Now, you may be wondering if having a mailing list is all that important for your side hustle.
The simple answer we have for you is yes, yes it is.
It’s worth the time and effort to build your mailing list.
Businesses across the globe don’t realise the potential and power that mailing lists hold.
They’re a vital tool to help you build an audience. Mailing lists have a major effect on traffic, engagement and revenue.
But with social media marketing, growth hacking and other engagement trends, is working on a mailing list really that much better? Is it worth making a priority?
To which we say once again, yes, yes it is.
The truth is, mailing lists can greatly boost a business. Whether you’re an affiliate marketer, eCommerce owner or selling a service, we believe everybody needs a mailing list.
What you can expect this week:
- Trends. Curious about what the average open rates and click-through rates are for email? We’ve got all the data for you.
- Strategies. Find out why having a mailing list is better than a social media following, and most importantly, how to create a mailing list
- Tool of the Week. This week we present to you Mailchimp, a cost-effective way to start growing that mailing list!
Trends
What’s a good open rate on an email? How about those all-important click-through rates? We’ve got all the data for you here. Enjoy!
Average email open rates by industry
The opening rate of an email campaign is the percentage of the number of subscribers who opened your email. It is an important metric to study as it shows you how efficient your email marketing campaign is, or if your email marketing strategy is working.
The industries that did the worst were the recruiting and staffing industry, with a dismal 7.11 % opening rate, the gaming industry with a 10.47% opening rate, and professional services with an 11.33% opening rate. People seem to be way more interested in opening religious email, with religion having a 37.43% opening rate.
Average email open rates by day of the week
Interesting, isn’t it? Did you know that Friday was the best day of the week to send your newsletter? Could it be that people start letting go of the week’s stress and find the time to actually read and open newsletters on Fridays?
Fridays turned out to be the day of the week with the best opening rates, 20.78 %, followed by Wednesday with 19.09% and Thursday with an 18.71% opening rate.
Average email click-through rates by industry
Click-through rates compare the number of people who have clicked on a link inside an email campaign.
This is such an important metric because you can see if you are getting through to your audience. Are you communicating efficiently enough so that they are convinced to click?
The average CTR should be between 2 and 5 %. According to our information, the leading industries for click-through rates are the Media and Publishing industry with a CTR of 7.49 %, followed by the Manufacturing industry at 7.3% and the Travel industry at 5.48%.
Average email click-through rates by day of the week
Fridays are without a doubt the best day of the week to send newsletters. Fridays not only have the best opening rates but also the best click rates at 2.709%, followed by Sundays at 2.603% and Thursdays at 2.601%.
Strategies
Now that you know when the best time is to send out newsletters and what kind of numbers you can expect to hit, it’s time to get into the strategy.
But first, just in case you’re not convinced that email marketing is a strategy you need for your side hustle, let’s talk about why email is so much better than any other marketing platform.
Why having a mailing list is better than social media
You might have spent many an evening creating social media pages and making them look aesthetically pleasing. We’ve all been there!
But have you sat down and thought about the benefits of creating a mailing list, and putting as much time and effort into sending emails?
If you haven’t, this is your cue to start.
Although it is a tool that seems to get neglected, mailing lists are a very important aspect of starting a business.
They are the best way to grow your side hustle and connect with customers.
Don’t believe us?
Emails are 6 times more likely to get higher click-through rates than tweets. Mailing lists have proven time and time again that it is king with email marketing, seeing 4300% return on investment for business in the US, making them 40% more effective than Facebook and Twitter. Those are pretty big numbers!
Mailing lists are an easy way to reach a large number of customers. There are 3.9 billion + users of emails across the globe, so why not hack into email marketing’s potential to reach a subset of this audience?
Compare email user numbers to social media accounts such as Instagram’s 2 billion, Facebook’s 2.934 billion and TikTok’s 1 billion, you have a far better chance of connecting with your desired audience through email than you are via social media.
Even if you are able to find a platform that provides such vast numbers (such as Twitter, with its 3.9 billion users), you would be hard pressed to find a platform that gives you the opportunity to personalise your communication.
If you’ve ever signed up to a mailing list you will notice that when commercial emails are sent, many will address you by name and will likely send you personalised offers, discount codes and promotions that are relevant to you.
How many social media platforms are able to do that?
Consumers love personalised stuff. We all love to feel like we are being seen and acknowledged! Consumers are more likely to buy through a personalised form of communication due to the connection they feel with the brand. In fact, 71% of consumers prefer to receive promotional content via emails. Plus, customers are 5 times more likely to see a message you send via an email than on Facebook!
By communicating via emails to your customers, you are creating rapport as well as building trust too.
81% of online shoppers who receive emails based on their previous shopping habits are more likely to make a purchase as a result from a targeted email. And with a percentage like that, it is not surprising that out of all the forms of marketing messaging, emails have the highest conversion rate of 66% when it comes to client purchases in comparison to social media and other media techniques.
On top of that, subscribers to mailing lists are 3 times more likely to share content via social media than visitors from other sources.
And here’s the real kicker…
Mailing lists allow you to communicate with a following that is ALL YOUR OWN.
When creating accounts on social media platforms, you are at the mercy of that platform’s policies and the ever changing algorithms. Instagram could literally shut down tomorrow, taking your audience with it.
Resources
If you like to read and delve into data, we recommend checking out The Radicati Group, Inc’s email statistics report. This looks into daily usership of emails and the trends email marketing is expected to see.
Benefits of having a mailing list
We’ve already touched on the power of having a mailing list. But what other benefits are there?
Full control
Aside from websites, mailing lists are the only other tool that allows you full access and complete control.
Even if you have a large social media following, you still need to abide by the guidelines put in place by the platform and pay attention to the algorithm if you want to gai any traction.
Tailored offers
People love a bargain. So it may come as no surprise that 27% of consumers who subscribe to mailing lists do so to save money.
By knowing you have a captive audience that is signing up to save money, you can tailor your content. Subscribers are signing up as your offering is something that they desire. Use this to your advantage by delivering coupons and promotional material that will keep them engaged, making them a long term subscriber. This form of content to consumers has been proven to increase speed of conversion rate as well as frequency.
ROI
When creating your mailing list you may be curious as to what the return on investment may be. Is it worth your time and also your money?
We are pleased to inform you that it is!
Mailing lists provide a higher conversion rate with consumers, therefore the return on investment is higher too!
Email marketing has a whopping ROI of 3800% with an average order value of an email being at least three times higher than that of social media.
Think of it this way…
For every $1 spent, email marketing, on average, generates $44 in ROI.
In comparison to other marketing methods, email lists prove time and time again that it’s the most affordable option.
Success story: Luke Charlton
Check out our little case study from a friend of Side Hustle Strategies, Luke Charlton. He went from spending $20 a day on his ads for his opt in page to earning $100,000 a month!
A bit of a rundown for you…
After trying and failing many times to build a business, Luke discovered the beauty and simplicity of mailing lists.
By building his mailing list and sending one email per day, he started getting a steady client base of professionals who wanted the same thing, to learn the right tools to be able to build their business, connecting with their dream clients.
Click the image below for the full interview.
How to start building a mailing list
Now that you know why you need a mailing list, it’s time to start building one! Follow the steps below to create a mailing list.
Step 1: Choose your email marketing provider
When choosing who to use as your marketing provider, you need to consider what will work best for you. You can’t simply use your Gmail account.
There are many options when it comes to email marketing providers, so take the time to do your research.
Some popular email marketing providers include;
Step 2: Create an opt-in form
Once you’ve chosen an ESP it’s time to start collecting emails. Create an opt in form on your website so that people can enter their details and get updates from you. This is where you really need to showcase who you are and what you can offer. What kind of content can they expect from you? What problems can you help them with? Make it fun and engaging!
Here are some great examples of opt-in forms:
Elena’s business is all about self care and creating better lives for her clients. By signing up to her mailing list, subscribers can be the first to know about her courses, programs, retreats and special offerings (we did mention people love a good deal).
By signing up people will also receive occasional notes from Elena. This is a great way for her to connect with her subscribers on a very personal level.
Wanda’s opt in form has an immediate hook. If you sign up to her mailing list you will receive a free product. This form of enticement is called a lead magnet, which we will touch more on in our next point.
Subscribers also get to be the first to know about online events, inspirational insights, upcoming events and other content that embraces her three pillars of love, awareness and expression.
Step 3: Welcome message and your lead magnet
Plan and write your welcome message that you will send to each new subscriber.
Make sure you acknowledge how grateful you are for them joining you on your journey. This is where you would also give them access to the special discount code or free product you promised in the opt-in form. As we mentioned above, this is called a lead magnet.
Lead magnets are a smart approach to generating leads. Also known as a “bribe to subscribe” it is a way to get visitors to your website and in exchange their email information they receive a free item or discount. By having a lead magnet you are targeting your ideal clients as they will ultimately be the people who subscribe and make use of the offer you have provided.
For more on lead magnets, check out this great article by Semrush Blog.
In your welcome message delve into what your new subscriber can expect from you. Tell them what perks they will be receiving now that they have signed up and make sure you include a photo of yourself to make the email more personal. Remember, you want your subscribers to feel like they have a connection with you.
Step 4: Your first newsletter
Now that you have welcomed your new subscribers, it’s time to provide them with the content and value you promised in your opt-in form and welcome message.
When constructing your first newsletter, consider what value you are wanting to provide your subscribers? What are you wanting to promote?
Take a look at mailing lists that you have signed up to and whose content you enjoy. Consider why you signed up to them. What value do they give you that keeps you engaged? Are there aspects of the mailing lists you don’t like? Are some accounts you have signed up too spammy? Or repetitive?
When creating your schedule for your mailing list you will need to consider how often you will be sending out content to subscribers and that its quality over quantity.
You will need to find balance in how often you send content and keep it consistent. Provide a structure in your emails that becomes familiar to your readers and always close it with a call to action.
Write in a conversational tone, just like you’re talking to a friend.
Tool of the Week
This week’s tool is Mailchimp.
With Mailchimp you can create engaging emails easily, allowing you to grow your side hustle and sell products along the way. Its tools will help you get the most out of your email marketing.
With Mailchimp’s email marketing software your job is made easy with a variety of drag and drop email templates.
With insights into your audience you can receive personalised suggestions that can help you write better emails. Mailchimp also helps you keep track of open rates and engagement.
Mailchimp has a variety of plans available from Free to Premium.