When it comes to your address book, size does matter.

The more people you have on your emailing list, the more marketing messages you can send out and the more responses you can potentially get. But, growing an email list can be a slow and difficult process.

There are no shortcuts to building a large qualitative list of subscribers. In fact it can be so much of a bulk email marketing migraine that after a while some people might feel like giving up on promoting new sign-ups altogether.

So how do you build your subscriber database without all the worries?

1) Make signing up as simple as possible

Email opt-in should be made easy. The more clicks and keystrokes a potential subscriber needs to make in order to sign up, the more of them will abandon the process before you have them securely on your list.

Why force a person to take multiple steps to do something that they want to do, if there are ways for them to do it with just one?

Lubricate your subscription process by testing the success of rate of single opt in vs. double opt in. Think about reducing the amount of required fields on your subscription forms - most of which are always details you can ask your subscribers about later. And rewrite your confirmation emails to be as brief and skim-easy as possible.

GraphicMail allows you to custom build your very own subscription form that you can place on either your website or social media pages. We even give you mobile optimized subscription forms to target potential subscribers who are visiting your domain on their smart-phones. 

2) Focus on converting web visitors

If (like most marketers these days) you are promoting your business via online channels, chances are that your website will be a hotspot for catching new sign-ups.

This means that your email newsletter opt-in should be compelling, obvious and everywhere. Make sure the form is prominently placed on all your web pages and make it stand out visually.

Also place sign-up promotions on relevant content such as within articles and blogs, and at the end of slide shows.

This area is where email marketing services need to help their clients. GraphicMail makes it easy to manage the online sign up process with our lists and contacts tools. You can even import all your subscribers from other emailing programs and cloud-based CRMs such as Salesforce, or sync up your address book with Outlook. Our features make it really simple to gather all your contacts neatly into one archive.

You'll also do well if you sell your newsletter to potential subscribers by adding a line or two about the benefits of signing up, such as mentioning special deals or exclusive content, or adding some testimonials by a few clients who’ve found it useful.

Once your website’s sign up forms have all been set up and testes, focus on driving traffic to your sign-up forms through all possible channels; such as your social media pages and PPC campaigns.

3) Leverage word of mouth and social media

Word of mouth is a powerful technique that works great with email marketing. If your readers find the content you share with them to be useful and informative, they will pass your newsletter on to their friends, which can be a good source of new subscribers.

A really great way to grow your list is to allow people to share your email with others. This adds a social component to your email which increases the possibility of you message going viral.

Add a ‘forward to friend’ link and newsletter social share buttons to your template. Even think about including an incentive for both sender and recipient, such as a voucher or free credits. You may be surprised by the amount of referral activity you can generate if you just take the time to ask.

It all comes down to asking everyone, everywhere and at every opportunity about whether they would like to hear from you via email. Be sure to tell them what benefits there are if they sign up and then make it easy for all subscribers to share your email newsletters so other people will see the advantages.