2. Preparing your email database
Sending emails to your list requires your list data to be stored in a useful
electronic format, so take care to enter your data into a database while you
collect.
Building and maintaining an electronic database allows you to
- Organize and view your list data easily
- Sort your list data into categories to send targeted emails.
- Process and keep trick of unsubscribed contacts.
- Query your list to extract useful information and reports.
3. Collecting contact information
The quality of your e-mail list depends greatly on where and how you
collect the information in the first place as well as where and how you
store and manage data.
The best way to ensure that you collect quality information is to obtain
information and permission directly from the person who owns the
information in the first place- namely, your prospects and customers.
Your challenge is to provide multiple opportunities and incentives for
prospectus and customers to share their information as well as to manage
the resulting data effectively and efficiently.
4. Deciding what information to collect
Many businesses have been bought and sold based on the strength of the
contact information they possess.
Quality list data stored in a useful format is a goldmine for targeting your
email marketing messages and converting prospects and customers.
The two things you need to collect are an email address and permission to
send someone a professional email.
Generally speaking , enlisting subscribers is easier if you ask for as little
information as possible.
5. Email list information collection
Category Description Use Examples Include
Essential
Information
Information that
your customers or
prospects expect
you to know
Use to personalize
your emails
Preferred email
address:
First name
ZIP code
Behavioral
information
Indicates how your
audience is likely to
act toward your e-
mail content
Use privately to
group your list
subscribers into
categories for
targeted messages
Prospects
Coupon users
Repeat purchasers
Advocates
VIC
Personal
information
Reveals important
details about the
person you are
sending to
Use to send more
relevant information
Gender
Marital status
Family info
preferences
6. Getting to know your list members
better
Believe it or not, most of your prospects aren’t interested in everything that you decide
to send in the context of an email strategy..
Instead of open-ended questions , come up with some basic list categories and ask your
prospective subscribers to self identify when signing up.
Some people will tell you what interests them only when they feel that they will get
preferential treatment as a result.
Try positioning interest information so that the reward is receiving the information.
List ideas include:
- Priority, reserved event tickets
- Members- only discount
- First to know product announcements
- Early bird access to product-specific sales
7. Posting sign-up links online
Placing a signup link in every online presence possible is a great way to
collect information with explicit permission.
A sign-up link is a text box, button , or text that usually links to a sign-up
form or a confirmation page that allows your subscriber to enter and
submit additional information and preferences.
1. Text boxes: These allow your subscribers to enter information without
clicking through to an additional sign up form. Text boxes can ask for an
email address, or they can contain several fields making up an entire form.
8. 2. buttons- these are graphical representations of links that take the subscriber to a form to
complete and submit. Buttons can be images with text, flashing boxes, icons, or other creative
graphics.
3. Text links- these are short headlines of plain text linked to a signup form. Text links are ideal if
you want to add an option to subscribe within the context of other information or if you want to
put a line of text in your email signature.
4. Check boxes- these are usually employed on multi use forms to save additional steps. If you use
check boxes, leave the box deselected as the default setting because you don’t want people who
overlook the box to become disgruntled when they receive future emails and feel that they were
added to your list without their permission.
5.Social applications- social media sites such as facebook allows applications to be added. You
can build your own email address collection applications, or you can use handy pluins built by
your EMP
