How to Double The Size of Your Email List in 3 Months, Part 2

Double the size of your email list using a contest to draw in new leads.

Ready to keep growing that email list?

In my last post, I introduced you to the wonders of web pop-up forms — which will consistently deliver quality leads to your business.

Today, I’m diving into another strategy. Something you can use to really accelerate your list growth.

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List building technique #2: Run a sweepstakes

Giveaways draw a crowd. Usually a crowd that’s happy to hand over an email address for the chance to win a prize.

In the past few months I’ve run multiple email capture sweepstakes, some attracting as many as 20,000 new email subscribers.

How can you make your sweepstakes a success? Here are four steps you need to take:

1. Choose an enticing giveaway

Make your giveaway something that’s relevant to your business. If possible, give away one of your business’s best-selling items so that you know it will be attractive to a large group of people.

My advice is don’t skimp on the giveaway. The more exciting the prize, the more signups you will get, which should return your investment pretty quickly.

2. Make it easy for people to enter

Make your sweepstakes easy to enter by asking for limited information. Usually name and email is all you need. If you have a storefront, you can have a business card drawing. But to reach a larger audience, you’ll need to create a simple landing page.

You can create a basic landing page in your Constant Contact account, within the “Sign Up Forms” tab.

You can start growing your list by using a lead capture form on your site.

If you want to create something more advanced, Constant Contact’s integration partners like LeadPages and Unbounce give you access to beautiful landing page templates and advanced features like A/B testing, so you can optimize your page for higher conversion.

3. Promote your giveaway

Once you have a landing page, promote through your usual online channels, including your website and social media accounts. You can also promote the giveaway at an event or your place of business.

For even greater success, consider partnering with like-minded businesses. I tested this strategy this past fall at PicoBrew with the goal of growing their email list in time for the busy holiday season.

By partnering with DRAFT Magazine, their giveaway reached a relevant audience of beer lovers — including many people who had never heard of PicoBrew before.

Brand partnerships can help to get your business in front of interested customers.

This partnership was a paid promotion, but I’m willing to bet you could find some businesses in your community that would be willing to partner with you for free.

Think about friendly non-competitive businesses in your community that have an active following and relevant audience that would appreciate your product or service. Then, ask a handful of business owners if they’d be willing to share a quick social media post with their audience. It never hurts to say that you’ll return the favor!

4. Choose a winner and follow up

You probably want to make your sweepstakes last between one and four weeks before choosing a winner. Follow up with your winner separately and smooth out all the fulfillment details.

Once your winner has been chosen and notified, send an email out to all entrants with an update. Use an eye-catching subject line like “And the winner is…”

Then, take this opportunity to make everyone on your list feel like a winner. Typically I do this by offering all new subscribers a special deal like 15% off their next order. Use this follow-up to reinforce the value of being a part of your email list to minimize unsubscribes.