Jane Brocklebank

Nobody likes spam, and we all get too many emails. But how can you communicate with your genuine customers and followers who ARE interested in what you have to offer?

The answer is permission. Once you have someone’s permission to contact them, you can email with confidence.  However, for your own sake (and theirs) use this opportunity wisely and send only interesting and relevant information… otherwise, you will soon see your mailing list dwindling.

How can you get permission?

There are several ways you can do this:

> They completed a form and indicated they wanted to be emailed (for example, a a survey or a competition – however you can only contact them if it was explained to them that they would be contacted by email AND they ticked a box indicating they would like to be contacted)
> They agreed to receive emails via your web site (for example, through a newsletter subscribe form)
> They gave you their business card (If someone gives you their business card and you have explained to them that you will be in touch by email, you can contact them. If they dropped their business card in a box at a trade show, there must be a sign indicating they will be contacted by email)
> They bought something off you in the last 2 years (By making a purchase from you they have provided their permission implicitly. You can email them but it’s polite to ask anyway)

What doesn’t count as permission?

< You obtained the email addresses from a third party (e.g. buying a list, or using someone else’s customer list)
< You found/took the addresses from the Internet.
< You haven’t emailed that address for more than 2 years. Even if you got their permission legitimately, they won’t remember giving it to you.

In summary

x  Do not Import all your contacts
x  Do not buy huge lists
x  Build up your own quality list
x  Ensure the sign-up is simple, for example name and email only

This entry was posted on Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 11:37 am and is filed under Email marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.