Learn to Build Your Email List

| VerticalResponse, Inc.

Jill BastianTraining and Education Manager

Learn to Build Your Email List

Agenda

• Why build a list?

• List building basics

• Ideas to get you started

• Resources

• Q&A


Why Build an Email List?

• Your emails are helping you to build and establish a relationship with your recipients

• Email addresses go stale quickly

• Purchased lists aren’t a good way to start a relationship, plus VerticalResponse policies do not allow purchased lists


28% of email addresses becomeunreachable on average, within a 12-month period. It is crucial to compensate for list churn and substantially grow your email lists.

- MRSS/Advocacy Institute

ENonprofit Benchmarks Study (2005)

Build It & They Will Come

• Productive email lists are grown over time. Your list building is an on-going process

• You can lose up to 1/3 of your list each year, so you must keep adding subscribers

• Cross-functional cooperation is important

• Everyone in the company should be involved

List Building Basics

• Get Permission• Set Expectations• Keep it Fresh

Three things to keep in mind:

Getting Started with Your List

• Start at square one – assess where you are.

• What are your goals – to grow your list, get more engaged subscribers, expand your reach?

• Think about what existing resources you have and what new ones you can add.

Use What You’ve Got

• Friends First – Send friends, colleagues and customers a message asking them to sign up

• Go Fishing – Collect Email Addresses in a fishbowl at POS or events

• It’s in the Cards – Offer on back of your business cards

Get Permission

• Use sign-ups forms on your website and blog – Give many opportunities to sign up

• Use a pop up window – when someone leaves your site to collect their email address

Get Social

• Facebook – Use a sign up form on your FB page

• Twitter – Tweet to your followers to join your list

• Forward to a Friend –Include a link in all your emails

Opt-in forms in Your Newsletter

• Include an opt-in form link in your emails for those who are forwarded your email.

• Use Groupon - If you’re in retail or in a local service business give a Groupon discount. The way it works is that you give your discount ONLY if a certain number of people take you up on it in a given amount of time. Then make sure you ask for their email address in exchange for their discount.


Let’s Make a Deal

• Extend special offers & discounts to anyone that signs up

• Birthday Clubs

• Free Shipping

• % off

Put It In the Mail

• Use Postcards to collect email addresses for customers that you don’t have an address for.

• You can buy a list of a geographic area, etc. to send to

• Send a direct mail offer they can only get if they sign up on your email list

• Get everyone involved. Incentivize your employees to collect valid email addresses

• End every call or transactional email with “Can we add you to our email list to receive our newsletter?”

• Include a newsletter sign-up link in the signature of all of your personal emails.

• Downloads – Giving out something free, like a PDF? Have visitors sign up to your opt-in form first.


•Speaking Events - During your speech weave into your message that people can always get more information about you at your website. Then tell them if they sign up for your newsletter you’ll give them free consultations.

List Building “Do’s”

• You’re on the right track if you are…

- Prominently placing sign-up forms on your website, landing pages and blogs and Social Media

- Giving people a compelling reason to sign-up

- Being up front about privacy protection

- Planning to see churn

List Building “Don’ts”

• You’re on the wrong track if you are…

• Buying a list of bulk email addresses• Harvesting email addresses across

the Internet• Selling/renting your customer

database without prior notification and consent

Resources

• VerticalResponse Marketing Blogblog.verticalresponse.com

• Guides page – verticalresponse.com/education-support/guides50 Ways to Grow Your List

• VR Marketing Lounge – Lounge.verticalresponse.com


Learn to Build Your Email List

Education

Transcript of Learn to Build Your Email List