What is a mailing list?

Are you starting a new service or business and want to know how mailing lists can help you? Or do you want to learn how to create a mailing list?

Then you are in the right place because we have done some research for you and you will find all that you need to know about the mailing list here.

What does mailing list mean?

A mailing list is a collection of names and email addresses which an individual or an organization uses to send the same material to multiple people at a time.

Sometimes this term is extended to subscribers who are referred to as “the mailing list” or simply “the list”.

When same or identical material is sent to all the people who have joined the list then this is called a mailshot or a blast.

What is the purpose of mailing list

Mailing lists help to automate the work of an organization by sending emails to groups.

Rather than sending an email to each user, a mailing list can be used. It will send the same email to all the people in the list.

The mailing list is usually a list of email addresses of subscribers to a website, business or a service.

The main use of mailing lists is for advertising. They are also used to share content and news related to the company’s services or products.

Spammers also use mailing lists to send bulk messages.

You can also use a mailing list as a discussion group because this list connects a group of people via email.

You can create a list of people with specific and same interests and make discussions over similar topics.

Types of mailing list

There are following types of mailing list:

1. Prospect list
This is a list of potential customers who have responded to an offer. These people have shown some kind of  interest in the company’s business, products or services.

2. Compiled list
A compiled list is collected from other sources such as surveys and other types of telemarketing.

3. Announcements
You use these mailing lists for making product announcements regarding coupons and offers to the subscribers.

4. Discussion list
These lists are for making discussions and sharing views on specific topics with a certain group of people.

How does the mailing list work?

First of all the individual has to subscribe to the list. Generally he compiles a form in a website or in a social media.

The individual receives a welcome mail with a link inside. Ha has to click on the link to confirm the ownership of the email address user. This procedure is called Double Opt-In.

After this whenever the owner of the mailing list sends a message it will be sent to all the people who have subscribed to this specific list.

Why are mailing lists important?

Mailing lists are important for a company for the following reasons:

1. They provide a lead for sales
   If a company is unable to contact the previous buyers then they miss on a large number of potential customers. People who buy from a company are more likely to buy from it again.
   
2. New Products
   It is an excellent opportunity to tell already existing customers who are happy with your services about your new products.
   
3. Get customer feedback and reviews
   These lists are essential for your business because they will help you to get a better understanding of your customer’s satisfaction, their reviews and understanding of your products.
   This helps you to improve your products and target the exact customer market.

How to create a mailing list

There are services that rent or sell mailing list. There are also some lists that are freely available online.

However, you should not use this kind of email list.
Purchased and public lists are ineffective and dangerous for your brand.

If you send emails to email addresses in these lists, your emails will be marked as spam and you’ll also destroy your brand.

Instead, in order to create your own mailing list you will need the following three:

1. Your own website or blog
2. An email marketing service that is reliable enough
3. Opt in forms that have a high conversion rate

Below I will tell you how to create a mailing list if you already have your website or blog.

Find an email marketing service

You will have a large number of options in email marketing services. There is a lot of autoresponder on the market and choosing one can be a tedious and difficult job.

After various researches we have selected two names that you can rely on when creating your first mailing list. They are as follows:

1. MailChimp – This one is easy and simple. It allows you to automate your work by creating automation sequences.
   
2. ActiveCampaign – This is one of the best options to consider because it helps to track your audience. It can even track those who do not choose to join the list.

Technically speaking, you can also create mailing lists using Gmail or other popular mailing providers but there are many benefits of choosing a professional email marketing service.

With these professional email services, you can:

1. have a look at your subscribers activity and make decisions based on that.
   
2. track the demographics of your subscribers which can help you to target a specific area and also send emails at the right time based on their time zones.
   
3. run A/B tests to see which email content and subject lines work best for you and your potential customers.
   
4. have more possibility that your email campaigns arrive to your audience.
   If you will send a lot of mail from your gmail account for sure your mail will be marked as spam and your account banned.

How to populate your mailing list?

Now that you have created a mailing list the next step is to populate it with email addresses. You can follow the following tips to get a large number of entries and build your mailing list:

1. Know your audience and post content on your website and blog that is  relevant to them.
   
2. Make it simple for your potential subscribers.
   If you start asking them a lot of information, the chances are they will refrain from your website.
   Just keep it simple, all you need is an email address.
   
3. Give your visitors a free valuable offer that is related directly to your actual product.
   If they have interest in your product, they will opt for the free offer.
   Then you can get their email and target them for your marketing campaigns.
   You can add your signup box on your free offer page.
   
4. You can use splash pages with signup options for customers who are visiting your website or blog for the second time.

It may seem a bit difficult to take the first step of creating a mailing list but the end results are totally worth all the efforts that you will make.

What is a mailing list: key takeaways

Olivia Moses

Olivia is a content marketing manager specializing in email marketing campaigns in the fashion industry.

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