I was as thrilled as anyone when we decided to focus this month’s InSight on Building a Better List.  Why?  Because I want to build a better list just as much as the next guy (or gal, in my case).  After all, since we’re an email marketing company, it’s my job to set our email marketing bar high…and keep pushing it higher.  That of course includes the quality of our subscriber lists.

After an extensive re-engagement campaign in the fall of 2006, our lists “shrunk” in size.  And like most marketers, list fatigue is a common challenge for us as well.  Continually building a better, more engaged subscriber list is an important ongoing focus of our email marketing program.  So here’s the lesson I’ve learned about how to build a better list: if you want to grow your list, do it the right way.  Do it one step at a time.  Just do it.

Here’s an example: On Monday, January 28th we put a banner in our application to promote ExactTarget InSight.  This means that the first thing our customer saw when logged in to their accounts was, essentially, an opt-in button.  With thousands of users logging in every day, it seemed like a nice way to reach out specifically to our clients. 

We normally average around 200 InSight opt-ins a month.  However, we’ve already received over 200 new opt-ins in the fourteen days since the banner launched.  The best part is that these opt-ins are coming from our customers, which provides highly engaged and quality subscribers.  So while it may seem like a small thing to do, when you’re building a better subscriber list the small things add up.

Every day, week, or month that goes by is a missed opportunity to build a better list.  If you’re looking for recommendations on how to get started, check out our new case study featuring Hershey Entertainment & Resorts and learn how they achieved a 33% list growth in just ten months. It provides great tips you can use to get started.  Just do it.