True story: we once knew a business owner (not one of our clients) who told us he purchased a trade association list so he could add all the emails of the members to his email list. He thought it was a brilliant business move, but it turned into a major goose egg. Turns out, the people he was emailing didn’t want his emails (why should they, when they never asked for it?).
Email marketing is a powerful tool in your online marketing toolbox with one of the highest return-on-investments (ROIs) and an excellent way to promote your content—if you build your email list the right way. Building your email list the wrong way (see our list of ways NOT to build your email list below) can land you (and your email server) in the same boat as stealing online images—-in hot water, increase the amount of spam reports against you, and ultimately sabotage your email marketing results. (If you need more information on successful email marketing the right way or a company to help you execute a solid email marketing campaign, you know who to call.)
How to build your email list
- On your solidly built website (more about building a solid website here)
- On direct mail pieces
- On social media
- Through a contest
- On your blog
- Make your emails easy to forward and share with others
- With a marketing piece in your packaging
- In your email signature
- At the end of your video (direct them to a link on your web page)
- At tradeshows and events
- Through social media ads
- With a QR code
- At check out
- In sales meetings
- With a discount
How not to build your email list
- Buying email addresses
- Adding customers to your list without their permission
- Buying lists from another business
- By using old lists that were collected in the past (but not with the users’ consent to email)
- From membership lists
