Common - Creative... Building your Lists More Effectively

One of the biggest assets for the email marketer is their opt-in list of email addresses. Every year up to 30% of the emails on your list will become invalid emails. Building your list and staying on top of the list erosion can be a struggle. There are very common sense things that need to be in place to capture email address. But, many of these tactics will just keep you ahead of the erosion curve.

Some of the most common and maybe not so common ways companies are building their email lists are…

• Website sign-up form… Hint, make sure it is on every page of your site.
• Adding a forward to a friend link in all your email messages
• Adding a link to sign-up in transactional email messages.
• Require email address for downloading white papers from your site with the option to opt-in
• POS registration options
• Add a message to visit the site and opt-in on the in-store receipts
• Opt-in during the online shopping process
• Customer facing employees need to be asking for the clients emails
• Run contests or sweepstakes
• Don’t forget to promote the website sign-up on all direct mail pieces
• Tradeshow fishbowl with opt-in message
• Bag stuffers promoting the sign-up

If you really want to GROW your list, then you need to start thinking outside of the box and use some creativity. Below are a few examples of the creative ways some companies are using to build their email lists that I felt deserved more than a bullet.

Bounced Email List Append: One way to stay on top of your emails gone bad is to take all those hard bounced emails and see if you can find out their new email address. The company I work for has been doing this successfully for years. Every six months or so, pull the list of your hard bounced emails and append new emails to them. Then send a re-engagement message to them asking them if they would still like to be part of the list. We have seen an average of 30 – 35% of the hard bounce list opting back into the campaign.

Leverage Another Companies Email List: Now I am not suggesting that you send a message to another companies list. However, think about advertising your company in an email message sent from another company. Make sure you choose the company that is messaging to your target audience, of course. This can be accomplished many ways. There could be the opportunity to sponsor the message, buy advertising space, write an article that is featured in the message, and many others. This will drive additional traffic back to your site and hopefully drive more opt-ins.

SMS Technology: Providing someone the opportunity to join your email marketing list by texting their email address to a short code is another fantastic way to build your list. An example of this is to have a sign at the checkout line at a retail store that says “TEXT JOIN {youremail} to {short code} now to begin receiving special offers via email. You can even send them an immediate coupon back to use right there at the register! Now someone can join while they wait in line. They do not have to remember to visit your site when they get home or have time. You do not have to rely on the checkout person to remember to ask for the email address.

Not all of these ideas are going to be appropriate for your business. Some are going to be more effective than others depending on your industry.

Finally, I wanted to give you some advice when thinking about capturing email addresses on your website. Ask for only the information you REALLY need when someone is first signing up for your emails. Asking for a bunch of information when registering will be too overwhelming for some people. Reduce the number of fields you are requiring and you will increase the number of people opting in.