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Checklist for List Marketing Success

As Publisher of Web Digest For Marketers, I eat, sleep and breathe list marketing: Everything from list hygiene to subscriber acquisition, editorial, retention...on and on it goes. I'm here to tell you it's a very worthwhile and stimulating business. Not a day goes by where I don't learn something.

In the list business, I'm known as a list owner. I started the Web Digest For Marketers list in April 1995. At the time of writing, this list is closing in on 50,000 subscribers.

Below are my pointers for list marketing. Enjoy.

• Keep it Clean: Over the years, I've noticed the cleaner your email list is, the more emails get through. This is probably because many email servers shut you down if you throw too many dead email addresses at them. Throw less dead email addresses at them and the live ones are more apt to get through. Traditional direct marketers call this "list hygiene".
• Audience Segmentation: Think of your list as having multiple audiences or segments. Some will respond to some offers, while others won't. Try to give each of these segments a name and a face so you can clearly visualize them and cater to them in order to keep them on your list.
• List Representation: DM expert Ruth Stevens taught me that it's usually best to use a list management firm that already represents lists similar to yours—and yes, this could mean your competitors. If they don't, it probably means it won't be worth their while to establish new relationships just for your list.
• What's the Glue? Whether you're LL Bean, Lillian Vernon or yours truly, there should be an affinity that keeps your list glued together, be it well-made sportswear or Internet marketing. If you stray too far away from that affinity, you could lose cohesion. Be careful.
• Use Power Words in Email Subject Headers: You know email is a fast-read medium. Make sure your email gets opened and read by front-loading your subject header with words that your readers are looking for. Over the years I've learned lots about what works in subject headers—and what doesn't. If you need help on a consulting basis, send me an email at www.wdfm.com/contactlarry.htm
• Source of New List Members: This is critical to the health and wealth of your list. If you're an email newsletter, figure out how to draw people to your site and subscribe. Also set up co-registration partnerships with like-minded newsletters. Make sure they're sending to you about the same quality and quantity of new subscribers as you're sending to them.
• Beware of Buying New Members: Some lists do this, and it can be perfectly legitimate. It's basically a co-reg program, except instead of sending the other party subscribers, you're sending them money. Take great care to examine where these addresses are coming from. If they're junky addresses, you're going to get junky response rates at the back end.
• Protect Your Good Name and Domain: Set up your SPF records and look into the possibility of using one of those bonded-sender type services. This is becoming more important for deliverability as time moves forward.
• Pass-Along is Your Life's Blood: Subscriptions to my Web Digest For Marketers are always highest on those days when the newsletter goes out. Why? Because subscribers pass it along and those recipients sign up, especially when they see that they get a downloadable pdf of my "Essential Search Engine Marketing Resource Guide" for doing so. In fact, if you're reading this and you're not a subscriber, you can sign up right now at WDFM.com.
• Keep It Fresh: Don't change something because you're bored with it. Remember, you see your newsletter or mailings way more than your list does. But then again, don't let things get stale. Test things before pulling the trigger.
• Pick an Email Service Provider Wisely: Whether you have a house list for product and service sales or you manage an email newsletter like I do, it's imperative that you select a service that is competent and that has an impeccable reputation. It is key for you to be able to get good tech support when you need it. That should be one of your first criteria when deciding on such a service.
• Get Help: The list business is intriguing—it's a living, breathing organism. If you're going to get into it, make sure you have someone nearby who's done it before. This will help you avoid pitfalls and mistakes you don't want to make in public. It will also save you money in the long run. If you're starting a list, especially an email newsletter, and you need help, get in touch with me and I can put your learning curve on fast-forward, on a consulting basis.

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