Posted 3/14/2011 
By Rebecca
Check out the latest Featured Free Guide – 50 Ways to Grow Your Email List. It’s chock full of fabulous list building tips for every type and size of business.
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Posted in Build Your Email List Value Today– From Chris Brogan
Our friends at Linked Media passed along this article “Build Your Email List Value Today” by Chris Brogan in the American Express Open Forum. This is chock full of list building goodness. Have a look.
Host a Webinar or Demo!
Here at VR, we host weekly webinars and demos for people to learn more about everything from how to use VerticalResponse and Salesforce to writing a successful newsletter. When people register for the event, we follow up with them and give them access to even more great resources; our free guides, events and more. Giving people great content always keeps them engaged and is a surefire way to keep your list growing!
Encourage People To Subscribe At Speaking Events!
During your speech weave into your message that people can always get more information about you at your website. You already have them engaged and now take it to the next level and tell them if they sign up for your newsletter you’ll give them free consultations. You also might try bringing something tangible that you can give away that includes your email messaging; like a business card with your information on it or even a branded USB drive!
Post a Link To Your Opt-In Form On Social Media!
Because many people that follow you on social media might not be subscribed to your emails, it is a great idea to post a link to your opt-in form on all the social media sites you are a part of. To really encourage people to subscribe, be sure to explain to them what they can expect by subscribing. You can offer a sign-up bonus like ‘10% off your next purchase when you subscribe to emails‘, or you can simply state of the benefits of being on your mailing list (exclusive offers, product guides, etc.). Watch your email list grow when you invite your social media connections to subscribe!
Include an Opt-In Form in Your Email Messages
Here is a Tip straight from the VerticalResponse Marketing Blog: Include and Opt-In form in Your Emails!
Every business is focused on building their lead lists, their customer base, their email marketing lists and their social media followers. And chances are that you’re sending out email campaigns. So you might ask, if I’ve already got the email address of the person I’m sending to, why should I include an opt-in form or link in my emails?
Your Emails Get Forwarded – Whether your recipients are using a “forward to a friend” feature so that you can track how many forwards you get, or whether they just hit forward in their email reader (most likely) you have new people now getting your messages. If they like what you have to say, and you make it easy for them, they might just click a link in your emails to join your list.
Your Emails Get Socialized – Hopefully you’ve got a link in your emails that take readers to a web-page that contains your email. We call this a “hosted version” of your email marketing campaign. This is great if your recipients can’t see all of your content in your emails. Now if you’re a social marketer like I am, you publish the link to your hosted version in your Twitter Facebook and LinkedIn feeds so you can spread your email even further to those that may not be on your list. If you’ve got a link to sign up for “email-only” offers, these new readers just might sign up.
It’s not hard to do, and it is a great way to build your list. And who knows? They may just become some of your best customers!
Host A Twitter Chat!
We recently hosted our first Twitter Chat here at VerticalResponse. It was great fun and we had a good turn out (for some of the highlights, click here). We talked email marketing and social media, and answered some questions from participants. One of the best things about the chat is that we were able to discuss some of the compelling features here at VR that help users connect social media and email that also help users build their list (like using the VR Social Sharing Feature, or creating an archive of your emails). After the chat we found that more people signed up and opt-ed in to receive the VR Buzz (a list building tip, within a list building tip!). We will be hosting our next Twitter Chat today from 1-2PM PDT ( follow #VrChats to join during the time above, or click here for more information on how to participate) and we are going to talk about using social media for small business.
Try hosting a Twitter Chat for your Business or take part in our next chat and watch your list grow!
Build Your Insider’s List
This quote inspired a business launch campaign:
“One of the most important things you can do today is to identify your socially influential and passionate customers, and inspire them to become advocates of your brand. Even if they aren’t the highest-spending customers, influencers can provide great reach to an entirely new group of customers.”
- Phil Davis, GM of Rapleaf
In advance of the opening of a new 10-screen movie theater in Omaha, we launched a community outreach campaign to collect e-mail addresses so we could both increase awareness of the theater (5 months before it opened) and begin a dialogue with prospective customers. We set up a tent at a weekly concert series and Farmer’s Market near the new theater location and signed up visitors to win a movie pass for two (unlimited movies for an entire year). More than 40% of those who signed up provided their e-mail address and agreed to be added to the e-newsletter list.
Part 2 of the campaign invites recipients of the weekly e-mail newsletter to become “Insiders” or “fan-gelists” to help spread the word to others about the new theater. Those on the e-mail newsletter list were invited to a special meet-and-greet event. The 75 free tickets “sold out” in just five hours. Dozens of people asked how they could get on a waiting list for the event.
As the opening date approaches, the e-newsletter will be used to notify Insiders about employment opportunities, the opening date, and more special events that only *they* can access. We are creating an army of passionate fans and encouraging them to spread the word to the people they know.
Free Monthly Giveaways
Every month RockStarMoms has a free giveaway and winners are randomly chosen from our mailing list subscribers. Our giveaway is announced on our website, Facebook ,Twitter & MySpace accounts, with a link to our vertical response sign-up form. As long as the person remains on our mailing list he/she is eligible for the present month’s giveaway. Not only do we give away merchandise from our RockStarMoms maternity collection, we also have teamed up with other merchants who donate items that our subscribers would be interested in receiving. In turn, we promote their product in our monthly newsletter and on our social media sites.
Photos with Email
We have events where we’ll take digital photos. For example, we recently hosted a Hawaiian Luau and had family photos taken with a fake tropical background and other props. They parents first write their email address on an erasable board. We then photograph the board right before we take the family photo. This makes it easy to match the email to the photo that we send and builds our email database list.
VerticalResponse note: Just make sure to include an opt-in to your newsletter!