Grow Your Contact List Ethically

I am often asked... yes fantastic I now have a website but how do I start selling my products or services? And how can I grow my contact list to use in email marketing?

Here are 5 ways to start growing your contact list ethically. Start in a morally correct manner that sits well with everyone and great things should follow.

1. People you already know
Start with people you already know, this could be friends, family or past colleagues. These people already know you and will be fantastic ambassadors of you, your company and products and services. Don’t forget to ask their permission first (yes including family).

2. People who buy from you
When a sale is complete, ask them to provide and email address and opt-in to news, offers and further communication. This can be online through the check-out process or in-store when they are waiting for a service or made a purchase.

3. Share and forward
Encourage existing subscribers to share and forward your amazing news and offers. This can be done by including social media icon links and a ‘forward’ button or ‘email to a friend’ button. Honing your list based on recommendations can be valuable to your business.

4. Lead generation
Provide free information, samples, whitepaper, guides or tools through a landing page. Something with great added value to the customer, that solves a problem they may have. Most people are happy to provide basic contact information if it will help them personally or their business.

5. Easy choice
Allow people an easy choice. Make it easy for potential customers to sign-up for news and offers easily on any platform. E.g. add a sign-up form to your website, a sign-up widget to your social media, opt in on a contact form, sign-up form at an exhibition, workshop or other public event.

Tips:

• Some social media platforms allow you to upload a contact list to broaden your network.
• Add an email sign-up your email signature, not everyone you email is on your email list!
• A paid for service from Linkedin allows you to export your contact list.

See our Blog: Email Marketing... Keeping on the Right Side of The Law