With the variety of social media sites available to you, you might think building a mailing list is a waste of time. Why bother when you already have access to so many potential clients through Twitter and Instagram? But having your own mailing list is just as important as it’s ever been, possibly even more so. Why? Here are three reasons.
You own your list
No matter how large your social media following is, it is at the mercy of that platform. Instagram could shut down tomorrow. Twitter could change its algorithm and make it impossible for your followers to see you. A single change could lose you access to all of your followers. While this isn’t likely, it is definitely possible. But when it comes to your email list, you are in charge. You have their contact information and always have access to them, no matter what happens with your social platform of choice.
You control your schedule
While there are best practices when it comes to your email list, ultimately, your schedule is up to you. You can send it as often or as infrequently as you want, and it will go directly into your subscribers’ inboxes. There’s no algorithm determining whether it is worthy of being seen.
You know your subscribers are interested
If you’ve cultivated your own email list, then you know that everybody on it is interested in what you and your business have to offer. They gave you their email address and allow you valuable space in their inbox. So a small email list filled with interested potential clients is much more valuable to you than a Twitter following of thousands who may or may not eventually consider buying your product or service.
Building an email list for your small business takes time and patience but is well worth it. So start as early as possible to curate an audience of willing, eager customers.