A great e-blast gone bad
I’ve touched on this before, but an e-blast project today reminded me how a well-designed, hard-hitting e-blast can be doomed to fail if there’s not a good, clean list of contacts to receive it. So before you start an e-marketing campaign, build your contact list.
I wouldn’t recommend purchasing an email list—better to gather emails from your current clients, friends, vendors, and people who have expressed an interest in your business. Have a sign-up form on the home page of your Web site. Ask your clients to sign up for your e-news, keep a sign-up form at your lobby or cash register, and collect business cards when you’re networking. Ask every contact if they’d like to be added to your e-newsletter list so they can hear about your special promotions and events. If you participate in trade shows or expos, collect business cards in a fish bowl.
One of our clients has built a list of more than 3500 contacts over the past few years, simply by training his staff to ask for an email address from every single customer. He has reminders posted in the back of his retail store so they don’t forget. As a result, when he schedules a seminar or event, he almost always fills up the room with customers. E-marketing ranks among the most cost-effective way to market, but ONLY if you have a great list.
