Here’s an easy guide to building an email marketing list with Google and Facebook ads. Let’s take a look at how to:
- How to create an effective Google ad
- How to setup Facebook ads to grow your email marketing list
- Build an email list of viable prospects to boost sales
1. Run a Google Ad to a Matching Landing Page
Creating a Google ad is fairly simple. Just create a Google AdWords account and follow the subsequent instructions. Creating a Google ad that generates interest and sales, however, is more difficult and requires a deeper understanding of what it takes to run an effective Google ad campaign.
Before you set up your Google ad, the first thing to do is some keyword research to determine which words and phrases your intended audience is most likely to enter on Google search, which ultimately determines who sees your ads.
Ensure the keywords you select for your Google ad campaign are relevant to your products or services. They should be specific enough for your ads to only appear to those who might be interested in what you offer but general enough to match other closely related searches.
For example, if you offer an online service that allows users to compare car prices, your keywords should include “car prices,” “car cost comparisons,” “car price checker,” etc. You will be able to enter these words and phrases when you set up a Google ad campaign.
The next step in this phase is to create the content for your Google advertisement. Google ads consist entirely of text, so you cannot rely on bold colors or attractive images to grab the attention of prospective customers. You should focus on creating a well-worded, easily noticeable statement that clearly describes or itemizes what you are offering.
If you are offering any special deals, it is also a good idea to mention that in the ad. If you are offering a sale, a discount, or a free trial, mention it in your brief description. Most importantly, you need to include a call to action with a commanding action verb in your ad. This could say, “create a free account,” “find the best deals,” or even simply “buy now!” Your call to action statement will encourage someone to click on your ad.
Another useful tactic for setting up an effective Google ad is to create multiple versions of your ad. Different ads will almost certainly have different success rates. Over time, Google AdWords will automatically begin to show the more successful versions more often. Try varying your:
- Headline
- Call to action
- The wording of your offers
Once a user clicks your ad, a landing page is displayed. This page will be a web page of your choice, presumably on your company’s website. The most common mistake made when creating landing pages for Google ads is not making them directly relevant to the ad. Those who click on your ads expect to see exactly what you mentioned in the ad. If they click on an ad for car price comparison, they do not want to see motorcycle prices or car reviews. They want to find out how to get the best deals on cars.
Unlike the Google ad, your landing page can contain images and videos – and it should. Visual stimuli will make the page more engaging, which will, in turn, make the viewer more likely to stay on it. Some site visitors will convert to paying customers, but many will not. However, visiting your landing page is not the end of the line. With Facebook retargeting, you can target these visitors with ads to encourage first-time conversions or return customers.
2. Use a Facebook Pixel and Create a Facebook “Lead Ad”
Facebook Pixel is an invaluable tool for tracking leads. This feature allows you to place a transparent pixel on a page that allows you to track the actions of visitors to your website through Facebook. To use a pixel:
- Log into your Facebook Ads Manager
- Click Business Manager
- Select Audiences
Then, create a Custom Audience consisting of visitors to your site. You can find your pixel code through your business’s Facebook page. You can then embed this code into your website’s code. With Facebook pixel, Facebook collects the following information on visitors to your website:
- When a person visits the site
- What pages they viewed
- How long they spent on it
- What they did on your website
This information, which is linked to their Facebook account, will be used to place them into your Custom Audience. You can then target Facebook ads toward those who visited your website or landing page. By placing a pixel on your landing page, you can retarget those who have already viewed your ads. Retargeting is the process of targeting advertisements toward those who have already visited and interacted with your site and tailoring them to appeal to a more specific audience.
All of the most successful online marketing campaigns employ this retargeting technique. These campaigns often also try to acquire customer email addresses to convert leads into paying customers. Amazon, for example, retargets customers by emailing users about discounts on products they have searched for in the past. You can use retargeting with Facebook to show Lead Ads to those who clicked on your Google ads.
Facebook Lead Ads allow users to fill out a form on Facebook indicating their interest in your product or service and share their contact information. You can use the contact information on this form to build your email marketing list.
3. Add a Call to Action to the Lead Ad and Opt-In
A Facebook Lead Ad appears as an image with a headline and short caption. The image should be eye-catching and relevant to your business, specifically the aspect of it that the customer has expressed interest in. Avoid placing text on the image itself, as too much text will cause Facebook to significantly reduce how often it is shown.
Like Google ad, a good Facebook ad must have a visible call to action. Use clear, concise wording and a commanding verb to get prospective customers to click the ad and complete your form. One of the best ways to do this is to offer a special deal to those who fill out the Lead Ad and join your email lists, such as a discount code or a free trial.
Providing some financial incentive will significantly increase the likelihood that people will sign up, and in turn, provide you with their contact information.
4. Send Nurture Emails with Content Related to the Search Terms
When someone expresses interest in any product or service and gives out their contact information to you, they become a sales lead. To convert sales leads to actual sales, you can send nurture emails. A nurture email encourages readers who have previously engaged with your business to make a purchase. The techniques used to accomplish this can and should vary based on:
- What you are selling
- How have you developed your brand identity
- Who is your target demographic
Visual stimuli are once again extremely useful when it comes to email marketing. People are significantly more likely to remember information that is communicated through a picture or video than that which is simply stated in the text. A creative, visually appealing message will pique your reader’s interest and increase the likelihood that you will make a sale to them. The only hard and fast rule of nurture emails is ensuring they are relevant to the original Google search.
The average American office employee receives over a hundred emails daily, so grab their attention immediately. To do this, include one or more of the keywords from your Google ad in the subject line of your email. This will ensure that the recipient immediately perceives it as something of interest to them.
Since your prospects most likely receive lots of emails, it is also essential to keep your messages brief. A wall of text in an advertising email will usually go unread. And since you already know that the recipient is interested in your business, resist the urge to cover every aspect of your business in a single email.
Unlike Google and Facebook ads, creating and sending an email campaign costs you almost nothing. You should send a series of emails over time, with each mail discussing a different opportunity or advantage you can provide to customers. These methods are some of the most efficient online marketing strategies today. Google ads can drive both immediate sales and follow-up Facebook ads. And with Facebook ads, you can encourage prospective customers to join your email list.
Finally, your email list provides an avenue to communicate with those who have already indicated an interest in your products or services. These valuable tools will help you connect with customers, make sales, and grow your business.
Automate your digital marketing with ContentFirst Marketing
Running targeted Google and Facebook ads can help you build your mailing list and should be part of your digital marketing strategy if you want to see a steady rise in sales. Ready to grow your business? Schedule a FREE business growth call, and we’ll be happy to help you plan, develop, implement, and manage a successful digital marketing strategy.
