5 Reasons Your Sports Team Needs an Email List
In today’s age, it has never been easier to reach out to your fans and engage them via social media. Not only can you keep your existing fans up to date but you can also reach a new audience and win them over.
But as wonderful as social media is, it also comes with one major downside: you have no real control. Think about it for a moment. You don’t own Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. At a moment’s notice, all those social media platforms can meet the same fate as the once popular MySpace.
What happens to your fans then? All your hard work of building an audience will be for nothing.
Furthermore, each social network has their own algorithms which sometimes make it impossible for your updates and statuses to be seen by your followers.
So how can you make sure your message reaches your audience? How can you be in complete control of when those messages get sent out?
The answer is simple: an email list. In today’s post, I will talk about the reasons why your sports team needs an email list.
Five Reasons Why Your Sports Team Needs an Email List
An email list is not only reserved for big brands and businesses. Almost anyone who wants to grow their audience can benefit from converting their online followers into email subscribers, sports teams included. Here are five good reasons to get started with building your email list.
1. You Own Your Email List
Unlike your social media accounts whose existence depends on a particular social media network, you own your email list. You are free to gather email addresses and import them into any one of the email providers out there. And if your chosen email provider goes the way of the dodo bird, you can take your data and go elsewhere.
2. You Are In Control
If you follow social media trends, you’ve probably heard and witnessed the numerous algorithm changes Facebook, one of the most popular social media networks, made in the last few years. And you probably know that Instagram is implementing similar algorithm changes while Twitter moves so fast that you can’t ever be sure all your followers will see your tweets.
With email, you have complete control over the time you send your campaigns. Some email providers even allow you to send them out according to the timezone of your subscribers to ensure each subscriber will get the email when they are most likely to read them.
While most of us check email multiple times throughout the day, it’s not the same with our social networks. We might check in regularly for a few days, or we might log in once a week to catch up with our friends and family. An email list gives you a far better opportunity to reach and engage with your fans.
3. It’s More Personal
Almost every email provider has options to personalize each and every email. You can include their first name in the greeting or even in the subject line. You can also send individual subscribers a one-time Happy Birthday email with a special offer just for them. Maybe it’s tickets to your team’s next game. Or perhaps, a discount for purchasing team’s merchandise.
Responding to your fans’ questions and comments should be a part of your social media strategy. But email offers a whole other level of personalization that you cannot achieve on Facebook and Twitter. Once you are in their email inbox, you have their undivided attention. This gives you the chance to ask them for feedback so you can better tailor any content you produce to their interests and establish a better relationship.
4. You Can Bring More Attention to Your Team Through Exclusive News
There are times when you’re not ready for the whole world to see the particular news. However, you still want a chance to share that story with your audience. That’s where an email list comes in handy.
If you’re in the middle of a player acquisition, why not let your fans in on it? Imagine how special they would feel if they knew about it before you’re ready to announce the news publicly.
Similarly, you can organize a special meet-and-greet with the members of your team that’s reserved only for your biggest fans.
5. Better A/B Testing
It’s no secret that you should be testing your social media updates to understand your audience and tailor your content. But, bear in mind that you are extremely limited in ways to do it.
However, email is a lot more flexible in that respect. You can test almost everything: from subject lines and the length of the copy, to send times and calls to action. The best part? An email list also allows you to segment your audience based on the previous interactions with your email campaigns. You can target your subscribers based on the open rate as well as the click rate.
Top 3 Email Marketing Service Providers to Consider
Now that you know why you should have an email list, read on for our recommendation of email marketing service providers.
1. MailChimp
MailChimp is one of the most popular options when it comes to email marketing. Their interface is beginner-friendly, and they even have a plugin that makes integrating email signup forms with WordPress incredibly easy.
Their dashboard provides you with an intuitive email creator, autoresponders, list segmentation, and simple analytics. They allow you to set up delivery times based on subscriber’s time zones and offer support via email, live chat, and an extensive knowledgebase.
Their pricing is also very attractive, offering a forever free plan which allows you to send 12,000 emails for up to 2,000 subscribers. Their paid plans start from $10/month.
2. Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor is another popular email marketing provider that offers a drag-and-drop email builder, access to numerous email templates, segmenting tools, and the ability to personalize each message using rich customer data.
You can also split test your emails, track clicks, and integrate social media sharing tools to increase your engagement and grow your list. Support is available 24/7 via email and support forums as well as through their documentation and step-by-step how-tos.
Creating an account is completely free which allows you to get familiar with the software. You only pay when you’re ready to send your first campaign, and Campaign Monitor’s pricing plans start from $9/month.
3. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is one of the largest and fastest growing email marketing service, not to mention it’s one of the easiest to use. On top of easily managing your email list, contacts, and templates, Constant Contact also gives you the access to easy-to-understand tracking and reporting, social media sharing tools, and an image library.
Their support is available via live chat, email, community support, and a huge library of resources.
They offer a 60-day free trial (no credit card required). After that, their pricing starts at $20/month.
Final Thoughts
Content and social media marketing can do wonders for your sports team. But when you add email to the mix, you can take your marketing to the next level and form a much better relationship with your fans.
Get started with your email marketing today by downloading our free step-by-step guide on creating your email list with MailChimp.
