A key component of email marketing is building and maintaining your own opt-in list of contacts. The most valuable marketing asset you can have is permission to talk to people who have expressed a genuine interest in your organisation.
How do you grow your list? Where do you start? We’re asked these questions all the time, so here are our top do’s and don’ts for building your lists.
Do:
Put a subscription form prominently on your website. You can automatically create your own subscription form using Sign-Up.to’s form builder (in the ‘Capture’ section).
Tell people that they can subscribe to your email list on the signature of your normal work emails – and link straight through to the form on your website.
Ask existing customers if they’d like to join your mailing list. Legally you don’t have to do this, as long as you’re emailing them about services that are the same as those they have purchased from you. However, they are your most valuable asset, so treat them with respect and ask nicely!
Give people the option to subscribe each time they interact with you. If you run an event, offer people the option to subscribe when they’re there, if you run a shop, have pre-printed subscription cards at the checkouts (make sure you keep a copy of completed requests, for legal compliance).
Spell out clearly why people will benefit from subscribing and how often you will contact them. Make sure people know exactly what they will be receiving and they will be much happier to subscribe, you’ll also avoid wasting your time collecting details that will be of no use to you.
Contact new subscribers as soon as you can. Send a welcome note to let them know what to expect, that way if your next mail out isn’t out for a few weeks they won’t have forgotten about you by then.
Don’t:
Automatically add everyone who has ever emailed you to your list . This is a breach of the data protection act and you could face prosecution. Just because someone has emailed you does not give you the right to add them to your mailing list.
Purchase lists. Permission isn’t transferrable. No matter what a list broker tells you, you will get complaints – lots of them. We don’t allow purchased lists of any kind to be used in Sign-Up.to.
Abuse people’s trust – the swiftest way to devalue your list is to send irrelevant content to them. You’ll get unsubscriptions and complaints but far worse – you’ll damage your brand and people who don’t unsubscribe may start to ignore your messages.
Building your SMS lists
Many of the same techniques apply for mobile as they do for email, but here are a few extras that apply specifically to this exciting new medium. To upgrade and add mobile features to your Sign-Up.to account, email solutions@sign-up.to or give us a call.
Collect numbers using a text-in keyword. You can add mobile numbers to your list by asking users to text in a keyword to the Sign-Up.to shortcode (for example: text SIGNUP to 61211 to join our mailing list). The user’s mobile number is automatically added to your list. You can set this up by adding a new mobile list in the Capture section of the system – simply follow the onscreen prompts (call support on 0845 644 4184 if you get stuck!)
This is a great way to accurately capture data when people are away from their computer – in your store, at your restaurant or in a club for example. There’s no risk of capturing incorrect data as there would be if you get them to fill in a paper form, and people can react to your call to action immediately.
Send an immediate response. SMS is a very immediate medium. Make sure you send an SMS response when someone subscribes by SMS, so that they know you received their message. You can also use this message to reinforce your promotion or brand message. You can automate this process by setting an SMS reply message for your list.
In Summary – There’s no instant way to build your list – the process takes time and effort – but persist. Each name you add to your list using best practice techniques like those I’ve listed above is extremely valuable to you and is well worth the effort.
