In simple terms, an email list means that your target audience has decided to give you their address so you can send direct emails to them, primarily promotional. More importantly, people have the chance to unsubscribe at any time they choose. That's completely okay!

You want to talk to people interested in the topics you're sharing; otherwise, it's a waste of time. Typically, there's an opt-in option where subscribers confirm they want to receive your emails. That's excellent for user experience and to reduce the chances of spam. 

Why You Need to Build Your Email List

• Social media channels can be unstable

Over the past few years, it has become somewhat challenging to connect with your target audience through social media. The competition and the noise online are very high, and hackers can make life miserable. Of course, as we recently experienced with Instagram going offline for a short but excruciating amount of time, connections can be unstable and unreliable. Most importantly, when you get locked out of your social media account, you no longer have access to your content. If you are lucky, you can get it back within a few days or even weeks, but we've all heard cases when the social media account was lost forever - with all the valuable data in it. When you have your email list, the data belongs to you, and you have direct access and close connection with your audience. 

• Avoid the battle with the ever changing SEO 

Granted, not everyone understands SEO (Search Engine Optimization) rules. And that's because it's always a constant battle of learning the latest algorithm upgrades, especially when it comes to Google. Thankfully, email lists don't need all that. There are factors such as open rates and being caught in the spam filters, but as far as your contacts choose to sign up to hear from you, you are able to reach them. 

• Direct relationship with customers

Undoubtedly, emailing is a personal and intimate way of communicating than posting to your 3,000 Twitter or Facebook followers in the news feed. That grants your business the chance to build a brand voice. In addition, it will help your customers view you as much more than just a service or product. You allow them to get to know YOU behind the brand and build a closer relationship with them through your emails. 

• Customer Loyalty

How do you best ensure customer loyalty aside from providing stellar services and products? Giving them the best after-sale services. And that can be achieved through email communication. Email customers are the most loyal fans you'll ever have, whether you are selling products, services, or affiliate links.

Studies have shown that most people do not think too much about social media status. However, that's not the case when it comes to subscribing to email lists. The customers in your email list pay attention to each email you send. Therefore, your contacts in your email list are more inclined to purchase your service or product.

• What software or platform to use? 

Now that you understand the importance of email lists, where do you grow it? Or better yet, where should you start to grow your email list? That's where email subscription softwares or platforms come into play. My favourite one is Kajabi, and I have to admit, I am not saying this lightly. I've experimented with various options, such as Flodesk, MailChimp, Kartra, and in the end, Kajabi was the solution that easily answered all my requirements with flying stars. 

Kajabi helps you grow your email list in more than one way, such as opt-in forms that come as widgets that you can add to your e-commerce store or blog post. 

Additionally, once you've gotten your subscribers, it helps you manage them and keep them interested in your business. You can send them emails concerning your business, freebies, and other promotional material that will help them engage with your business. What's more, you can even set up an automated response, for instance, welcome and sales emails. Building email sequences is easy, fast, fun and requires zero coding or tech experience. Awesome, right? 

Email is the King

All in all, email is still one of the best ways to communicate and build brand loyalty amongst your customers and target audience. Today, we have several ways to market our services and products; however, that doesn't reduce the significance of email lists. If anything, it is more important that we start building an email list as soon as possible. Potentially, even before there is anything to sell... Email marketing works perfectly when coupled with other marketing strategies, for instance, social media and SEO. So, instead of picking one over the other, create the ideal marketing strategy that caters to the different marketing avenues.

If you want to learn more about Kajabi, you can read about how I experimented with various platforms (not just related to list building) and why Kajabi came out on top. I am sharing Why Kajabi Worth it & 4 Reasons I Moved to Kajabi