Investing in email marketing? Managing your email campaigns? Whatever the case, you’ll want to build and maintain an email list to reach all your clients right in their inboxes! Find out how here.
ABA conducted a survey and found that more and more firms are opting for email newsletters, from 26% in 2020 to 41% in 2022. This is no surprise since other sources also found that the overall email marketing revenue is estimated to reach 11 billion by the end of 2023. Take a look:
Because email is so much a part of a way of life for most of us, using email for marketing is also a powerful tool for all businesses. However, the difference between a good and the greatest email strategy lies in how well you define your different clients, their needs, wants, etc. This is where email lists come in handy!
Email lists are emails a business gathers from users who would like to receive their firm’s newsletters sent to their inboxes. It’s tempting to want to skip the intricacies behind a solid email marketing strategy, but the devil is in the details! It’s worth putting in the work early on as your email list is one of the most important elements behind all email marketing campaigns.
With that said, let’s look at a few different ways you can build and maintain your firm’s email list.
Best Ways to Build and Maintain Your Email List
Before diving into details, we want to clarify something:
The following practices will help you grow and nurture your email list the right way:
1. Choose a trustworthy email platform
In the beginning, sending emails to your first contacts may seem feasible. But, as your email list grows, you’ll want to fully capitalize on your email’s potential by either managing it through a platform like Mailchimp or, better yet, leaving it in the hands of email marketers.
When we say you should ‘fully capitalize your email’s potential,’ we mean leveraging:
- Landing page builders
- Marketing automation
- A/B testing
- Setting up different email campaigns
- *Creating drip campaigns (sending pre-written emails over a predetermined period)
*This is an example of a drip campaign:
2. Promote your newsletter like a product
Besides capitalizing on the other aspects of email, you’ll want to promote your newsletter like a product to build on your list. Think back to these questions:
- Why should anyone join your firm’s email list?
- What are its features?
- Most importantly, what are the benefits?
Not all your clients will have the same reason to join your email listing. However, each individual will have their motivation to do so.
3. Practice email segmentation
Recently we covered a webinar on the ‘Top 5 Email Marketing Strategies Law Firm Shouldn’t Miss’, and one of the strategies is email segmentation.
Email segmentation is the act of separating email subscribers based on preference. For example, you can separate them by the stages in a sales funnel:
- New prospects
- Clients with an open case
- Clients based on the type of case
- Clients with previous cases
- Clients based on engagement frequency
- Clients completing transactions and payments
- Client contracts
- Clients with a closed case
4. Analyze the data
With email marketing just about anything a subscriber does is trackable! For example, if you add a link to your email, you can follow the click-through rate for that specific link.
We suggest 2 things here:
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- A/B test 1 variable at a time and see what works best, e.g., changing the subject line.
5. Give users a reason to sign up
People usually only provide their email in exchange for something valuable; give people a reason to sign up with you. In an email, this is known as a lead magnet. Here are a few creative ideas you can use as lead magnets to capture and grow your list(s):
- A free ebook
- A free piece of content
- A free consultation
- A cheat sheet
- A checklist with tips/tricks
- A webinar registration
- A worksheet
6. Create pop-ups for your website
Pop-ups may seem annoying, but when placed in the right place, at the right time, they can be a game changer.
- Example 1 pop-up (based on activity) – You can create a pop-up box for users that have scrolled past a certain point on a page.
- Example 2 pop-up (based on time) – You can create a pop-up box that appears after the user has spent some time on the page.
7. Create a referral program
Direct recommendations are fantastic and help convince others more quickly. Usually, people will spread the good word when offered something in exchange, e.g., a discount or a special offer.
8. Add a way to sign up under your email signature
From the dozens, if not hundreds, of emails your firm sends out daily, there is no better (and more subtle) way than adding a sign-up CTA under your email signature to grow your list. Perhaps include one significant benefit, e.g., ‘Know and protect your rights. Don’t miss out on the latest legal updates.‘
9. Create a re-engagement series
The beauty of email marketing is that not all is lost when you think it is! Naturally, some subscribers aren’t as active every once in a while. As you continuously analyze your data, it’s a good practice to keep an eye on the number of inactive subscribers.
If you notice several inactive users, it’s an excellent sign to draft and send a re-engagement series. Think back to: what else can you offer? Is there a lead magnet they might be interested in?
The Money Is In The Email List
Regarding email strategies, some might argue that ‘the money is in the list,’ and we agree!
As email continues to look promising, your firm should build an email strategy that’s robust from the get-go. If you’re looking to leave the intricacies and details in the hands of experts, we’re here to help out.