How to Start a Mailing List

If you run an Etsy shop or any type of business, it's a good idea to have a mailing list. A mailing list lets people who are interested in your business get regular updates through their e-mail. This blog post is a tutorial on how to start your own mailing list.

Using MailChimp


I use MailChimp for my mailing list because I think it has a lot of good features. Once you're signed up, go to the Dashboard of your MailChimp account. Click "Create a List" to start a new mailing list.

Creating Good Content
Click "Campaigns" to start sending emails to your mailing list. You can start writing an email ahead of time and save it as a draft or schedule it to mail out on a certain date. Once you send out an email, you can use the "View Report" button to see statistics about it. Here are some tips for creating good emails:

*Have a nice design. MailChimp makes it easy to create a professional looking mailing list. Have your logo at the top and include a link to your website and social media sites.
*Make your emails simple and not too long. Write important updates about your business and include a couple photos.
*Decide on a set time to send out emails - such as once a month and once a week - and stick to your schedule.
*I always like to include discount codes for my Etsy shop just for mailing list members. This helps promote your shop and gives something special to your viewers.

Here is an example of one of my email updates.

How to Promote
You can subscribe to my mailing list on the side of this blog or by clicking here. Here are some tips for promoting:

*Put a mailing list sign up on your website, blog, Etsy shop, etc. so people know they can sign up.
*At craft shows, get a sheet of paper for people to write down their emails to sign up for your mailing list.

If you run a business, do you use a mailing list?