How To Build Your Own Email List

Chances are you don’t think twice about it. A mailing address is a public record; anyone can get yours. But when a marketing message arrives in your email inbox from an unfamiliar company, you immediately wonder: “How did they get my email address?” “Is this spam?” “What DO they want?”

We’re all a little over protective

Our attitude toward our mailbox is nothing like our attitude toward our inbox. We protect our email address, sharing it only with friends, peers and businesses that we want to hear from. For that reason, we advise our clients not to buy their email list but to create their own. Your email marketing messages are better received when recipients have voluntarily provided their email address.

There are a few ways to collect an email list:

• If you have a brick-and-mortar business, collect email addresses at point of sale. Train staff to explain that collecting customer emails allows the store to send valuable information about new products and services as well as coupons or specials for birthdays and anniversaries.
• Make an email list sign-up box a prominent feature of your website.
• When you advertise in other publications, in print or online, make email sign up a requirement for a special offer.
• At tradeshows, collect email addresses as part of a giveaway or contest.
• If your business has valuable information to share, create a newsletter filled with tips and educational articles to send by email and offer it to customers who sign up for it via your website, through social media and other marketing pieces.

How else do you collect email addresses?