The Dos and Donts of Opt-In List Building
| Category: E-mail Marketing | Date: 2002-06-14 |
Marketing to a permission-based email list is a proven, cost-effective way to increase revenue and improve customer loyalty. How do you grow your own opt-in email list? The following are five things to do and five things to avoid. Keep all ten in mind when building your list from the very beginning.
DOs
1) Leverage Existing Marketing Programs
No one can opt in if they dont know you have valuable information to share. Whenever you purchase or rent an email list, include within your campaign a link to the sign-up page on your Web site. Similarly, include a link to your sign-up page wherever your company is listed on a partner or affiliate site. Place a PC displaying your sign-up page in your trade show booth. Radio ads should refer listeners to your Web site. The key is to get them to your Web sites sign-up page.
2) Make it Easy to Opt In
Once people reach your site, make it as easy as possible to opt in. The link to your sign-up page should be very visible on your home page, jump page or other Web page. Evaluate if it can be on every page of your site. Embed input mechanisms directly on those pages. Signing up should take as little time as possible.
3) Know Your Target Audience
When someone opts in, request (or force-ask) a limited number of demographic questions, such as company name, industry or physical location. You can also include a survey to gauge interests directly within your emails. Understand where people are coming from so you can make adjustments as needed for future communications or promotions. One of the best resources for helping you expand your opt-in list is your existing opt-in list! Take advantage of it.
4) Consider the 4 Cs
Clear. Concise. Compelling. Customer-centric. When you write an email, put yourself in the readers shoes and think, "Why shouldnt I hit the delete key right now?" Your readers are not opting in because they want to hear a sales pitch. They have a need-to save time, money or effort, and always, to improve productivity and success. Your message must be compelling enough to convince people to sign up, valuable enough to keep them wanting more, and useful enough to pass along.
3) Pssst-Pass it On!
"Word-of-mouth" works in the online world too, and its called "viral marketing. " A targeted, well-crafted and relevant message will be passed along. Your next job is to make it easy to forward your message to others, who will forward it to others, and so on. If your subscribers peers like what they see, they will opt in too. Just be sure to include forward or subscribe instructions in every communication-place a one-click "forward" link in every email you send.
DONTs
1) Offer Fabulous Prizes for Signing Up
While this might seem like a nice gesture, youll end up with subscribers whose motivation is to win a prize, not to learn about useful information, your company and/or your products "contest opportunists" who couldnt be further from your target audience. If you provide useful information, that will be prize enough.
2) Deluge Your Subscribers with Too Many Emails
How much is too much? It just depends on the appropriateness, or timeliness, of your message. Set expectations. Let people know what theyre in for before they hit the submit button. After theyve had time to digest the information, ask a sample from your list what is the right number of emails; theyll let you know. Otherwise theyll let you know when its too late-with an unsubscribe request.
3) Be Everything To Everyone
Your sign-up messaging, as well as the information contained within every communication, should be focused and hit a nerve. Dont be afraid to address just one of your audiences needs at a time. Hit the crucial ones first, and save the rest for future email communications that will keep them on your list. If youre too generic, in hopes of getting more people to opt in, youll end up being "nothing to everyone."
4) Spend Too Much Money Acquiring Names
An opt-in list is a valuable asset-and that means an investment on your part to build and maintain it. But: budget appropriately and in advance. Find the most cost-effective vehicles for reaching your target audience and know how much it will cost you to acquire each name. Keep in mind potential revenue and lifetime value of each customer, and make recommendations accordingly.
5) Live in a Vacuum
Continually view, read and explore how other companies-from competitors and partners, to businesses in completely different industries-build their opt-in lists. Most will use the same tried-and-true techniques, but youll spot an occasional guerilla tactic that will inspire you to try something new and it just might work for you too.
Brought to you by GotMarketing. GotMarketing an eMarketing software company, provides growing businesses with Web-based tools and educational resources that make online marketing easy, measurable and cost-effective. Campaigner, GotMarketings email marketing tool, helps marketers quickly and easily create, personalize, send and measure a permission-based email campaign.
http://www.gotmarketing.com/rp.cfm?id=107&sid=5
About the Author
Karen Fegarty is with MailWorkZ. MailWorkZ has been instrumental in developing new email technology. See whats new in Broadc@stHTML at roibot.com/w.cgi?R16915_inter
Reach Karen at mailworkz.com
Karen Fegarty
1.902.835.5009
toll free 1.877.312.4979
1.902.835.8976(fax)
MailWorkZ
Empowering Your Business with Email Marketing
karen@mailworkz.com
http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R16915_inter
DOs
1) Leverage Existing Marketing Programs
No one can opt in if they dont know you have valuable information to share. Whenever you purchase or rent an email list, include within your campaign a link to the sign-up page on your Web site. Similarly, include a link to your sign-up page wherever your company is listed on a partner or affiliate site. Place a PC displaying your sign-up page in your trade show booth. Radio ads should refer listeners to your Web site. The key is to get them to your Web sites sign-up page.
2) Make it Easy to Opt In
Once people reach your site, make it as easy as possible to opt in. The link to your sign-up page should be very visible on your home page, jump page or other Web page. Evaluate if it can be on every page of your site. Embed input mechanisms directly on those pages. Signing up should take as little time as possible.
3) Know Your Target Audience
When someone opts in, request (or force-ask) a limited number of demographic questions, such as company name, industry or physical location. You can also include a survey to gauge interests directly within your emails. Understand where people are coming from so you can make adjustments as needed for future communications or promotions. One of the best resources for helping you expand your opt-in list is your existing opt-in list! Take advantage of it.
4) Consider the 4 Cs
Clear. Concise. Compelling. Customer-centric. When you write an email, put yourself in the readers shoes and think, "Why shouldnt I hit the delete key right now?" Your readers are not opting in because they want to hear a sales pitch. They have a need-to save time, money or effort, and always, to improve productivity and success. Your message must be compelling enough to convince people to sign up, valuable enough to keep them wanting more, and useful enough to pass along.
3) Pssst-Pass it On!
"Word-of-mouth" works in the online world too, and its called "viral marketing. " A targeted, well-crafted and relevant message will be passed along. Your next job is to make it easy to forward your message to others, who will forward it to others, and so on. If your subscribers peers like what they see, they will opt in too. Just be sure to include forward or subscribe instructions in every communication-place a one-click "forward" link in every email you send.
DONTs
1) Offer Fabulous Prizes for Signing Up
While this might seem like a nice gesture, youll end up with subscribers whose motivation is to win a prize, not to learn about useful information, your company and/or your products "contest opportunists" who couldnt be further from your target audience. If you provide useful information, that will be prize enough.
2) Deluge Your Subscribers with Too Many Emails
How much is too much? It just depends on the appropriateness, or timeliness, of your message. Set expectations. Let people know what theyre in for before they hit the submit button. After theyve had time to digest the information, ask a sample from your list what is the right number of emails; theyll let you know. Otherwise theyll let you know when its too late-with an unsubscribe request.
3) Be Everything To Everyone
Your sign-up messaging, as well as the information contained within every communication, should be focused and hit a nerve. Dont be afraid to address just one of your audiences needs at a time. Hit the crucial ones first, and save the rest for future email communications that will keep them on your list. If youre too generic, in hopes of getting more people to opt in, youll end up being "nothing to everyone."
4) Spend Too Much Money Acquiring Names
An opt-in list is a valuable asset-and that means an investment on your part to build and maintain it. But: budget appropriately and in advance. Find the most cost-effective vehicles for reaching your target audience and know how much it will cost you to acquire each name. Keep in mind potential revenue and lifetime value of each customer, and make recommendations accordingly.
5) Live in a Vacuum
Continually view, read and explore how other companies-from competitors and partners, to businesses in completely different industries-build their opt-in lists. Most will use the same tried-and-true techniques, but youll spot an occasional guerilla tactic that will inspire you to try something new and it just might work for you too.
Brought to you by GotMarketing. GotMarketing an eMarketing software company, provides growing businesses with Web-based tools and educational resources that make online marketing easy, measurable and cost-effective. Campaigner, GotMarketings email marketing tool, helps marketers quickly and easily create, personalize, send and measure a permission-based email campaign.
http://www.gotmarketing.com/rp.cfm?id=107&sid=5
About the Author
Karen Fegarty is with MailWorkZ. MailWorkZ has been instrumental in developing new email technology. See whats new in Broadc@stHTML at roibot.com/w.cgi?R16915_inter
Reach Karen at mailworkz.com
Karen Fegarty
1.902.835.5009
toll free 1.877.312.4979
1.902.835.8976(fax)
MailWorkZ
Empowering Your Business with Email Marketing
karen@mailworkz.com
http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R16915_inter
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