Five Missed Opportunities for Acquiring E-Mail Subscribers

Consider these touch points - including direct mail and SMS - to win new subscribers. Second in a two-part series.

In part one, I examined four places where marketers can communicate with customers and prospects and encourage them to opt-in as e-mail subscribers. Those areas were: at point of sale; in the call center; in-store experiences; and sales calls/marketing collateral. Today, let’s look at five more areas:

Direct mail: Sure, we all get bombarded by long letters with a special offer or coupons stuffed in a clear envelope, but this is missing the permission side of marketing, which also happens to be the secret sauce of any e-mail marketing juggernaut. Direct mail can be a great bridge to costly, untargeted (and unsolicited) messages to a far more cost effective, targeted, and permission-based marketing channel.

Remember, your names on direct mail are just lists; people that opt in to your company have given you permission. So, it’s worth the extra step in transitioning potential and/or existing customers to that side of the marketing fence. Unfortunately, what may prevent this in many companies is politics, lack of cross-departmental synergies, or just not testing the concept out.

Mobile: What I call “Text2Grow” is beginning to take off, leveraging SMS’s immediacy for building an e-mail program. While it may seem counterintuitive to use SMS (define) to grow your e-mail list, it’s not. Most consumers may be texting with their friends these days, but not nearly as much with brands. Leveraging it for a quick consumer data entry makes sense as an option.

Don’t forget your mobile site and/or smartphone applications when it comes to acquisition. I have downloaded hundreds of apps for my iPhone and iPad, yet have only seen a handful that provide me with the opportunity to engage with the brand on other platforms such as e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter. There’s a very real opportunity and one that’s growing fast.

Experiential marketing: So, what do you do after you walk away from a successful event-based marketing campaign (besides picking up trash and sleeping)? Whether it’s a major sporting event or guerrilla-brand launch campaign in a pocket of a city, you’re probably basking in the glow of a lift in brand awareness and product trials. That’s all fine and well, but in the day and age of performance marketing, why not also offer your consumers that are being exposed to your product/service the ability to opt in to your e-mail program and social presence? It can really blow away your ROI (define) by stretching the exposure and relationship you began but never really built.

Catalogs and packaging promotional inserts: We’ve all opened a package from a favorite catalog or website and found marketing fillers (Netflix trial anyone?), but rarely do companies cross-promote their own programs and additional services and offerings. Why not have a simple card or flier placed in the package promoting ways to connect with the brand you just opened a package from? This could be your first opportunity to capture some people’s attention if they are a gift recipient or maybe a pure catalog shopper. Let them know they can “Like you” on Facebook or receive more special offers via e-mail.

Most catalogs prefer you receive their e-mails instead of the more expensive and often environmentally-frustrating, thick-as-a-brick paper option. Catalogs can merchandize their products and showcase items in different ways than e-mail can, but ultimately, a customer that buys from e-mails is a far more profitable customer.

Pure e-commerce companies – don’t forget your options: Even strictly e-commerce companies have relevant acquisition opportunities – some online and some offline. Call centers, transactional e-mails, customer service interactions, live chats, social networks, and any offline sponsorships and partnerships. The possibilities are significant as is the potential for monetizing these folks and generating an ROI to make any business swoon.

As is the case for capturing e-mail subscribers on your website, your real estate placement, value proposition, and execution all matter greatly when it comes to propelling your e-mail program’s size on the back of your offline properties. Make it your summer plan to test out one area that’s being underutilized. Your new subscribers will thank you.

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource