Most companies are always looking for ways to build their email
lists. Large companies are trying to get email addresses for their
existing customers and prospects, while small or startup companies
are just trying to create any list at all! This article talks about
some of the ways you can use your interactions and marketing efforts
in the real-world to help build your email marketing lists.
Networking Meetings
From your local chamber of commerce, to specialized industry groups,
the meetings of many organizations are great opportunities to make
contact with new people. You are exchanging business cards with
interested prospects or possible referral sources, so make sure that
you send appropriate email communications to these people. Start
with a personal email recapping your conversation with them, and
letting them know that you will be adding them to your monthly email
list. Don't just start sending a barrage of email to every person
that you come in contact with, however. Make sure that the person
indicated some interest in what you have to offer first, or your
contact will become quickly unwanted.
Trade Shows
Whether you have a booth, are one of the presenters, or are simply
attending a trade show, you have an excellent potential opportunity
similar to networking events, but at a much greater scale.
Organizing the follow-ups to people you actually spoke to yourself,
and then adding the person to your personal list is a given. The
general information requests gathered by associates at your booth
can be handled in a similar way. Lastly, you may have organized a
giveaway or contest to gather more leads at the show. These people
are frequently less interested in what you have to say, and more
interested in whatever they might be getting or winning. As a
result, it may require secondary contact to obtain the permission to
add them to your regular communications. In general, hitting contest
winners with a "hard sell" is not usually effective.
Seminars
Organizing informational seminars is a great way to build a healthy
relationship with prospects and potential referrers. One effective
technique is to have advance registration, and to ask permission to
send regular emails at that time. This way, even if the person is
not able to attend the seminar, you still have an opportunity to
stay in touch with them. After all, they were interested enough to
register for the seminar.
Retail Locations
Storefront and retail locations provide many great ways to build
your email lists. Adding fishbowls or point of purchase displays are
easy ways to take advantage of real-world traffic. In this case,
where you have a relationship of some kind going, offering an
incentive like a contest or a customer loyalty program (tenth visit
free) is highly effective. You are giving them more of what they are
already getting from you, as opposed to the trade show example above
where they may or may not actually be interested in what you have to
offer.
Events
Concerts, parties, art openings, or any other occasion that gathers
people together can provides an opportunity to build your email
address lists. Having a registration or check in location, or
associates with clipboards working the room are just two ways to
make contact. In the case of events, it is a good idea to offer some
kind of incentive to boost signups. However, make sure that the
person can only receive the incentive via email. This way, you will
improve the quality and accuracy of the lists you are collecting.
Post Cards/Direct Mail
When a company has an existing database of postal addresses, direct
mail may be the best way to get the email addresses for your
existing customers and prospects. Again, offering an incentive
always helps stimulate a greater response, and is particularly
effective when there is a pre-existing relationship. This helps
increase the typical response rate of converting postal address
recipients to email recipients. Publish a specific, but simple, web
site address on your mailing to direct people to a landing page with
the list signup on your site (www.yoursite.com/special), so you can
repeat the offer from the direct mail piece. This can help increase
the number of people who actually signup.
Phone Calls
Using the telephone to get email addresses can be a time-consuming
process, but isn't it time you gave your customers and prospects a
call anyhow. In this case the call will both continue to kindle the
relationship, as well as helping you establish an email based
communication point. This will more than justify the cost of making
the call. Inbound calls can be routed to a special voice mail box
("Dial 5 to receive more information via email") so you can receive
subscriptions from people even when they are not near a computer, or
after business hours.
Contacting people using the phone will likely result in a certain
number of people asking to be "immediately taken off your list".
However, remember that this is not a bad thing! Ultimately, the
focal point of your marketing should be concentrated on only those
people that want to be marketed to. The rest of your marketing
efforts are just to determine who the correct people are.
Conclusion
Email marketing, like any other form of marketing, is designed to
make contact with people. Leveraging your real-world interactions
with customers into well targeted and respectful email marketing can
have a tremendous impact on the number of clients that you cultivate
and referrals that you receive.
