There is more to selling art online than uploading an image on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Finding different ways to drive potential customers to your online art gallery is one thing, but inspiring them to continue to revisit your site is another job. Building an email list is one way to do just that.
When someone signs up for your email list, they are essentially permitting you to contact them with updates about your art, new creative things you sell on Etsy or upcoming events. Building an email list is a valuable opportunity to keep in touch with your fans and followers and help increase sales as you start promoting new products or services.
If you do not know where how to begin, don’t worry. We are here to start you on your way toward building your email list. Here are some simple steps to create an email list so you can sell more art.
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Why Is It Important For Artists To Have An Email List?
There are a couple of reasons why having an email list is essential for artists. First of all, a list of email addresses provides a way to stay in touch with your followers and fans. You can let your email subscribers know when you have new work to show or an upcoming event. The newsletters you send will build trust and loyalty with your audience, resulting in more sales in the future.
Another reason email lists are so important is that they provide a way to collect data about your audience. The information you gather will help you better understand who your fans and followers are, what they might be interested in, and how to reach them. This data will help you start promoting new products more effectively.
If you are serious about selling your art online, one of the first things you should do is start measuring your ROI (Return On Investment). Analyzing your ROI will help you gauge which marketing strategies are working well for your brand and which ones have little to no effect.
Register For An Email Service
Before you start building a mailing list, you will want to register for an email service.
Two standard email services artists use are:
After you have signed up for an email service, add the people interested in joining your email list. Just make sure that the people you are adding to the email list have permitted you to do so. If they have not, your emails to them will be considered spam and could start bouncing back.
Start With People You Know
The easiest way to grow your email list is by asking your family and friends to sign up. Start with people you know, and then increase your list by having option email forms on your social media accounts and website.
Send an email to everyone you have contact with and let them know that you are starting a newsletter, and if they join your list, they will be able to stay up-to-date on your latest work. In your email, be sure to include a link to where they can sign up.
Research Other Artists
Now that you have some names on your email list, you will want to take some time to learn what other artists are doing with their lists.
Sign up for several artists’ email lists and note what type of content they are sending to their followers.
A great way to learn how to sell your art is by studying artists already successfully selling their art online.
What to observe:
- Was the opt-in form easy to locate on their website, and was it easy to use?
- Is there a thank you page after signing up? If so, was the thank you page personal or generic?
- Did you receive an immediate email from the artist?
- How often do they send out newsletters? Is it daily, weekly, or monthly?
- Was the email just text, images, or a combination of both?
- Did the artist brand the newsletter?
- Are they just trying to sell their artwork or provide valuable content?
- Model what you like and modify them to fit your unique goals.
The information you gather will help you create content that will increase your open rate. Open rates are the percentage of people who open your email.
The higher the open rate, the more likely people will take action after reading your email.
Make It Easy To Subscribe
When someone decides to subscribe to your email list, you want to make the process as easy as possible. Include a form on your website that is easy to fill out and has a clear call to action.
A call to action is a statement that tells the reader what they need to do, such as “subscribe now” or “sign up for my email list.”
If someone is on your website and interested in joining your email list, you want to make it easy for them to do so. If it takes too many clicks or if the form is difficult to fill out, they will most likely leave without
Popular Email Optin Generators For WordPress:
The plugins listed above make it easy to create opt-in forms for WordPress. The more opt-in forms you have on your website, the greater chance you will convert readers into subscribers. Place signup forms on your home page, sidebar, blog posts, and landing pages to increase new subscribers. An option form is a powerful tool for an online store so make sure it is easy for new customers to see the form.
Decide On An Email Schedule
At this point, you have people on your email list, and you have a good idea of what type of content you will be sent to your list.
This will be an excellent time to decide how often you will send out emails.
I suggest sending out newsletters once a month at first. This will get you into the habit of sending emails regularly.
You can always decide to increase the number of emails you send out later, but first, it is essential to get yourself used to writing a newsletter every month.
Email Ideas
It is easy to use the excuse that you do not have anything to say and put an email newsletter on the back-burner.
Not being consistent with your email strategy will only hurt you and stunt your business’s growth.
You can easily prevent this by gathering ideas for the next twelve months.
Create An Email Template
Sending out newsletters and building an email list takes time, but you can be more productive by creating an email template on the email service you are using.
Creating an email template will allow you to easily copy and paste the content you want to share and send.
Decide On An Email Schedule
At this point, you have people on your email list, and you have a good idea of what type of content you will send to your list.
The next step is to decide on an email schedule. Most emails are sent weekly or monthly, but you can send them as often or infrequently as you’d like. Just make sure that the frequency is consistent for every person who signs up on your list.
Sending too many emails will start to annoy people and decrease your open rate. Nobody wants to receive spam.
Include A Personal Message
When someone subscribes to your email list, you want to send them a personal welcome email thanking them for joining and letting them know what to expect in the future.
Be sure to include a link to your website’s privacy policy and let people know how they can unsubscribe from your list at any time.
Your privacy policy should let people know how you will use their email address and what type of content they can expect to receive.
Create Valuable Content
The best way to increase your open rate is by sending valuable content. If people subscribed to your email list, they are interested in what you have to say.
They might even start to look forward to your following email and anticipate what you will send them.
Spamming people with constant sales messages is not the way to increase your open rate. Sending valuable content and providing something of value should be first and foremost on your mind when creating content for your email list. The important thing to remember is that your target audience signed up for your newsletter because they are passionate about what you create.
Final Thoughts On How To Start An Email List
An email list is a powerful tool for any artist looking to sell more art. By following the email list-building tips in this article, you can create an email list that will provide valuable content and increase your chances of selling more art.
How to Start Your Email List Today so You Can Sell More Art Overview:
- Start Your Email List Today
- Register for an Email Service
- Research Other Artists
- Decide on an Email Schedule
- Email Ideas
- Create an Email Template
- More Email Marketing Strategies
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