"Do you sell email lists?" This is one of the most frequent questions we hear. Our answer? "We don't sell email lists. However, we'll be happy to provide you with some ideas and some help for building your own."

Often the idea of starting an email program is triggered by hearing about a successful program that someone else built, and it sounds so easy and cheap (compared to cost printing and postage, for instance). Some, as they consider their over-stock position, may reason, "We have 2,000 widgets in inventory, so let's do an email blast. We can get a good return on product that's just been gathering dust, and the buyer will be happy."

Unfortunately, because email has such a low per-contact cost, people have come to think in terms of e-blasts - or throwing enough mud on enough walls until something eventually sticks.

In large measure, that's what SPAM is all about! Spammers reason to themselves, "I don't care whether I have permission to email or not...I don't care if 99% of the people I email resent me...I can make millions off the 1%!"

And that's what causes the public to resent spammers. It's all about THEM...the spammer!

Contrast the above mentality to Zig Ziglar's remarkable observation: "You can get everything in life you want...if you will just help enough people get what they want." An effective, permission-based email program focuses on the wants and preferences of the prospect and the customer.

Imagine this scenario: Betty, who works at a home and garden store, is continually trying to sell shovels to Bob, but Bob doesn't want or need a hole in his yard. Betty is not only wasting her time, she's also annoying Bob. But if Betty took the time to listen to Bob she might find out that he and his wife love to talk in the evenings beside their pool, and they both need new lounge chairs.

To understand the power of targeted, permission-based email, look at another example.

What if you knew that Susan would rather work in her rose garden than eat? And what if it were possible to advertise your upcoming Rose Sale only in the exact newspaper that would be dropped in front of Susan's house? And what if you were able to place a personally written sticky note on the front page of Susan's paper, inviting her to turn to page A15 for information about your upcoming rose sale? At the same time, what if you were able to send a personalized radio broadcast sent exclusively to Susan's radio (no one else’s) at noon because you know she listens to her favorite talk show at work over her lunch break?

And that's the power of permission-based, targeted email! It's not an email blast. Spammers email blast. Instead the effective marketer matches the message to the subscriber. By creating and sending targeted messages to receptive subscribers, everyone wins.

"You can get everything in life you want...if you will just help enough people get what they want."

So, how can you do that?

     2. Make a list of questions that your prospects, customer, members or patients ask. Keep a pad of paper at your desk and/or near the cash register. Regularly remind your staff to write down the questions that they are asked.

     3. Make a list of the kinds of products and services your organization offers, and use that list to create a check list on your online signup page.

     4. When subscribers signup for email online, provide them with an empty data box in which to share their questions or interests...that they'd like to read in the emails you send.

     5. If you have a customer list with phone numbers, hire a part-time college student or retiree to call them, asking for permission to add them to your email list. Make sure the email address is accurately recorded, noting the date and time when permission was given.

     6. After you begin your email program, fine-tune your email list using the tracking information (opens, click-throughs, downloads, conversions, forwards) to draw conclusions about the various interests of your subscribers.

      7. Continue listening...

      8. Keep all written records and contact notes (signup cards, sheets, phone call notes, etc.) after permission is initially given. Don't throw them away. This is your only proof of your having received the subscriber's permission.