When it comes to sustained membership acquisition and retention, few tools are more important than a strong email list. Email allows you to have instant contact with your membership and prospective members that is interactive. The power of email is easy to see when you start to utilize a strong email list to bring in more members and retain the members that you have.

How powerful is email in membership acquisition? According to Entrepreneur Magazine, Microsoft used a simple signature at the end of its email messages to prompt users to sign up for Hotmail accounts. The end result was that, before Hotmail was incorporated into the Outlook platform, nearly 35 percent of all email users had Hotmail accounts. Email is powerful, and you need to learn how to use it.

Maintain A Clean Email List

One of the most important elements of a good and effective email list is that the list is clean. The Internet business adviser website OnlineIncomeTeacher.com reminds us that using a list populated only with users who have opted-in for marketing messages will insure that your company does not get nailed for spamming.

You can collect your email list through Internet advertising and by including a sign-up on your own website. With the proper amount of targeted marketing, you can develop a list of potential members that will keep your membership numbers high.

Have A Targeted Message

The SendGrid.com website points out that focused calls to action are extremely effective at getting people to sign up for website memberships. Each of your marketing emails should contain a single, focused message with a call to action that encourages readers to click a link or respond to the email.

One way to enhance the response you get from potential members is to give options such as a navigation bar in each email. This way, interested potential members can visit various parts of your website and become more inclined to sign up for a full membership.

Give Each Member Delivery Options

Should you send out emails once a week, once a month or once a quarter? Instead of pouring over the numbers and trying to determine the best way to deliver your email messages, you should just ask your email list participants. Include a choice for email list members to receive messages weekly, monthly or quarterly. Craft your messages to fit each audience and always offer ways for people to change their options whenever they want.

Delivery options puts the recipients in control of how often they get your messages and that will only enhance the power of your email marketing. When you are sending out messages only as often as recipients want them, then your recipients will appreciate your professionalism and take the time to read your messages.

Marketing through email is just as powerful now as it ever was. The key is to develop a strong email marketing list and then administer that list properly. When you use strong email marketing to enhance membership acquisition, you will see your membership numbers rise and your revenue rise as well.