5 Tips for Building Your List Offline

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Everyone’s on the move in the summer – and that means new opportunities for you to add contacts to your email list. It’s a great way for beginning marketers in particular to “get their feet wet” and find out what words or tactics entice people to sign up to their newsletter. Plus it’s FREE! For you “old pros”, we’re happy to gently remind you of a few basics.
 

So bookmark this page and keep it handy, cause this old school, offline list building really works!

1.    GetResponse for iPhone

Add contacts you meet on the fly manually or import from your Address Book to your client database. For those of you who’d like to use it but haven’t, you can download it here.

 

 

2.    Flyers

Leave a few brightly colored, single-page flyers with your newsletter information and subscription address where potential customers are likely to visit, e.g. restaurants, day care centers, boutiques, beauty salons, bookstores, sports venues. Just ask the owner/manager for permission first!

 

3.    POS or Guest Register

This is a favorite of restaurants, specialty boutiques, beauty salons, etc. Make sure your staff is trained to ask for the sign up before the customer leaves. And, if you’re finding that clients are ignoring the invite, put a bowl of candy right next to it. Finally, why not print your sign up email right on your sales receipts!

 

4.    Seminars/Events

If you’re speaking at an event or exhibiting at a fair or tradeshow, you can solicit sign ups in several ways. For example, you could pass around a clipboard during your session and collect email addresses, leave a laptop open to your sign up page near the door, or simply ask interested attendees to send their business cards with email info to the front. Of course, it always helps to mention they’ll be automatically entered in a grand prize drawing!

9.    QR Codes

Summer’s a busy time for everyone, but more consumers are mobile all year round now. And more of them are using smartphones – over 500 million by 2012. So why not create a unique QR Code in GetResponse for all your materials and giveaways?! It lets prospects scan your subscription email right into their phones, so they can sign up on the spot or at their convenience. Don’t know how to start? Download the latest GetResponse whitepaper “Mobilize Email marketing with QR Codes”.

 

That’s only 5 tips, but I’m sure you have lots more, so please write and tell us. Now enjoy your summer travels – but don’t forget those offline sign-ups!

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  • http://makemoney.ie Eamon Lynch

    Great tips specially the Qr code one.

  • http://gregclowminzer.com Greg Clowminzer

    QR code sounds cool. Will you have something for andriod phone like the iphone mentioned above.

  • Thomas

    Great article. Seminars and presentations really work, I tried it several times successfully.

    Thanks,
    Thomas.

  • Agnieszka Dabrowska

    Thanks for your comments. QR codes can definitely boost the number of new subscribers. You might also like our whitepaper about mobilizing email marketing with QR codes: http://www.getresponse.com/learning-center/white-papers/qr_codes.html

    Thomas, I am happy that it works also for you. We’ve tried collecting new sign ups at different trade shows and seminars. It brings fantastic results if you can offer small incentive to trigger new subscriptions.

  • http://www.fbadvertisinghelp.com Paul Facey

    Thanks for sharing.

    I wasn’t aware that there was an iPhone App for this service.

    That’s great! Especially for network meetings and live workshops.

    Plus, I could even use this to “WOW” my clients :o

    Cheers,
    Paul Facey

  • Alvin

    I am in the parenting and children education business. Over the years, I have conducted many parenting talks and workshops where i have collected thousand of names and emails from my attendees who want to be on my online newsletter list. I have input their info on a spreadsheet and have been sending them the newsletter using mail merge with MS Words and Outlook.

    I also have an account with Get Getresponse for optin list on my parents website.

    May I know how I can import my online list to Get Response without having to request my subscribe to re-confirm their subscription again? Will Get Response’s team able to help me with that?

  • Agnieszka Dabrowska

    Hi Alvin, we normally require all imported contacts to confirm their subscription. However in your case, our Compliance Department may import the list for you without having to confirm it. The decision about this is always made after communicating with this Department. Could you please contact them directly by leaving the message at: http://www.getresponse.com/feedback.html?

  • http://gonzalochagas.com Gonzalo Chagas

    Flyers works great to build a list offline, and you will get a very targeted list because when people take the time to type your web site info to their browser that means they are very interested in your product.

    Great tips