Using Email Newsletters to Your Advantage, Part One: Developing a Business Email List

Using Email Newsletters to Your Advantage, Part One: Develop a Business Email List

Posted: May 18, 2010 by Stacey Abler/ Last modified: May 28, 2010

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An email newsletter can be an excellent way to stay in touch with your customers and potential customers who have shown an interest in your business. Developing an email newsletter is much less expensive than a print option and if using a newsletter software program, it enables you to track effectiveness of different tactics throughout the newsletter.

However, first things first. Before you create a newsletter, you need to have someone to send the newsletter to on a regular basis. Let’s review the particulars of developing an email list for your business newsletter.

Gain Permission to Communicate

Gone are the days when you could email anyone you would like. In order to email people your newsletter, they need to opt-in to your service. Some services, such as Aweber, go above and beyond and conduct a double opt-in. In this, the person inputs their email address in a form on your website to sign up and then must verify they are interested through an email link sent to their email address. This is an almost foolproof way to ensure your newsletter won’t be viewed as spam.

Provide an Opt-Out

Just as customers need to be given the option to opt-in to your newsletter, they also need to be given a way to opt-out. With each email communication, there should be an unsubscribe option that is simple and visible to the subscriber. With the click of a link, they can remove themselves from your email subscriber list.

Entice Them to Sign-Up

While some people will freely give of their email address to companies, some safeguard the information and will need a little more incentive to sign up for your email communications. Consider offering a free report or coupon that can be used on their next purchase in exchange for them signing up for your newsletter. Your freebie can be delivered on an auto responder through your email service when the person subscribes to the newsletter.

Set Expectations

Inform potential subscribers about what exactly it is that they are signing up for when they give you their email address. Give them an idea of how often you will be sending out communications. Provide a list of some of the most common topic categories included in your newsletter. Let them know that their email address will not be shared with others. Remember, your goal in developing an email list is to create a list of potential buyers of your products and services. You don’t want to add someone to the list just so you can boast that you now have 5,000 subscribers. It is important to focus on quality contacts that are interested in your business and your communications.

Next up in my series on email newsletters is choosing an email newsletter service. Stay tuned and be sure to sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on Twitter (@yieldhappiness) if you want to be alerted when the next part in the series goes live.