• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The Social Media Hat

Always On Top Of Social

  • Home
  • Social Media Articles
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Social Media Resources
  • Social Media Tools
  • GET HELP
  • Search
  • Home
  • Social Media Articles
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Social Media Resources
  • Social Media Tools
  • GET HELP
  • Search

How to Build a Better Mailing List

You are here: Home / Social Media Articles / How to Build a Better Mailing List

April 9, 2013 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 2 minutes

There are multiple ways to create a mailing list for direct marketing campaigns. Renting lists can be highly effective for reaching new customers or markets you’ve yet to fully penetrate, but as the name suggests, it’s a one-time solution. In addition to one-time lists, direct mail marketing providers also offer list subscriptions which allow you to continually add to and enhance your list to reach further into your existing customer base and/or further into unchartered territory. Another option would be to create your own list, perhaps of your most solid leads, and then integrate that with a more diverse list from a direct mail marketer.

If you’re a small business considering using mailing lists, you’ll want to start by building a list from your current and/or targeted customers, which can then be used as base for future more ambitious campaigns. Reviewing your mailing list can help you assess who your most responsive customers are, what approaches work best for reaching them, and/or what strategies might need to be reworked. 

Four Steps to Build Your Mailing List

Step 1: Internal Resources

Start with the addresses you already have on file: customer records, correspondences (don’t forget those complaints), warranties, service requests, and any contact whatsoever. 

Step 2: External Resources

Gather addresses from your customers’ websites, association directories (trade, etc.), the chamber of commerce, and any articles about potential clients. Keep your eyes out for contact information of prospective clients published anywhere.

Step 3: The Raffle

Companies do this for one reason and one reason only: to build mailing lists. And it works because people love winning things. Drawings are relatively inexpensive to put on and will provide you with 100s to 1000s of potential customers – and their contact info! It’s a worthwhile idea to hold one regularly, be it monthly or quarterly, with the caveat that you cannot have won within the past 6 – 12 months. Raffles are a simple way to continuously build a list of people already interested in your products and services. Include some statistical questions about the entrant, such as “which products do you currently use for ­_______”? Or “how often do you buy _______” These will help you gain critical insights into what new customers want and how to market to them.

Step 4: Keep it Fresh

To maximize the utility of your mailing list, update it continuously, making sure that you promptly remove those who ask to be and add new contact info as soon as you get it. This will give you a list customized to your business that your competition does not have, and you can mail your direct marketing pieces to the people most likely to buy from you (Source: Direct Mailing Lists From ProMarketing Leads).

YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ:

Category: Social Media Articles

About Mike Allton

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Brand Evangelist at Agorapulse.

Mike has partnered with Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Eric Butow to write Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing published by Entrepreneur Press.

Join The Community!

Thousands of other businesses and bloggers get the latest social media insights and ideas.


Previous Post: « Key to Virality: What’s Hot on Google+
Next Post: Making the most of LinkedIn Insights »

Primary Sidebar

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Brand Evangelist at Agorapulse.

Reserve Your Copy

Reserve your copy of Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing by Eric Butow, Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Mike Allton. Available here.

Plan To Succeed

Social Media Planner for Social Media Success

Grab your copy of the Social Media Planner, today!

Join The Mastermind

Want access to experts and live video training for just a few bucks a month?

The 360 Marketing Squad is a private Facebook Group featuring 4 of the industry’s top minds, covering every aspect of online marketing, and costs just $5/month to join. Learn more.

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Top 10 Reasons Not To Miss This Summit
  • Instagram Trust Score: What It Is and How to Improve It
  • Agorapulse To Host Premiere Online Marketing Event
  • 10 Light Years Ago
  • We Whisper Too Quietly on Social Media
  • The Social Media Job Hazard No One Is Talking About
  • 15 Newsletters To Level Up Your Marketing, And You!
  • 8 of the Most Effective Ways to Approach Twitter Influencers to Grow Your Brand

Key Topics

Agorapulse Apps Bing Blab Blogging Buffer Business Canva Content Marketing Easil Email Marketing Evernote Facebook Facebook Groups Gmail Google+ Holidays Hootsuite Influencer Marketing Infograph Instagram Klout Link Building LinkedIn Live Video Marketing Meerkat Mobile MySpace Pinterest ROI SEO SnapChat Social Media Marketing Social Media Planner Strategy Tailwind Triberr Tumblr Twitter Video Vine Yahoo Yelp YouTube
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • About The Social Media Hat
  • Social Media Planner
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Site Footer

  • Social Media Articles
  • Digital Marketing
  • Social Media Tools
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 The Social Media Hat · All Rights Reserved