy, the use of these terms may vary.

Why lead generation is important to a business

Here are some benefits that businesses can get from their leads:

Expand your market

When you started your business, you likely targeted a specific group of people. But is this the only sector you can and should be targeting? Lead gen enables you to learn about your prospects. 

Maybe you’re getting engagement from companies and job roles not included in your marketing campaigns. With lead gen, you’ll see this trend and can add them. 

Now, you have the opportunity to expand into new markets you otherwise wouldn’t have.

Grow your following

Content creation and communication are a big part of lead generation efforts. It consists of crafting quality content and starting conversations on social channels. The goal is to share valuable content with your target audience, so as to position you as a thought leader in the industry. 

In turn, this builds a community of professionals who like and follow your brand. Some will become customers and even more may turn into brand advocates. And who couldn’t use more of those?

Build Visibility and Awareness

Maybe you’re a startup that recently launched without much buzz. Or you’re an established business that’s operated behind the scenes for years. And now you want to get more eyes (and wallets) focused on your company. 

Creating visibility and awareness is vital to turning the tide in your favor. You can do this by creating content your audience cares about and sharing them on the channels they frequent.

Boost Your Revenue

When done correctly, lead generation can maximize your brand’s ability for reaching target prospects. This requires using the right messaging, offer, and content marketing strategies to generate interest from these specific groups. 

In doing so, you’ll find it easier to capture the attention of qualified leads, which makes it easier for sales to convert them. The revenue growth potential is great, especially when you’re focusing on interests and pain points your audience cares about.

What’s the process of lead generation?

Now that we understand how lead generation fits into the inbound marketing methodology, let’s walk through the steps of the lead generation process.

Step 1 – Attract attention: Through means such as posting on social networking platforms, keyword SEO, or other forms of paid advertising (paid ads), businesses reach customers through lead magnets, such as free product trial, downloadable ebook, guide, template, etc.

Step 2 – Take Action: If these users show interest or interest in your products or are enticed by offers (promotions), they can re-engage with the content by clicking to be redirected to landing page to receive the offers

Step 3 – Leave information: Usually, the place where the user is taken to, after interacting with the main content is the landing page, where customers are asked to leave their contact in order to receive the offers. 

See how everything fits together?

To sum it up: Visitor clicks a CTA that takes them to a landing page where they fill out a form to get an offer, at which point they become a lead.

For more tips on how to create lead magnets that brings customers from step 1 to sept 3, check out “Why Your Lead Magnet isn’t Working – How to Fix it”

Marketing channels that generate leads

You can use a variety of channels to drive traffic to your landing page and start generating leads. But most importantly, which channel should you use? To answer this question, let’s explore some of the top channels you can generate leads from.

Lead magnets

A lead magnet is a marketing term for a free item or service that is given away for the purpose of gathering contact details. For example, lead magnets can be trial subscriptions, samples, white papers, e-newsletters, and free consultations. These can be placed on your website, in relevant blog articles or as a pop-up.

Email marketing

Email is an effective channel to reach an audience that already knows the brand and company products or services. Using this channel can also make it easier to call users to action because they have already subscribed to your list.

However, your email is likely to be ignored with countless other emails sent to users every day. So use CTA with compelling and relevant content and eye-catching design to attract subscribers’ attention.

For effective email strategies, check out “12 Email Marketing Tips for Successful Campaigns”

Blog

The advantage of blog posts is that you can tailor the content to match your final offer. For example, if your offer is a video on how to install Google Search Console, you can write a blog post about how to choose marketing metrics that make it easier to insert CTA.

Social Media

Social media marketing also help you incentivize and guide your followers to take action, from Instagram Story to Facebook profile link or Twitter bitly URL. You can also talk about your offer on social media posts and add a CTA in the caption to direct traffic back to your website.

Free product trial

You can support sales by letting customers try out your product or service. After the potential audience uses the product, you continue to use some incentives or persuade them to buy. Another tip is to add branding to your product for free, so that more and more customers know you.

Word-of-mouth marketing

Referral marketing or word-of-mouth marketing is also a commonly used lead generation method. Word of mouth marketing is a tactic used to generate natural discussions about and recommendations for a product or company. Essentially, getting people to talk about your brand, product, or business.

Everyone wants people talking about their products because those conversations are what drive business—often more than any other marketing effort.

Whichever method you use to generate leads, you still have to direct users to the landing page. So make sure your page is legible and captivating enough for the user to take further action.

Grow Your Business with Lead Generation

No matter what industry you are in, whether you are a startup, small business, a long-term business, B2B or B2C, lead generation can bring great value to you.

By understanding what a lead is or how to find it, you now have more opportunities to help your business drive new customers, drive sales, and more. 

If you want to capture and generate leads effectively while having time for other essential aspects of your business, contact Advesa so we can come up with a tailored plan for your business.

 

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TikTok and Facebook Battle over the Virtual Reality and Metaverse Markets

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta may also face off against TikTok’s parent company in the field of virtual reality (VR) and Metaverse, in addition to social networks.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, and Facebook, both have expressed interest in the field of virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse. Both companies see potential in these emerging technologies and are exploring ways to incorporate them into their offerings. 

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has made significant investments in VR technology through his company’s subsidiary, Oculus. Meanwhile, ByteDance has been exploring various VR technologies and is rumored to be developing a VR headset of its own.

Two years ago, ByteDance acquired Pico, a Chinese startup that makes VR headsets. The deal opened a new front in the Chinese company’s competition with Meta.

In fact, parent company Facebook and Instagram are also jostling for users and advertising revenue with TikTok as the short-video app grows in popularity.

The Race to Dominating the Virtual Reality and Metaverse Markets

According to industry data, Pico’s headphone shipments have skyrocketed, making it a small but fast-growing company second only to Meta in the global market. Pico has never sold its consumer headphones in the US.

In 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s name to Meta in part to reflect his bet on the metaverse, a more immersive version of the Internet that is experienced largely through virtual reality headsets.

The company spent a lot of money on that ambition. In its latest quarterly results, Meta says that there are more than 200 apps on their VR devices that generate more than $1 million in revenue per app. Still, overall revenue in Meta’s Reality Labs segment fell 17% in the quarter due to lower sales of the Quest 2 headset.

According to International Data Corp, Meta still held 90% market shares just about a year ago. By the third quarter of 2022 – the closest time period for which data is available – Meta’s market share had dropped to around 75%.

Pico’s market share tripled in the same year by approximately 15%. No other VR headset maker holds more than 3% of the market.

IDC data shows that Meta’s headset shipments in the third quarter fell 48% from a year earlier. ByteDance’s Pico is the only headphone maker to increase shipments, in a market estimated to be worth $4 billion by 2022.

A spokesperson for Meta said: “We are pleased that consumers have more ways to experience VR, because when they do, it helps foster the ecosystem, which in turn encourages developers to create and produce more great content.”

Pico’s obstacles to topping the market

ByteDance’s foray into the virtual reality headset market comes at a difficult political time for the company.

The Beijing-based business is on the radar of officials and politicians who have voiced concerns over the Chinese government’s use of TikTok data to spy on Americans.

TikTok’s app has been banned on federal government devices, while some Biden administration officials want to try to force the sale of TikTok to a US company.

Pico offers the headset for personal use in Europe and Asia, markets that are more open to devices from Chinese companies than the US.

Consumers in those markets were intrigued by Pico in part because last year, Meta announced a $100 price increase for the Quest model.

VR headset
A customer trying on the Meta's Oculus Quest headset

After the price increase, Quest 2 costs 399 USD. Pico’s mainstream consumer headphones retail for the equivalent of $450. Pico is also available in a number of foreign markets where Meta’s equipment was not available before.

The latest data doesn’t reflect sales of Pico’s newest consumer headset model, the Pico 4, which was released to positive reviews in October. Meta also released a new headset in October. 10, Quest Pro, which is aimed at professionals and retails for $1,500.

Competitive strategy is also getting hotter and hotter. Apple is expected to launch augmented reality headsets later this year, and Microsoft Corp. offers a mixed reality headset for businesses called HoloLens. The headphone market is expected to become a $16 billion industry by 2026, according to IDC.

“The space will become crowded with competitors with good potential. So it’s going to be very difficult for Pico,” said Rolf Illenberger, chief executive officer of virtual reality software company VRdirect.

Offering multiple apps is vital to making the VR platform compelling, and Pico is still in the early days of expanding its portfolio.

They currently have around 250 apps available – compared to more than 400 in the Quest app store. The company also introduced a social app called Pico Worlds, similar to Meta’s Horizon Worlds.

Meta's VR app, Horizon World
Meta's virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds is displayed on a smartphone

Could there still be hope for Pico?

Sonam Mobbs, a 40-year-old IT support worker in Northampton, UK, bought the Quest 2 headset on the day it launched in 2020. He played games every day with the device until Pico 4 was released for sale where he lives.

“The biggest difference I notice when you switch between the two is clarity,” he says. “The lens on the Pico 4 is better”. Mr. Mobbs, who says he spends at least five hours a week playing virtual reality games, put his Quest 2 up for sale on eBay three weeks after he started using the Pico device.

The company’s website says Pico was founded in 2015 and initially focused on business headsets. In May 2022, following the acquisition by ByteDance, Pico announced it would begin selling consumer devices in Europe and throughout Asia.

Previously, Pico only sold consumer headphones in China. Now Pico also sells higher-end headsets to businesses located in the US, as well as other markets around the world.

Glenn Kachmar, 55, of Vancouver, Canada, who teaches classes using VR, said he used Quest 2 until he heard about Pico last year. He ordered a device not sold in Canada, from Spain.

a giant advertisement light box shows PICO VR headset by Douyin or TikTok in Wangjing subway station in Beijing

“The Pico is definitely a better headset in many ways,” he said, referring specifically to the screen resolution and the fit on the head. But he was reluctant to give up Pico’s product, saying their device didn’t offer as many games as Quest and that the games he had purchased weren’t ported to Pico.

Given the size and resources of both companies, a competition between Facebook and ByteDance in the VR and metaverse markets is not surprising. However, it is still too early to determine the outcome of this competition as these markets are still in their early stages of development and much can change in the coming years.

If you enjoy this article, make sure you check out our other news and insights to stay up-to-date.

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Build an Email List Fast — What Small Business Owners NEED to Know!

Did you know it costs five times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one?

Focusing on customer retention is a valuable long-term solution to increasing revenue and sustainable growth, but cultivating that loyalty isn’t always easy.

When I think about the brands I like best, like Spotify, Amazon and DAVIDsTEA, I know I’m not a loyal brand advocate just because of their products. I can buy cheaper tea, music and house appliances from many other places.

One of the ways Spotify, Amazon and DAVIDsTEA nurture customer loyalty is through valuable content. While there are many ways to do this, email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience – if done right.

If you’re starting from scratch, building an impressive email list can be tough. Here, we’ll present some high-quality strategies for building an email list from scratch.

Best of all, these strategies are designed to cultivate a loyal email subscriber base, so you can better use your email to attract long-term customers.

Why is building an email list important?

Your email list can be your most valuable business asset.

For it to be useful, however, you need to make sure that you’re constantly getting new contacts to join your subscription, and that you’re engaging and nurturing existing ones with your email campaigns to turn them in loyal customers.

Above all, make sure that your email list is high quality. You will want to focus on attracting people who will benefit from using your product or service and possibly become your customers

How to build an email list from scratch?

In email marketing terminology, building an email list from scratch is called organic email list building. This means you find a way to reach your target audience and ask them to sign up for your email marketing program.

The organic list building strategy is permission-based, which means that only people who have expressly expressed consent will be added to your list.

How to build an email list quickly?

The fastest way to grow your email list is to run PPC ad campaigns and drive traffic to your attraction page. There you will also need a lead magnet that can convince your website visitors to leave you their email address.

You can also partner with other brands to promote each other’s content (e.g. eBooks) or host webinars together and share a mailing list afterwards.

In this article you will find lots of ideas that will help you build your email list in no time.

Basic email list building tools and resources

Web forms

A web form aka registration form is an HTML form installed on a website to allow visitors to register. There are different types of forms to choose from, e.g. signup form, download box, scrolling form, fixed bar, lightbox or exit popup.

To create web forms, you can either code from scratch or use a list builder, like the list builder built into tools like: Mailchimp or Klaviyo.

There you will find a variety of templates to choose from and a visual editor that will allow you to customize your web form to match the style of your website.

When designing your web form, think of the quality-to-quantity ratio. If you want to reach a specific target audience (for example, to generate B2B leads), you may need to create a longer web form that requires more details: company name, company size , location, etc.

how to build an email list
Example of a long web form designed to collect email subscribers.

On the other hand, if your goal is to reach a broader audience (e.g., reach potential e-commerce customers), you might just ask for basic information like name and email address.

The general rule is that the longer the form, the fewer people sign up. The shorter the web form, the more sign-ups you get, but you can’t be sure how many actually meet your criteria. The trick is that you have to know your goals and only ask for relevant information to balance the quality/quantity ratio accordingly.

Landing page

A landing page, also known as a “lead page” or “about page,” is a website designed with a unique call to action for high conversions. In email marketing, landing pages are often used to generate leads.

How to build an email list
Example of a short page that contains only two fields - name and email address - and offers a free ebook.

Again, there are many ways you can create landing pages but the most convenient way is to use a landing page builder and a captivating headline.

For tips on how to write headlines that sell, check out “Homepage Headline Makeovers: 3 Simple Formulas That Sell”

Webinar

Webinars also known as “webinars,” “webinars,” or “live meetings” can be a great way to build an email list with high-quality contacts. The idea is simple – you provide valuable information to everyone who subscribes to your contact list.

Carefully planned webinar content is sure to appeal to your target audience. You can promote your webinar through other online marketing channels to maximize reach.

Lead magnet

A lead magnet is something of value to your target audience that you offer in exchange for their contact information. Lead magnet’s goal is to encourage sign-ups and maximize the number of targeted leads obtained through the web form.

Lead magnet example:

  • Ebook: Electronic Book
  • Guide: Guide
  • Report: Report
  • Checklist
  • Resources
  • Framework
  • Educational materials
how to build an email list

Of course, you can offer other types of “free gifts” or “opt-in bribes.” The bottom line here is that if you want to grow your email list, you need to create content that your audience will be willing to leave their email addresses with.

This article will give you more lead magnet ideas that will help you grow your email list fast. Plus, you’ll find valuable tips on what content you should create to generate the highest number of subscribers.

For effective lead magnet implementation, check out 

“Why Your Lead Magnet isn’t Working – How to Fix it”

5 Tips to grow your email marketing list

1. Create a personalized CTA (call to action) for each blog or landing page.

HubSpot has found that personalized calls-to-action have a 42% higher view rate than the same call-to-action for all visitors – almost twice as many email subscribers as your potential.

It makes sense: people visiting your blog post or website are looking for something specific, so your CTA needs to meet those unique needs.

For example, if you have a lot of traffic to your blog post “Email List Building Strategies”, why not entice those people to subscribe to your email list by including a simple CTA. as follows: “Click here to download the free listing – building kit. “

Of course, a personalized CTA only works if you have the resources to create that quality content in the first place, but that process doesn’t need to be expensive or time-consuming.

Instead of a toolkit, you can also offer an e-book, a quiz, or an exclusive article from your CEO on list-building strategies.

If you provide content that is directly relevant to your visitor’s needs, your email newsletter won’t look like a gimmicky advertisement. Instead, it should feel useful and valuable – key principles for a long-term customer retention plan.

2. Create pop-ups or slides for each page of your website.

A pop-up may sound annoying at first, but I’m not talking about those early 2000s pop-ups that promised you “Become a Model NOW”.

Instead, I’m talking about timed pop-ups or on-page retargeting. After a user spends a certain amount of time on your page, they may receive pop-ups related to the content on that page or their behavior.

Examples include exit popups, which appear when the user tries to leave the page, or scroll popups, which appear after the user scrolls a certain percentage down the page.

3. Create a pop-up survey from time to time.

Most people don’t go to a new website and think, “Where’s the email signup form?” Usually, you need your viewers to feel invested in your content before you make their email inquiries.

To build your email list, you may want to reach visitors on specific pages with surveys related to that content. I’d be more willing to answer the survey question “A or B” if I had invested in content – it feels like a fairer trade-off.

For example, the University of Alberta email subscriber list has grown by nearly 500% in just one year, thanks to a pop-up survey over time they conducted:

The University of Alberta pop-up survey only appeared after a visitor stayed on the news site for 10 seconds. At that point, viewers have already seen some value from the content, so ideally they’re more inclined to sign up for emails from the source.

The University of Alberta survey pop-up is also one of the easiest I’ve seen. You enter your email and you’re done. People often don’t want to sign up when the form is too long and they don’t have time, so a simple yes or no question can be the best way for you to grow your email list.

4. Describe the value in your CTA

We’ve talked a lot about the different formats you can use in your CTA (including pop-ups or personalized offers embedded in blog posts), but what about what about the language in the CTA itself? You can rely on more than humor and satire to get clicks.

To optimize subscriptions, ironically, you don’t want to use the word “subscribe”. Who wants to subscribe to more spam emails? Instead, you want to outline the value you can offer upfront, using language like “Download”, “Featured”, “Exclusive”, “Access”.

For example, you could write, “Download our exclusive eBook now” and include an email signup form, or you could say, “Access all of our exclusive offers”. Both of these CTAs make clear the value your customers get for providing their email address.

Your web viewers need to know how your email can provide exclusive content that isn’t already on your website. They want to believe that your company is offering something special via email, or else what’s the point?

5. Showcase your email newsletter on your social media accounts and email signature

You may not have a long list of email subscribers, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a network. If you have a following base on Twitter, a fan base on Facebook, or businesses you communicate with via email, why not use those solid and loyal connections to build an email list?

You could try posting an email newsletter on your business’ Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account. People who follow you on those sites already know they like you, but they’re not necessarily the recipients of your newsletter. Give them options.

If you’re not comfortable showcasing your email newsletter on social media, or if you don’t have a lot of followers on any of your accounts, you can also include a link in your signature. your email – that link could go directly to your email newsletter, or it could be a link to a blog post or landing page with an email signup CTA.

You or your employees communicate daily with a diverse group of people via email, and as your recipients get value from your personal email, they may want the option of clicking on the link and exploring your company more in-depth.

Grow your email list, grow your business

Email marketing not only helps you build relationships with customers, but it also provides you with a proven way to nurture leads and convert them into long-term customers.

No matter what type of business you operate in, an email list is the most important element of a successful marketing strategy. With that list, you can share your stories, promote your business and recommend products, and turn subscribers into paying customers.

To implement effective email marketing here is a series of articles for you to follow:

Want to take the next step in growing your email list with ease? Contact Advesa on how we can help you do so.

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