How To Start An Email List
Issue # 119
1> Ask Your Friends – Politely
2> Ask For Email Addresses – Everywhere
3> Ask About Renting Lists – Carefully
1> Ask Your Friends – Politely
So you want to send a newsletter but you need an email list. You have some email addresses — but they never gave you permission to send them the newsletter. There’s only one thing to do. Send a single, short email asking for permission. Be respectful and only send it to people with whom you have a genuine relationship, not your entire list. If people respond, then you can add them to the newsletter list. If you don’t get an answer, you don’t have permission.
2> Ask For Email Addresses – Everywhere
Asking for email addresses should be a lifestyle. You need to get in the habit of asking for permission every time you talk to anyone. Put sign-up forms on your home page and on the side of every page in your site. Train your sales and customer service teams to ask for email permission every time they get on the phone. And don’t forget a fishbowl for business cards at trade shows, in your office lobby, and anywhere else you have face-to-face contact.
3> Ask About Renting Lists – Carefully
There are some good email lists that you can rent, with proper, full permission. You can send a message to these lists to ask readers to sign up for your list. BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL. Most lists on the market are spam lists sold by crooks and con men. Check out the company, talk to other clients, and run a credit check before renting an email list from a new source.
