A recent trend in email marketing shows that not all website visitors are created equal. Email marketing may not be the sexiest marketing topics nowadays, but it is still considered one of the most effective one. The problem is getting them precious email addresses is more-and-more of an uphill battle. The days when people were happily handing over their email addresses are long gone. They want more. They want you to work harder.

Instead of offering the company newsletter for an email address in exchange businesses must offer real value. Businesses taking advantage of the new trend are coming up with creative ways to build their email lists through giving access to excellent content.

A very effective method is the introduction of creating a protected area for those that submit their emails. In exchange for the email address, the visitor is given access to premium content not available on the public area of the website. When people register, they get access to excellent quality content. The keyword here is excellent, and excellent according to them and not according to you. People that provide an email address also get email notifications periodically or every time new content is released.

The website owner can potentially build trust with the list. The content not only helps to build trust, but it also establishes the business as a thought leader. The content is often further shared by the readers or viewers, depending on the nature of the content. Companies that use their websites in this manner create a valuable asset.

If you are serious about getting people part with their email addresses in return for your content you have to make sure it passes the following test:

Would they pay for it? Some of the most successful email marketers frequently give away content they could charge for. Your content has to be so good that people would actually pay you money for it. I don’t mean people in your family. I mean real people would whip out their credit cards and pay for it with a smiling face to get access to your gem of a content.

Would they share it? Great content is shared over-and-over again. When I love something I want to share it with others. If your content is great, people will share it with the their friends, coworkers, and people they know.

Is it evergreen? The best content lives a long life. Yes, it is true that you can’t always come up with evergreen content, but you have to strive for it as much as you can. No matter how cutting edge your product or service is, you can create evergreen content around it.

Email marketing continues to be a powerful marketing tool. Every email you collect should have a dollar value to your company. As email addresses are becoming harder to get you have to work harder than ever to get them. If you dedicate yourself to providing great content, in exchange you might just build an email list that takes your business to new heights.