Do

Ask for permission before adding subscribers to your list.

Do

Build your own lists and collect data at every customer touch-point, both online and offline.

Do

Keep the opt-in process quick and simple – only collect the profiling attributes that are most important to your business.

Do

Let your subscribers know you won’t sell their information to a third party – post your privacy policy online.

Do

Allow visitors to opt-in to your email lists from every page of your web site, not just your home page.

Do

Provide sample emails so your subscribers know what to expect and the benefits they’ll receive.

Do

Offer subscribers choices – such as text only or HTML versions of your message or allow them to choose their own frequency.

Do

Confirm the email addresses of your new subscribers by sending a welcome message or using the double opt-in subscription method.

Do

Include a coupon or special incentive in your welcome message as these messages have the highest open and click-through rates.

Do

Be sure the welcome message has the right branding in place and that it contains a link to your privacy policy, an unsubscribe link, and other CAN-SPAM requirements.

Do

Ask new subscribers to add you to their list of safe senders on the sign-up thank you page.

Do

Make the subscription process memorable so subscribers remember signing up for your emails.

Do

Remove invalid email addresses from your lists immediately.

Do

If renting a list, de-dupe the list by running it against your in-house list and remove any subscribers who have previously opted-out of your mailings.

Don’t

Purchase lists – unsolicited messages have the highest complaint rates and could ruin your reputations.

Don’t

Pre-check the opt-in box to add subscribers to your list automatically.

Do

Track the source of your new subscribers so you know where they are coming from and how they are hearing about your business.

Caution

Use sweepstakes, contest, or free offers to build your list as some recipients will only be interested in the offer, not in receiving messages from your company on an on-going basis.

Do

If using a sweepstakes to capture subscribers, include an unchecked checkbox participants can select to join your mailing lists.

Do

Focus on the quality of your subscribers, not the quantity.

Do

Understand the value of each email address.

Do

Encourage your subscribers to send your emails to their friends using a Forward-to-a-Friend (FTAF) link in all of your messages.

Don’t

Automatically add the FTAF recipients to your lists – instead, include an easy way to subscribe to your email lists in the forwarded versions of the email.

Do

Ask Listrak’s email marketing experts to create and help you implement a successful list acquisition strategy.