In today's Masters of Marketing, Sophie went over why you shouldn't buy a list and ways you can organically grow your list of emails addresses for better email marketing performance.

1. Growing Your Email List
Organically
Pull out all the stops from your
marketing tool kit to strike gold –
engaged email addresses

2. Why Organic Lists vs Bought Lists
• Sender score – the trustworthiness of an email source. Mailbox
providers use this score to decide whether they accept or reject an
email.
– Based on spam reports for your domain and ratio of undeliverable
emails from your address
– Low scores reduce your ability to land in your contacts’ inboxes.
• Blacklisting – prevents email servers from sending messages to
email users.
– bought lists can contain spam trap email addresses that do not
actually belong to a person. Their purpose is catch you sending to that
email address and blacklist your email server for spamming.
– Business and commercial agencies should be especially careful as
some corporate domains use spam reporting services that crack down
on those email addresses that have been blacklisted.

3. Create Contests
• Drawings
– Have landing pages or social media posts that
advertise your contest
– Use popular and unique gifts that have your
community buzzing
– If the prize isn’t worth it, people won’t enter

4. Create Contests
• Photo Contests
– Advertise in your office and your social media
outlets
– It’s a fun way to get engaged with your community
and keeps your social media pages engaging to
look through

5. Create Contests

6. Ask for Email Forwards
• Make it easy
• More than half of decision-makers view emails
on their phone

7. Incorporate Collecting Emails Offline
into your Workflow
• Everyone in your office should be asking for
email addresses when speaking to contacts
– It’s costing you money every time a prospect or
customer comes in your office/calls in and isn’t
asked for their email address
– Use it as a way to look up a customer’s account
– Try “Some carriers offer a discount for having an
email address on file. Which email address would
you like us to use?”

8. Hire Temporary Help
• Students can do this while they’re in high
school or while they’re getting their degree
– Make sure you have a script that doesn’t include
yes or no questions
– Try “What email address do you use so we can
keep you updated on insurance discounts?”

9. Send Out Mailers
• Use postcards – you don’t have to open them
and they almost ALWAYS get read.
– Can use temporary help to send these out and
sort those that come back
– Enter those that come back into a drawing

10. Ask in Personal Emails
• Link to your newsletter sign up page in your
email signature
– Keep it in front of everyone you correspond with
– Create a newsletter sign up landing page
– Have a clear call to action on this page when
people click on the link

11. Add Newsletter Buttons to Your
Homepage
• Getting email addresses is THAT important –
put it on your homepage

12. Offer Sign Up Incentives
• Indicate on newsletter sign up forms what
they would if they win receive right on the
form
– Offer discounts if applicable
– Enter them into quarterly or annual drawings for
gift cards
– Let them know when the winner will be
announced

13. Archive your Newsletters on Your Site
• Give them a sample of what they’re signing up
for

14. Archive your Newsletters on Your Site
• Don’t do the work twice
– Your newsletter is filled with content! Add it to
your website to show your visitors your value as
experts as well as your involvement in the
community
• You can combine this with incentives to sign
up for the newsletter

15. Archive your Newsletters on Your Site

16. Take it to Social Media
• Include posts like “Our June email newsletter
is hot off the press! Are you up to date on
(your city’s) summer events and insurance
discounts for (your state)?
• Post one article from your newsletter as a
teaser
• Can link back to your archived newsletters on
your website

17. Take it to Social Media

18. Develop Free Reports Contacts Can
Download
• Whitepapers – form of content marketing that
offers an authoritative and free document in
exchange for contact information
– Find out what topics your audience wants to know
more about and have scarce access to online

19. Host Webinars with Helpful Topics
• Pay no attention to the man behind the
curtain
• Offer to send out reminders
and upcoming topics to engage
those that come across your
website and sign up

20. Next Month – Masters of Marketing
June 26th 12 pm CDT
Dylan Brooks – Why Business Listings Matter to
an Agency Website