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Email Marketing Guide 3: Targeting

4. Building an email database

Building an email database is a good investment if email marketing is to be an ongoing element within your marketing mix. Here is some advice on how to build an in house email database:

• "Quality vs. quantity" - There may be pressure from within a company to try to get as many email addresses as possible on a mailing list. However, your goal should be to find and persuade as many people in your target audience as possible to want to subscribe to your email newsletter. One hundred interested, interactive readers who open your email newsletter are a thousand fold more valuable then having 100,000 'who are they?' in your database.
• Opt-in is best practice - Use opt-in as a best practice policy - double opt-in being the very best practice. An opt-in procedure means that you have asked and received permission to send them your email newsletter or communication. Opt-in makes sense - subscribers who are interested in receiving your communications are much more likely to open your mails and interact with your content.
• Have a privacy policy - As part of building trust and loyalty, it is important to let potential subscribers know what you do with their information. You should have one in place.

Related article: Maximising your opt in form

Tips for gathering email addresses

• Have the subscribe box featured on your company's website. Consider having it on more than just your homepage.
• Have a live link to a subscribe form in your signature file.
• Include subscribe instructions in your voicemail and on-hold messages. Callers might be at their computer while they are on hold and may well do as you suggest.
• Include subscribe instructions on printed material to customers, such as bills, invoices or statements, asking them to send in their email address if they wish to receive your email newsletter.
• Promote your email newsletter through offline and online advertising.
• Use pay-per-click search engine advertising to appear in relevant searches.
• Include a sign up sheet at trade shows and at any presentations your company gives - make it clear what they're signing up for. When doing a mailing after such events, include text welcoming new readers to help them remember why they're receiving it!

Related article: Building an in-house list

Areas covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Understanding customer life cycles
• Should you build or rent your email lists?
• > Building an email database
• Renting an email list
• How frequently should you email?