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In the last blog we talked about adding double opt-in clients to a special email list since those people obviously care about what your business has to offer. Over time it’s also a good practice to add those to your list that open and click through your emails. Today we’ll talk about other ways to grow your email list to maximize the expanse of your email marketing campaign.

Let’s start with this statistic, courtesy of DoubleClick Research: "69 percent of U.S. email users have made purchases online after receiving permission-based email marketing, 59 percent have purchased in retail stores, 39 percent have purchased through catalogs, 34 percent through call centers and 20 percent through postal mail."

This statistic means that email marketing is EFFECTIVE, and it should make you want to send your emails out to as many people as possible. Have the desire to get that email list growing but need tips to get started? Here are some surefire ways to add to your email list:

• Make sure your employees, particularly those dealing directly with customers, are trained to collect email addresses whenever possible.

• Include email opt-in options throughout your website and a “Join our mailing list” link in the signature of regular email correspondence. This should both bring traffic to your website and add addresses to your email list.

• If your business has a physical location customers visit, have a guestbook they can sign (at the checkout is a great place) and include a space for them to add their email address to join the email list. The same can be done at trade shows or other events.

• Make the email list sign-up form simple- only request a first/last name and email address to start with. Don’t overwhelm potential customers with an opt-in form that is too long or they might get frustrated and not fill it out.

• Make your privacy policy clear at the beginning… let them know what kind and how many emails to expect from you and how often. Assure them their information won’t be sold or traded to a third party and that they may choose to opt out anytime.

Email marketing is effective and affordable... and growing your email list is easy and the payoffs are great, so get started today!