matt higgins

Used correctly, email subscriber lists are, at the risk of being cliché, worth their weight in gold. This is old news, yet in this highly digital world almost every brand is behind in data acquisition.

Emailing isn’t just about making a new sale. Emailing existing customers is one of the best ways to combat attrition (churn these days) and increase lifetime value (LTV) simply by staying connected and top of mind.

As a brand manager of a lifestyle brand, I knew the value of our subscriber list and the ability it gave us to connect with and message our audience. When I took over the brand, I planned to use this as an important lever in our overall marketing strategy. I was committed to growing the list. Of the five main proprietary brands under the parent company, the brand I was managing had the largest list, but it was still a fraction of its potential.

You’ve Been Warned

Buying an existing list is usually just an act of vanity and the best practice is to NOT buy lists. So, it goes without saying that you should never consider buying anything other than verified, permission-based lists. These lists are rare. Staying in compliance is the only option. As far as purchasing lists goes, depending on your budget, you can double or triple your list, but the problem with this approach is that it’s simply about quantity over quality. This can work for general consumer products, but the vast majority of the names you just paid for are going to opt out as soon as they find the unsubscribe button. Under US CAN-SPAM, purchasing isn’t outright banned, but sending to non-consented lists often leads to high spam complaints, deliverability damage, and potential fines. The best practice is to do the work to build your list. Here’s how I grew my list by 482% the right way.

Live Outreach

To grow my list with a focus on quality as we increased quantity, I turned to live events. I attended a series of small events where customers could sample the brand’s lineup of products. For lead generation, I ran a sweepstakes. Most booth visitors entered the sweepstakes for a chance free product, which was worth well over a hundred dollars and one they had just tried and liked. To increase effectiveness, we offered an instant 20% discount coupon and thank you message upon entering. This did two things. First, it encouraged people to enter because even if they didn’t win, they felt like they were getting something of value. Second, it encouraged them to enter an email they actually used since the coupon would be emailed to them. The discount also was part of our overall email campaign strategy. The first email they received was one that they expected and wanted. When possible, I asked them right in the booth if they got the email. Just making conversation to them but purposeful to me. Most would check and confirm. They opened it on the spot. This made sure we made an impression and didn’t just get buried and it made sure we weren’t trapped by a spam filter.

These small events were often free or had minimum fees, sometimes as low as $30 or $40 with maybe the largest fee being $120. With the exception of an occasional travel day on a Friday, I went to these events on my own time. My employer paid the booth fees and for food, rental if needed, hotels, etc., but I essentially donated my time. I’m not suggesting you have to give up your free time. I gladly did it because it was enjoyable, I could instantly see the results, and I believed in the value.

I should also point out, when working a booth, I asked every single person I saw. If I wasn’t actively engaged with someone, everyone who walked by got solicited. At live events, just standing there waiting to be engaged isn’t an option. How well your lead generation works depends almost entirely on your effort.

Big Partners, Big Numbers

While it gave up some of the intimacy of my more guerrilla approach at small events, next, I partnered with some of our licensed partners attending large events. We supplied products for them with their logos and branding on them. These larger companies either ran sweepstakes, gave them away, or ran their own demo. Instead of partnering with them for the in-the-moment exposure, I shifted the goal to lead generation. I made sure these partners had our logos and even supplied physical signage if needed. I made it easy for them. These companies were always happy to have an interactive element in their booth. And this further deepened our relationship with these licensed partners. And I got thousands of names out of it.

Quality Content

Most companies get a name and instantly start spamming. As consumers, we’re absolutely inundated. It’s a turnoff. Knowing I’m competing for my potential or existing customers’ attention with the rest of the world, I created a very specific roadmap or journey for emails. This is referred to as a drip campaign in some industries. As described above, the first email was an expected discount. The second email was designed to be entertaining, inspiring, and, lastly, informative. What it didn’t try to do at all was sell. It was a lifestyle email. The third email was a newsletter with a mix of content. It had product, but no sales pitch. Every email had backlinks to our website, but the focus was on building a relationship, not snagging a sale. The email is one of many touchpoints. Email works with social posts, ad campaigns, live events, influencer and affiliate marketing. The fourth email was a montage of UGC of our products and an invite to our various social channels. The message without saying it was “This could be you.” Finally, the fifth was a new product announcement with a strong CTA. Five touches to get to the sale. It’s worth noting that a DTC purchase (e.g., directly from our website) triggered an entirely different journey.

In addition to having a strategy for the lead generated at live events, I focused on content marketing. I populated the site with magazine-quality content. We shared this on our social channels but also in appropriate groups without spamming. This was high value, relevant content. While most social media platforms don’t favor content with outbound links and thus reach was sometimes limited, those that did see it on their feed had a high likelihood of clicking through. Once on site, a module would popup with an email request to join our list. The key with the module was to have it on a significant delay. Instant interruptions are intrusive and a turnoff. We gave visitors a chance to view and realize they wanted the content.

Exclusivity

A highly effective tactic to grow a high-quality list is to offer exclusivity. Depending on the brand, this can be “team” membership, an early access group, or a focus group/beta testers.

For the cost of a team member sticker with your logo, you can build loyal ambassadors that gladly represent your brand. And you can guarantee they will share that exclusive behind-the-scenes, early-look, sneak peek that was just for them.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Achieving big gains requires a team effort. The more you look to employ cross-functional collaboration, the more you’ll be able to get done. I worked with our creative team to build marketing materials from signage to stickers. Our live events team provided the devices I needed for lead generation and supplied me with the booth materials I needed such as the tent, table covers, and display stands. Lastly, I worked hand in hand with our email specialist. I wrote each email in the journey, but I made sure he understood the mission and had everything he needed from graphics, images, and proper links.