List building strategies

If growing your database is on the top of your list of priorities, then you’re at the right place. By following a few simple guidelines we will run through below, you can achieve a larger, targeted list. The first thing you need to pay attention to is all of your customer touch points. You should be asking for email addresses at every opportunity. Whether it be via customer service/support calls, invoices, brochures, customer surveys, feedback forms, tradeshows, presentations, events, website, or even in your staff emails.

Provide something of value to ensure your subscribers want to receive your emails. If you are a retailer, this might be exclusive offers, or if you are a B2B organisation, this might be whitepapers or statistics. Of course, understanding what your recipients are most interested in is an ongoing process. You can gain insight into this by analysing your reports.

Designing effective opt-in forms

• We advise against pre-checked boxes in online forms. Although the Spam Act doesn’t ban this, it will make it harder for you to build trust and loyalty with your subscriber. If you have the box pre-ticked and they don’t realise this when they fill out the form, they may think you are spamming them the next time they receive an email from you. True, you won't collect as many valid addresses if you use an unchecked box, but you'll know that the people who are on your list are there because they want to be and that will pay off in a higher-value list that produces better results.
• Ensure your collection forms only request the information you need. Long, detailed forms may deter them from filling it in.
• Make it clear to the subscriber what they will receive if they opt-in for your emails. Manage their expectations from the beginning.
• Set-up confirmation emails which the subscriber will receive as soon as they fill out the form. Give the recipient a taste of what your email marketing will be like. You can get them used to the creative, the From Address and subject lines that you use. You can also request that they add you to their safe sender list. For maximum list hygiene, you can implement a double opt-in as well.
• Ensure that you convey trust. Clearly state your privacy/email policies.
• Make your subscription form accessible from any part of your website (not necessarily just the homepage or contact us page).

Offline

For offline registrations, tailor the message to the medium. Keep text explanations short and sweet in POS cards (just a one-sentence benefit explanation, the field for an email address and a short privacy statement). Similarly, a brief but compelling pitch from a customer-service rep can help a prospect say yes on the phone, after the initial business has concluded.

Viral marketing

Viral marketing not only facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message, but also one of the best techniques to date to collect new email addresses and engage a new audience.

Keeping your list intact

Growing your mailing list is important, but don’t do it at the expense of quality. Analyse your house lists carefully. Clean them frequently, especially before your next email campaign. Segment lists by customer value and activity level as well as the permission factors.

Try and avoid over communicating to your database. Think carefully, and plan how many and what kind of communications you will send.

Pay attention to your reports. There is a lot you can learn from them as it’s a window into your recipient’s behaviour.

Keep your content relevant. It’s always tempting to send new things to your database but keep in mind that your audience have registered to receive certain communications from you. Anything outside of this may mean they will lose interest, or worse, unsubscribe.

People change ISPs, jobs and email addresses all the time. Always provide subscribers with an easy way to change their details. This will ensure that your communications continue to be received if, and when, they make a change.

Finally, for maximum list hygiene, we recommend implementing double opt-in within your opt-in process. Doing this will confirm that the subscription is legitimate and will help you maintain a cleaner list.