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Dear Tayllor,
Do you want to add more people to your email
list? This month we explore how you can do it, by
covering the basics and other creative
approaches. We also invite you to share how
you grow your
permission-based email list in our online
forum.
Here's what you'll find:
P.S. Did you know that Hints & Tips is
expanding? We now offer a Hints & Tips
Online Surveys newsletter with tips on how to
create effective
surveys for your business or organization. To
sign up, go to the
bottom of this email, click on "Update
Profile," and select "Survey Hints &
Tips" then "Submit."
List Building: The Basics and Beyond
9 ideas for building your email list
By Gail Goodman, Constant Contact CEO
Want to get more results from your email
marketing efforts? Grow your email list! This
month's
article covers the elementary steps of list
building as well as some more creative ideas.
(If you've got list building 101 covered,
then skip down to 202.)
101: The Basics
When you first get started with email
marketing, it's normal to have a smaller
list. It takes a
concerted effort to get in the habit of
asking for
email addresses. There are people who have
been email marketing for years and still
aren't taking advantage of
all the
opportunities they have to grow their list.
Don't let that
be you!
Here are a few simple things that you can do
to build
your list:
Put a "Join My Email List" sign-up box
on your
website. Constant Contact and other email
marketing service providers make it easy for
you to do
this. And it's important that you do. Your
website is the
first place most people look when they want
information about your business. It's great
when they
visit your website, but are you capturing
their email
addresses? Don't miss the chance to start
building a
relationship with them.
Ask your
customers for their email
addresses
and permission. Whether it's over the
phone or in
person, don't forget to tell customers about
your email
communications and ask if you can add them to
your
list. If you have a physical store, put out a
sign-up book
in a prominent place. If your business is
Internet-
based and your only customer communication is
through email, send them a follow-up email
after an
order and ask if they want to join your list.
If you have
employees who interact with customers, train
them to
ask as well.
Ask those you meet
when networking
and at
trade shows to join. When you meet
people at
networking events and trade shows, tell them
about
your free e-newsletter or your email-only
specials and
ask them if they would like to join your
list.
Read on for List Building 202: Beyond the Basics
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Boulder Arts and Crafts
Colorado gallery uses email marketing to stay connected
What began in 1971 as a small artists'
cooperative
sharing space with a waterbed store, is now a
1,400-square-foot gallery in the heart of
Boulder,
Colorado.
Tourists and locals alike visit Boulder
Arts
and Crafts for its unique, handmade
pieces of
pottery, glass, textiles, and more. And with
a vast
range of prices, the store has something for
everyone's budget.
Internet, Website, and Email... Oh, Yes!
Convinced it was time to enter the computer
age, the
store launched a website in 1999. Several
years later,
artist and co-op member Vivian Jean began to
look
into email marketing as a way to stay
connected with
the store's customers. The items sold at
Boulder Arts
and Crafts must be seen to be appreciated, so
text-only email communications weren't going
to work.
Several members suggested sending emails with
attachments, but Vivian knew there must be a
better
way. A quick search on the Internet led her
to Constant
Contact.
She was drawn to Constant Contact's usability
and
ease of navigation. "Constant Contact
provided a good
way for a group of people who aren't highly
technical
to affordably move into the 21st century in a
professional way."
Vivian loves that Constant Contact's easy-to-use
templates don't limit her creativity. She
relies on the
basic template design, but enjoys adding her own
special touch. "I create headers in
Photoshop, so I
can stick in our logo and squeeze in more
photos.
We're a gallery. It's a visual experience and
that's
what I want to remind people of... I want to
show them
what cool stuff we have."
Do you have an email marketing success
story?
Share it with us, and you may be featured on
Constant Contact's website or in Hints &
Tips.
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Speak Your Mind!
Q. We run a whale watching
business. Is it acceptable to include people
who have asked about and booked a whale
watching tour on our e-newsletter list?
--Nic Slocum, West Cork, Ireland
A.
Hello Nic. This is a perfect question for
this month's issue. While I understand the
temptation to add all customers to your email
marketing list, I encourage you to follow the
best practice of asking them first. When you
add someone, even a customer, to your list
without asking them, they may perceive your
emails as spam. That can damage your
reputation and relationship with that
customer and those they touch. What I would
recommend is that you begin to ask new
customers when they book if they would like
to join your email list. You can do this on
the phone, or in a transactional email that
confirms their order.
--Gail
Goodman, Constant Contact
Do you have a question about email
marketing best practices? We want to hear
from you! Please send us your questions,
feedback, and ideas.
Contact
us now!
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About the Author
Gail Goodman, the CEO of Constant Contact,
is a dynamic speaker and author, as well as an
expert in small business and marketing. She has
been
featured in numerous online and offline publications
including Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur,
Small
Business Technology Magazine, Inc. Magazine, CNN,
and the Boston Business Journal.
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