List Building

ANSWRs to your questions about email lists including getting email addresses for existing supporters, building a list of new supporters, opt-in/double opt-in, and privacy considerations

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Article: Should we consider buying email lists from other organizations that have members that may be interested in our issues?

There are a number of ways to grow your email list. Buying lists is tricky, because of CAN-SPAM regulations, blacklisting and deliverability, and it may not be the most effective one for either performance or price. For instance, recruiting...

Web Link: Reviving Dead Subscribers

How to market to dead subscribers

Web Link: Mission Over Membership in Online Advocacy

Charles Lenchner of Democracy In Action talks to NTEN about different strategies for successful online campaigns such as list building and fundraising

Web Link: 5 Secrets to Email List Growth

Web Link: What's an Email Address Worth?

Analysis of the value of member email addresses from Care2 Nonprofit Online Communications Community

Web Link: Building Bases

Article: What are commonly used fields for subscribing for an e-newsletter?

While social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are providing an alternative place for online interaction, email is still the gold standard for online communication. This essential piece of information is the bare minimum for sending out an...

Article: Can an emailing tool help me not only keep lists, but help me think through diversification of my network and suggest alternative sources or networks?

Email blasting tools can tell you who is opening and clicking through your emails by listing the email addresses' domains. You can use this information to see which of the organizations you've reached out to are most interested in your work, and use...

Article: What's the consensus on offering a "bribe" of some sort to get people to update their contact info and how they'd like to receive email (text vs. html)?

Asking people whether they prefer to receive HTML or text emails is definitely a best practice, and the best way to do this is to ask for any necessary contact information during the initial email sign up. If this is not possible, some organizations...

Article: What's the best software for starting listservs?

Article: Can we add our Facebook and Twitter followers to our eNewsletter mailing lists?

In a word, no. It is always considered bad form to "harvest" email addresses from one domain to another, and such practices will get you flagged as a spammer by a decent percentage of those email addresses when they receive your...

Article: Where should we ask for email addresses from our constituents?

First and foremost is your own web site; email sign-up should be available and prominent on every page, visible “above the fold,” meaning that visitors don't have to scroll to see it. Online petitions and online event registration are excellent places to...

Article: What information do I need to collect when getting email addresses?

All you need to start building a relationship online is an email address.Email sign-up forms that require any additional information will convert fewer submissions.A best practice in this regard is to accept the email address, and then route the user...

Article: How do we obtain people's consent to email them in a blast?

When taking online email sign-ups, you can choose between two models for adding addresses to your list: In the Opt-In method, when someone submits their address, you immediately add them to your list. In this model, a confirmation email should be sent...