Marketing | EMAIL
Building Your Customer Base...
Updated: 9 January 2006

I've come across different statistics on the subject, but most writers concur that consumers usually do not buy the first time they visit a Web site.

Building your customer base...

Three to seven or more ad exposures may be required before prospective customers make a purchase. That means if they fail to bookmark your Web site on the first visit, they may never return. You may have only one chance to connect with them. If you fail, you've lost a potential sale.

It's crucial, then, that you afford prospective customers the opportunity to remain in contact via email. You might offer them an incentive to do so. A free subscription to your newsletter, perhaps; or a free download. All they have to do is voluntarily provide their name and email address...

That's called opt-in or permission-based email. It's one of the best ways to build your customer base and dramatically increase your sales. As Lee Traupel describes it in "Creating Effective E-Mail Campaigns",

[o]pt-in or permission based e-mail (the terms are interchangeable) means recipients have confirmed their interest in receiving e-mail and have signed up (hence the term opt-in) to receive e-mail about a subject of their interest. The recipient may also unsubscribe from the list at any time and all e-mail messages are clearly identified as coming from a specific and approved vendor or source.
[Read more of this condensed primer]

Jonathan Mizel, publisher of The Online Marketing Letter, suggests that you

[s]tart your own mailing list, electronic publication, announcement list, or e-zine. The concept is to take the information people want most and offer to send it for free in exchange for their e-mail address and consent to add their name to your list. Just about every online business could benefit from operating an "opt-in" publication. In many cases it’s as simple as adding small form to your Web pages that offers to send people information of value. Ours is on our home page and at the bottom of every content and sales letter page. You can offer any type of information to your opt-in subscribers you like. Just make sure it’s something they want and perceive as highly valuable!

Avoid SPAM
Nobody likes spam. Most of us delete email from sources we don't know. Yet spam continues to grow at an alarming rate and there are many who believe no amount of government regulation can curtail it. In light of the new initiatives by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, however, and civil litigation against Internet businesses accused of spamming, the wisdom inherent in developing an opt-in list is apparent. Some opt-in scripts record the visitor IP address along with their name and email data; if you're accused of spamming, you may be able to "prove" the visitor in fact subscribed.

Double Opt-in
Many eMarketers are returning to double opt-in to ensure their visitors actually want to subscribe. Jeanne Jennings is a consultant with her own newsletter. She writes that

[b]ack in the mid- to late 1990s, double, or confirmed, opt-in was the gold standard for email. It requires a recipient to confirm he has signed up to receive an email newsletter by responding to a confirmation email. Early in this decade, double opt-in fell out of favor, and single opt-in became the sign-up mechanism of choice. But...

In recent weeks, two well-known email newsletter publishers moved back to double opt-in. Both cite increased concerns over spam and a wish to ensure no one signed up friends (or worse, enemies), which would result in unsolicited email sent to those addresses. (My own newsletter will likely move to double opt-in before year's end.)

If you're starting a new email newsletter, seriously consider going with double opt-in. The downside: A certain percentage of those who initially opt-in will neglect to confirm. In my experience, confirmed by others in the industry, this will run about 20 percent. But you'll have an engaged list of people who you are confident really do want to receive your newsletter. You'll have a high level of protection against spam accusations. If you carry advertising, your readership will be much more attractive to advertisers and media buyers and command higher rates than single opt-in. [10.10.2002]

With due care...
Building your list is important, and the risks described thus far are not all that grave if you exercise due care. Is there anything else to consider? Well, in Developing a Highly Profitable Opt-In List, Shelley Lowery tells us that fierce Internet competition may necessitate the provision of strong incentives to encourage visitor subscription. As indicated above, these incentives should be of interest to your target audience. For example:

• Exclusive ebooks that provide valuable information
• Special exclusive reports
• Special software programs
• Provide access to a "members only" area of your website
• Provide a service
• List their website within your Directory or Search Engine.

In order for your visitors to receive your incentive," she adds, "they must agree to receive your publication."

11 Ways to Build Your Email Opt-In List, by MarketScan (27.6.01), remains a timely collection of ideas to increase subscriptions.

On the same subject Ariad, a Toronto communications company, presents a corporate slant that is nonetheless helpful for the aspiring entrepreneur on a shoestring budget. Entitled 42 Tips for Successful Email Marketing, this PDF document explains the many factors involved in developing an email marketing campaign to build your opt-in list and foster profitable, long-lasting relationships with your customers.

In summary, opt-in or permission-based email marketing is the key to building your client base and increasing your online sales. Building an opt-in mail list is important because potential customers seldom purchase on their first visit, so you need to remain in contact and develop your relationship with them. Encouraging subscriptions and fostering that relationship is best accomplished through the use of qualitative incentives and the provision of information of value to your target audience. Double opt-in is a safer strategy to employ in building your list, and this strategy is again gaining favor among eMarketers. It is of crucial importance that you avoid spam or any appearance that you are engaged in unsolicited emailing. Never add email addresses to your database without permission, and always afford customers the option to unsubscribe from your list in every email you send.

Opt-in List Providers

Perhaps you don't want to build your own opt-in list. In that event you may choose to use the services of an opt-in list provider and pay to use their databases. The Email Marketing Directory is a showcase of opt-in providers to whom you can address queries with respect to the email marketing initiative you want to pursue. These providers pay a flat fee to be listed in the directory. You complete a form in which you specify the size, target market, category, form, pricing model

CPM = cost per thousand
CPC = cost per click
CPA = cost per action [a.k.a., cost per acquisition],

and the estimated budget of your email campaign. Once you enter your contact info and submit the form, your data is sent to the showcased providers who then respond with their quotes. See also Alfred R. Bredenberg's site, EmailResults, to search for lists and services.

emailbank.ca
Registration [is free and] allows the user to access the emailbank search engine and search for consumer and business lists in Canada. If the audience is not represented, the emailbank List Notify feature allows you to request it be researched for you. The emailbank database has the most comprehensive listing of Canadian opt-in email lists on the market and is updated daily.

PostMasterDirect is an arm of NetCreations, Inc., which pioneered "double opt-in" list-building and currently manages what they claim is the world's largest database of double opt-in email addresses. Their service helps thousands of e-commerce companies, catalogers, publishers and other direct marketers worldwide reach active Internet users on hundreds of topics. For rates, click here.

Opt-in Email