February 2010
How to Build Your Email Marketing List Fast-and Legally
With the increased availability of autoresponders and email service providers (ESPs), top insurance agents and brokers are turning to email marketing as the most efficient and cost-effective way to nurture prospects.
If you’re launching your first email marketing program, there’s one important lesson you must remember. Resist the temptation to take shortcuts as you create your mailing list!
As professional email marketers know, the way you build and maintain your mailing list will often determine how your lead nurturing campaign will succeed — or fail.
Here are 7 list-building principles that will help you create a successful email marketing program:
- Never scrape
Do you hate getting spam from people who found your email address on a website or grouped in someone else’s email blast? You’re not alone. So you should also avoid committing the same crime, by not adding names you’ve scraped from websites, emails or business cards you picked up at a conference. - Subscription widgets
Add a subscription form to your website . Most email service providers offer a simple widget that you can add to your web pages. To increase subscriptions, try offering website visitors a free newsletter or access to your quote engine. - Referrals
Use your mailing list for a soft referral request. Consider adding a line to your email encouraging your subscribers to forward your newsletter or announcement email to friends and colleagues. These new recipients will be more open to your email because it came from someone they know. - Interactive Quote Engine
Having a multi-carrier quote engine embedded into your website will not only help you engage more visitors and create more business, it will also help you build your email mailing list. For example, the Norvax Quote Engine automatically saves a prospect’s information for easy access in the future. It can also integrate with the LeadMiner autoresponder to send prospects a steady stream of lead nurturing emails — with personalized links to their updated quotes. - Offer exclusivity
There’s a long waiting list to join the most exclusive golf clubs in the country. It’s not just because they have the best golf courses. Often times, it’s simply because they’re exclusive. Similarly, by providing advanced notices and special promotions only to subscribers, you can build up the importance and appeal of your email list. - Personal invitation
The personal touch still works… especially in today’s automated world. If you do have a database of emails, consider sending each of them separate and personalized invitations to join your mailing list. It will take longer, but it does work. - Announce your anti-spam stance
One of the biggest fears people have about subscribing to an email list is spam. Put them at ease by adding a brief line next to your subscription box and on your opt-in requests, such as “We hate spam too, and we’ll never sell or share your subscription data.”
Lead nurturing has always been a key element of successful sales and marketing programs. But in the past you had to have a lot of resources (and money) to run a decent lead nurturing campaign.
With today’s email autoresponders and automation program, that’s no longer the case. The biggest hurdle is no longer money and resources. It’s making sure that you plan out an effective email marketing campaign and take the time to build your list — the right way.
