Building a big email distribution list is the most daunting challenge that most small businesses face before executing an email marketing campaign. Yet building a list can be a straightforward process if you apply some of these simple strategies:

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• Jump-start your list by gathering business-related email addresses from all your company employees. Even though it is against the law to send unsolicited marketing emails, there is nothing wrong with sending emails to the addresses that your salespeople, executives, customer service representatives, and other employees have gathered while doing business. To assure acceptance, personalize the first email you send with a message from the contact person in your organization. (“Paul, I thought you enjoy seeing this message — Jeanne Davis.”) And to be in compliance with the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, be sure to include an opportunity for recipients to opt out of future emails.

• Give website visitors a good incentive to give you their email addresses. You could offer them a free report, a free sample, or coupons. Notice how StraighterLine, a company that sells college courses online, gathers visitor information by offering a free sample course on its website.

• Be sure to include a “forward this message to a friend” functionality on all the email marketing pieces that you send. If you opt in to get email blasts from clothier Jos. A. Bank, you’ll notice that every message you receive has a prominent “Forward to a Friend” button at the top. Reel in those potential new email subscribers by offering free reports, coupons, or other incentives if they give you their email addresses.

• Make certain to capture customers’ email addresses whenever you can. If you are a retailer, have your cashiers ask for them when customers check out. If you are an electrical contractor, have your electricians ask for them after completing a job. To anticipate and overcome objections, explain to customers that you will distribute warranty information, coupons, or other documents via email.

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