For any email newsletter publisher, acquiring subscribers is an ongoing effort. Your recipient email list will typically change by 30% or more between each issue; so you must constantly replenish the list.
In developing your subscriber acquisition plan, here a few key points to remember:
- Think about all the times you touch a customer or prospect. Use every touch as an opportunity to build your list.
- Create a valuable product with useful information. To reduce the churn in your list and increase the pass along rate. Provide topical, timely and useful information.
- Use a double-opt in and an easy opt-out. To make certain people have requested your information, always use double opt-in (see below).
- Minimize required information. In the beginning, often the best course is to simply ask for the recipients e-mail address. You can add additional information later.
- Send in a format the recipient prefers. If you are sending an HTML format newsletter, give readers the option of receiving a text only version and ask their preferences.
Top 10 Ways to Build a Permission-based Email Newsletter List
- Place a sign-up form on each and every page of your Web site.
- If you drive pay-per-click traffic to a landing page, include a sign-up message on the landing page.
- Offer a sign-up incentive, such as an informative white paper.
- Include a “Send to a Friend” option in each issue you distribute, make this part of your newsletter templates.
- Place a sign-up link on each edition of your email newsletter in case readers do pass it along.
- Have everyone on your staff include a newsletter sign-up message in their email signature lines.
- Promote your email newsletter at networking events or speaking engagements and gather business cards from people interested in subscribing.
- Promote your email newsletter in articles you publish, especially online articles.
- Promote your newsletter in other related newsletters.
- If you sponsor a trade-show booth, capture emails from interested booth visitors.
How and Why to Use Double Opt-in to Build Your Email Newsletter List
Double Opt-In, basically, works like this: recipients sign-up on your subscriber page and your email auto-responder sends them an email, including a confirmation link. Your recipients must click on the link in the email before you add them to your list.
Even when you meet someone in person and they request your email newsletter, make sure you send them a confirming email before you add them to your list.
Why go through the hassle of double opt-in? First, people hate spam, so, the last thing you want is to have your valuable email newsletter flagged as spam. With a double-opt in, you maximize the likelihood that people will remember they signed-up for your newsletter. Folks can sometimes forget they have signed up. You also minimize the likelihood that someone has signed up someone else for your email newsletter.
Secondly, the CAN-SPAM act makes it illegal to send unsolicited email with penalties for offenders.