Opting-In

Permission-based marketing, using opt-in practices, is the law in the U.S. Even so, these practices are the best for your bottom-line and here are some of the reasons:

Why you will want to build you own email lists

It is more cost-effective. At first, it may seem daunting to begin your list from scratch. Later on, however, if you have readers not interested in your offerings, they will take away from your budget and place a drag on much needed resources for customers who are interested in your message, product, or services.

Make sure they want it

We already have too many spammers. They are causing issues with an otherwise much needed email service. Make sure you don't annoy people and insure you make a potential reader a long-term customer. Find people who choose to receive your email.

Better results

So your bottom line is tied to your performance, or it should be. Make sure your list is totally from people who want your email, and then your tracking and reporting results will out-perform any other method of gathering email lists.

You will know your customers

If you've gathered your own email list, you will know who your readers are and will be able to better tailor your email to your audience. Furthermore, you will know how to segment your subscribers and further target your message.

And finally, your email list will be an asset.

Permission

Seth Godwin, in his book, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers (1999, Simon & Schuster publishers) analyzes a marketing method that captures the attention of a willing audience. This search leads to what is called permission-based marketing. He observes that traditional marketing is based on interrupting people, on-air advertisements during your favorite show for example.

With email newsletters, permission-based marketing shouldn't be an interruption or an annoyance. Instead, asking people to join you will win a loyal subscriber.

The business case for permission-based marketing means that your subscriber will open your email, read the message, and more likely take action. Permission-based marketing, per US CAN-SPAM Act, is called opt-in email marketing or affirmative consent. In other words, someone has chosen in favor of receiving your email.

Start gathering your email addresses right away. There are many ways to go about this process both online and with more traditional "off-line" methods; and you don't have to wait until your email newsletter is ready to be delivered.

Anytime you're face to face with potential customers at a conference, workshop, or other event, have a sign up sheet at hand specifically for your newsletter, yes a tried and true method. Other methods will depend on your service or product. If you're promoting a certain offering, what about that offering will be in your next newsletter? Find ways of telling people about this upcoming information, verbally and visually with signage, to entice your visitor to sign up for your email list.

Online methods should be as creative. More on that topic within the "designs" category.