New year’s rez: get your e-mail list in pristine shape

Your e-mail list is your most valuable tactical tool in your marketing kit. It’s your direct connection with customers. It’s where you’ll find your raving fans. It’s full of people who want to hear from you. So take this rough piece of coal and polish it into a diamond, so when you connect with your customers, you’ll know what kind of contact they want, and what they like. You’ll call them by their first name and make them feel part of your family. They’ll get a smile on their face when they see a message from you in their in-box.

Make 2010 the year that you make your e-mail list:

1. easy to use
2. accurate and robust
3. bigger

Let’s go over these efforts one at a time:

1. Easy to use: Set up your contact list in a way that works for you (or your list manager). Listen to what people have to say about the systems they use, but keep in mind that you have your own unique work style and what works for one person won’t necessary work for another. A woman called me earlier this week and asked which version of Outlook to buy. I had to ask some questions to help her, and it turns out she already has a good contact management system, she just didn’t know it’s power. And she has a system in place that she likes. So, we talked some more and decided that she should just try to make her present system work better: keep all her business contact in one place (she’d had them in a couple different places), categorize them, and add information in the notes section that will help her make her communications more targeted.

There are a lot of contact management systems out there. Outlook, ACT, and SalesForce are just three. Ask around.

2. Accurate and robust. I think of this as polishing a diamond. I make sure when I hear some new contact information about my client that I go in and update their listing immediately. I can do it from my phone, so it’s a constant ongoing thing. Also, when I hear someone is leaving their company I send them an e-mail–often they’ll send me their personal e-mail address, so I can keep in contact with them, and possibly move with them into their next job. And, as my relationship changes—say, as that sales manager goes from being an acquaintance named Robert to a friend named Bob, I change that in my CMS, too, so that the personalized e-mail blasts I send out reflect our closeness.

Don’t let those business cards sit around. I find it’s a relaxing thing to do–enter in the information off the card, but also add in other useful information: the date and place I met them, the thing they were most concerned about (their daughter’s soccer scholarship, their Great Dane’s pregnancy, etc.). One thing I forget to do sometimes is enter the contact information for someone with whom I have an ongoing e-mail relationship. I can always find their phone number if I need it because it’s in their email signature–but they don’t make it to the contact management system and into my e-mail list. This year, I’m going to be mindful of that.

I’d also like to suggest that you weed out the people who have moved—or passed—on. I don’t like to do this; I often don’t want to lose the connection. This year, I’m going to have a new category; maybe a “no send.” But keeping them around is annoying and distorts your metrics when you are figuring out the success ratio of your e-mail blasts.

3. Bigger. Start now thinking of creative ways to grow your list. Be sure to have a form that captures e-mail addresses on your website and your blog. Offer something for free if they sign up. If you belong to a business group or organization, see if you can use that list. At the very least, you can get a list of members and then add the ones you know personally.

I’d love to hear some ideas on how to grow your e-mail list. I think it’s a whole blog post on it’s own. Send me some ideas! I’ll give you credit if I use them.

Your bright shiny list will give you confidence and peace of mind when it comes time to talk to your best clients. Treat it with care and you will get a return on the time you spend many times over.